Off topic for this blog, but I had to share because it made me laugh.
Browsing for new clothes on the internet, I stumbled upon these "I'm Behind Obama" undies at Torrid.
Don't worry guys, a quick Google search revealed there are Obama underthings for men too.
McCain supporters have not gotten around to slapping his face on their underpants just yet. That's probably a good thing.
Showing posts with label products. Show all posts
Showing posts with label products. Show all posts
04 September 2008
Obama underwear
25 August 2008
Cave formations tee
On your next trip to a cave put on the Stalagmite vs. Stalactite tee available on Threadless. That way you just have to look down to remember that stalactites hold tight to the ceiling, while stalagmites are on the ground.
17 July 2008
Platypus Tee
The genome of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) was published in May of this year and made quite the stir in the news (here and here for example) as it seems they've found genes shared by reptiles, birds, and mammals. I just saw this tee over at Snorgtees.com - a tribute to the platypus genome and crime fighting cartoons.
18 June 2008
Science T-shirts
Amorphia Apparel allows you to show your love of science on your t-shirt. They have a whole line of shirts to poke fun at Intelligent Design supporters by depicting absurd controversies and the catch phrase "Teach the Controversy". Tempting, but I also like the one with a scientist riding a paramecium.
08 April 2008
Seeing Green
Anytime I turn on the TV these days, it seems every other commercial is another company touting how "green" (environmentally friendly) they are. I'm all about taking steps to becoming more green, and think this is an important movement (The Daily Green has this to say on 5 easy steps you can take to become more green). So, here's a mash up of comments on various commericals I've been seeing lately about green products.
I like that the green initiative is gaining awareness, yet at the same time, it seem a little wrong to have companies make green product claims just to change consumers' images of their product(s). Right now Wal-Mart is airing several commercials about how by buying certain products you can become more environmentally friendly. I think the ultimate messages are good ones, like stop buying individual bottled waters and instead just refill containers or that one should buy concentrated laundry detergent to save on packaging waste, but in the long run it's really just about increasing sales (the blog Wake-up Wal-Mart has this to say about the CEO's ultimate motives). Sears is also advertising extensively the peddle energy efficient appliances.
Home and Garden Television (HGTV) has yearly "dream home" giveaways and this year they've changed it to the Green Home Giveaway. Basically, these homes are designed to feature and entice us to buy certain sponsors' products, and that's really all the Green Home is doing too. I went to their website hoping to see what environmentally friendly products they were using and why they are good for the environment. However, this educational aspect requires some hunting to find on their site, but they do have this article addressing the various green aspects of the home, and a page full of videos about creating a green home.
I've been using plant-based, non-toxic Method cleaning products for a couple years now. But even Clorox (the company that advertises that I should put my children's toys into large buckets of bleach - don't get me started on this one) is getting into the act and has developed a line of green cleaning products, called Green Works, that "must come from renewable resources, be biodegradable and free of petrochemicals." What I don't see on the Green Works website is any mention of the packaging, if it is recyclable or made from recycled products. Having just scrubbed my toilet this morning with toxic smelling cleaner, I think buying either Method's or Green Works' new toilet bowl cleaner is definitely in order (while using my reusable shopping bags to carry them home of course). I can also stop having to buy rubber gloves to protect my skin.
28 March 2008
I Heart Guts
Well, if you thought plush microbes were cute, they are making plush organs over at I Heart Guts (as well as T-shirts and stickers).
Pictured above are a uterus, pancreas (top), gall bladder (purple) and the blue wrinkly guy is a brain. Their expressions just make me smile.
I might not buy a plush, but I'm ordering the assorted sticker pack. I Heart Guts also works with transplant and health organizations to raise funds. So while they might be cute, they're also used to promote great causes.
07 March 2008
Grow your own Lotus
I just saw this product over at Urban Oufitters, a "Grow Your Own Lily Pad" kit from DuneCraft. The product description is as follows:
"Grow your own giant flowering lily pad! Truly amazing, this type of lily pad can grow in up to four feet of water, can spread to take up large amounts of a shallow pond, and each pad can grow as large as two feet wide! This fantastic plant also has the largest flower of any plant in North America! The light yellow flowers even smell good! Plants sprout and grow in water! Just drop your seeds in the included bowl (supply your own water...) and watch in awe as they sprout in less than two weeks! Roots will start forming a couple of weeks later, and before you know it, you will see your own Lily Pads popping out!"
Based on the description of having light yellow flowers and looking at the seeds, this has to be seeds of Nelumbo lutea, the American lotus. The picture to the left is a close up of the inside of a N. lutea flower I saw while in Florida.Lotus leaves are easily distinguished from other water lilies because they are entirely circular and do not have a notch where the petiole attaches (so the drawing on the box is not accurate). They do have large flowers, about 6" wide, but I have no idea if this is actually North America's largest flower like they claim (I did find one site that claims this).
...
