By Andrew Liszewski

There’s a never ending list of things the iPhone can do, but one thing it certainly can’t is smuggle drinks. In fact, thanks to water sensors and all those electronicy bits inside, it’s a good idea to keep it as far away from any kind of liquids as possible. However, these specially made ‘iPhones’ are a different story. Instead of gyros, wifi, GPS and other components inside, it’s completely empty, with enough space to hold 8 fl. oz. of your beverage of choice. Where you’d normally find the headphone jack is the flask’s opening, which stays sealed with a spring-loaded sliding cover that’s only open when the ‘phone’ is ‘unlocked’ to prevent spillage.

Sadly, the Phone Flasks are just another concept trying to raise funding on just another startup site. In this case, $10,000 at $20 per donation which basically serves as a pre-order for when they eventually go into production. But with only $70 raised and 0 time left, something tells me this product isn’t meant to be.

[ Phone Flasks ] VIA [ I New Idea ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Just the other day I was having a discussion with someone about how difficult it must be to keep vehicles with a matte paint finish clean. And then I came across this. In an attempt to make their Ferrari F430 stand out from the crowd (because, you know, the streets are filled with them) someone with questionable taste wrapped one in leather grain vinyl. Removing a bird dropping is hard enough on a vehicle with a gloss paint finish. Even moreso with a matte finish, and probably just a huge pain in the butt on something like this. On the plus side though, there’s now less risk of someone going and painting this particular Ferrari yellow. (Shudder…)

[ GTspirit.com - Ferrari F430 with Leather Wrap by Dartz ] VIA [ Jalopnik ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Instead of mocking the ridiculousness of a company that sells $12 colored pillows designed to prevent a boiled egg from rolling off a table. I’ve realized I should be commending the company for successfully selling $12 colored pillows whose sole purpose is to prevent a boiled egg from rolling off a table. So congratulations to you Vacu Vin. You saw what Apple did with their stupid iPod Socks and realized you could also make money by slapping some stylish pastel colors on a product no one really needs.

[ Vacu Vin Egg Pillows ] VIA [ Motley Food & 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m not going to discount the joys of doing things in bed. Reading, writing and watching TV are all made more enjoyable when you’re sprawled out on a mattress. But for some activities you just have to draw the line and find the strength to get up. No matter what Brookstone is trying to tell/sell you. I mean look at this thing! The n•a•p is one of those cushions designed to help you sit up in bed, but all pimped out. In fact it looks like they presented a third grader with crayons and paper and asked them to design the ultimate back rest.

There’s a cup holder, pockets and compartments for books and TV remotes, an overhead adjustable LED lamp and even built-in massage functions. That’s right, this bad boy has to be plugged in. The only thing it’s missing is a chilled compartment for your prescription bed sore cream, and maybe a feeding tube because if you’re at the point of using one of these, odds are you can’t be bothered making your way to the kitchen for solid food. Brookstone also wants $99.95 for it, plus what looks like the majority of your bed’s real estate… If life was a board game, humanity would be moving two squares back now.

[ n•a•p Massaging Bed Rest ] VIA [ Fancy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Over on Make, what started as a humorous suggestion to simply use spray paint to un-uglify a couple of old armchairs turned into a fantastic discovery. It turns out there is actually spray paint specifically designed to refresh the look of your old furniture. What’s more surprising? It seems to work pretty well. Simply Spray’s Upholstery Fabric Paint comes in 9 different colors, allowing you to refresh and even completely change the look of your upholstered furniture. Though Make found that it seemed to work best on subtle color shifts, like taking the yellowish chair shown above to orange. While changing the same shade of yellow to blue wasn’t a complete fail, after 4 coats remnants of the chair’s original color were still visible.