(Left: Nelumbo leaves, Right: Nymphaea leaves)
I'm tempted to buy one just to see if this is easy as they claim, especially just using the supplied blue decorative rocks and no soil.
04 March 2008
Botanical Pillows
18 February 2008
Venus Flytrap
I saw an interesting toy at Target the other day, Backyard Safari's Venus Fly Trap. Sadly, the toy wasn't made because Venus Flytraps are cool plants, but is instead an interesting looking insect catcher. Supposedly you place bait in the bottom and insects fly in, and some sort of motion sensor closes the trap.
In actual Venus flytrap plants (Dionaea muscipula), the traps are modified leaves. They know to close and catch their insect prey by trigger hairs (trichomes) on the inside of the traps. Not just one touch will do it, to distinguish living prey the trichomes must be touched in succession before the trap actually closes. Carnivorous plants in general catch insects because they live in nutrient poor locations, like bogs. The insects they catch and digest provided them with much needed nitrogen. The animated gif to the left (that I found on wikipedia) shows a developing trap in time lapse (click to watch).
Oh, and while I'm on the topic, it appears there is also a Pokémon modeled after a Venus Flytrap, Carnivine. According to the Pokémon website, Carnivine "attracts prey with its sweet-smelling saliva, then chomps down".
08 February 2008
Giant microbes in petri dishes
They now come in miniature form packaged in petri dishes. I think this new product is especially relevant to this blog's title. So check them out, I think I'm going to have to order some of these soon.
01 December 2007
Giant microbes
Need stocking stuffers or a gift for that hard-to-buy-for scientist? Then I direct you over to Giant Microbes - a site that sells plush versions of microbes.
I bought these for all my family members two years ago and even non-biologists like them. When people asked my sister what she got for Christmas that year, she proudly exclaimed "Syphilis!".
(Syphilis, T4 bacteriophage, Penicillin, and E. coli)
27 November 2007
Penguins and Polar Bears - Mystery solved!
It seems to be a common occurrence these days that I see polar bears and penguins pictured together despite the fact that these two animals do not live together. Polar bears of course residing in the arctic, while penguin species live only in the southern hemisphere.
Just two weekends ago I saw an Eskimo play set at Ocean State Job lot featuring an arctic family and various arctic animals: a walrus, a seal, a polar bear, and a penguin. Yes, a penguin. I would think a walrus would have been enough to keep the kids interested. Just last year Coca-Cola had an ad campaign featuring polar bears and penguins sharing a Coke that stirred up some rumblings in the science community, like this blog entry over on The Intersection.
However, I just saw a new t-shirt for sale at Threadless:
(follow the picture link to see a larger version)
This obviously puts the issue to rest. As we can see, penguins and polar bears can share a Coke (or a picture), but only if the penguins are on holiday to the north pole. Being flightless birds however, who knows how they get there - perhaps they've started an airline?
25 November 2007
Humans and Dinosaurs
Hope all of you in the blogosphere had a happy Thanksgiving!
A tradition of mine is to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving as a spectator sport - Americans are crazy and are willing to stand in hour long lines just to save $10.
At first, I must admit that I was upset that kids might get the wrong impression that humans and dinosaurs ever lived at the same time. However, with a name like Imaginext I can see why the scenario of humans and dinosaurs living together might be a fun thing for kids to imagine.
It turns out, however, that creationists think that this idea isn't just good fun, but rather that the Bible tells them humans and dinosaurs lived together. If you google "humans and dinosaurs" the first several hits are all from creationist websites. Instead of linking to any of these sites, I'll direct you to this blog entry instead that extracted some real gems on the topics of the Bible and dinosaurs. The fact that the old testament mentions dragons and that some people think this is the end all source of information just cracks me up.
08 November 2007
Bring out your inner squirrel
Have you ever wanted to fly (well, glide) like a flying squirrel or a sugar glider? Then, this week's video demonstrates wingsuits in action.
(pictures taken from here, here, and here, respectively.)
A great example of a product inspired by animal adaptations.
06 November 2007
Biology on Etsy
I discovered Etsy last year (it's a site where crafts, art, and all things handmade are sold by the people who create them). The products you can find there are only limited by the imagination of artisans.
So, now that the holiday season is (almost) upon us, I was curious if people were creating biologically inclined crafts. See them below the fold.
Darwin and finch pillow.
Rodent Evolution Journal (the seller has other biological journals).
DNA beaded bracelet.
Clocks with plant cell types. The clock above features stomata.
16 October 2007
Gummy Tapeworm
Well, it's official, I've spotted my first displays of Christmas items for sale (before Halloween this year even). So, for your winter holiday gift giving occasion, why not give a gummy tapeworm from Archie McPhee.
Not only good for your parisitologist friends, but anyone brave enough to eat its gummy proglottids. Or if you're like me and would rather not be thinking about the commercialism of December already, why not buy some and give them out to trick-or-treaters.
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