The product does have a few quirks though. Like having to basically use the entire can once you start spraying. You can store it mid-use overnight with the nozzle kept under water, but after a few days the rest of the product left in the can will presumably dry out. But since it took 3 entire cans worth to turn the yellow chair orange, it doesn’t sound like a big issue. The chair also had a bit of a crunchy feel right after painting, but it quickly wore off with use. Each can will also cost you about $12 when purchased through Amazon, which will add up when multiple coats are needed. But compared to having the piece completely reupholstered, it’s a bargain.

[ Simply Spray Fabric Paint ] VIA [ Make ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’ve given up the hope of ever being able to comfortably sleep on a plane years ago. It’s a combination of being too tall, and never wanting to look like these people. Now I’ll acknowledge that those inflatable neck pillows do help some people sleep on flights, and are a decent compromise since they can be easily stashed away. These Evolution neck pillows, however, do not. They’re made with memory foam so they’re always going to be as big as a carry-on bag. Not to mention that wearing one makes you look like you’re recovering from a severe neck trauma. And the slot on the side that awkwardly holds your phone or MP3 player? Let’s just say while wearing this you have a good chance of being thrown off the flight by an air marshall for looking ridiculous. $34.99 available from Cabeau.

[ Evolution Neck Pillow ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you find yourself squinting and blinking more often than not when working at a PC, there’s a good chance your eyes are getting tired, or simply dehydrated. So you can either remedy the situation by letting up on your multi-day WoW marathons, or head on over to Japan where J!NS, a company known for their stylish yet affordable eyewear, have concocted these ‘Monitor’ glasses. I’m assuming they come in more color choices than just ‘perfectly rendered pink’, but what’s standard across the line is a small reservoir on either side of the frame. You can probably fill it with water, or some kind of moisturizing eyedrop solution, and it will keep your peepers moisturized and refreshed for up to 2 hours. (Giving you a much needed break when you go to refill them.) Available in Japan come October for ~$50. (¥3,990)

[ J!NS Eyewear ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Until now I thought this gun-concealing pocket watch was the most clever incognito firearm I had ever seen. But while I’m sure no one would have batted an eye at it 70 years ago, walking around with a pocket watch these days is sure to rouse suspicions. So as an alternative, if your business card reads 007 and you have the need for a truly concealed firearm, why not hunt down this rare Zippo gun?

Its copper-cased 6mm cartridges are fired out of a barrel where you’d normally find a Zippo’s wick, and of course instead of a trigger you have to roll the flint striking wheel in order to fire it. Seems pretty safe right? This model, which I’m sure is particularly rare and not officially sanctioned by Zippo, even comes with a Ronson flint dispenser designed to hold the extra cartridges. According to this website it sold at auction back in 2006 for $6,810, though to whom I’ve no idea. But if you do manage to find them, be careful, they’re probably packing a concealed weapon.

[ "Zippo" Lighter Gun Together with Ronson Flint Dispenser with Ammunition ] VIA [ Fancy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

LEGO and wood seem to be the preferred mediums for artists who like to incorporate a technical side into their works. And in this case Kagen Schaefer has chosen wood (his preferred medium) to build this incredibly elaborate Pipe Organ Desk. In fact it’s made entirely from wood, including carved wooden screws, and represents more than 3 years of work. And besides being able to play a single octave by pushing in the various drawers, the desk can also be ‘programmed’ so that when a specific sequence of notes is played, a secret compartment will pop open.

When you push in a drawer on the desk the air is directed to one of the organ pipes at the front of the desk, sounding a note. Some of the air is also directed into a pneumatic logic board. The logic board within the desk actually keeps track of the notes played. When it picks up the correct tune it unlocks a very special secret compartment. The logic board, can be reprogrammed to pick up any tune, so at any time the song may be changed to a new tune. It is powered entirely by air, and it is made entirely from solid wood.

I’d also like to point out that the programmable logic board is also completely made of wood. There are no electronics of any kind here. And it probably goes without saying that the desk isn’t available for sale, unless you’re willing to write out a lot of zeros on a check.

(I wish there was a video of it being played too, but I can’t find one.)

[ Kagen Schaefer - The Pipe Organ Desk ] VIA [ UberReview ]