Pretending and the world of “make believe” is so much fun when you’re a kid. With so many “grown up” things to pretend with, why do I find this coffee pot strange? Given the preponderance of Starbucks throughout the nation, it should come as no surprise that there’s a kid’s pretend coffee maker, however I still find it odd. I love Starbucks just as much as the average guy. Who doesn’t crave an overpriced cup o’ Joe? 🙂 No, I really like them. I just don’t know that I want my kids to be playing “make believe” with their own coffee maker. But if I did want them to start learning the value of caffiene early, I’d certainly get them a Let’s Pretend Coffee maker.

Reccomended for kids ages 3+. Available at Growing Tree Toys for $21.99.

A 21st Century look at the typical “ant farm,” Antworks is based on a 2003 NASA Space Shuttle experiment to study animal life in space and test how ants successfully tunnel in microgravity.

The Antworks gel serves as both habitat and nutrition for your ants – allowing you to watch in awe as they turn a brick of aqua-blue gel into a fascinating colony of tunnels.

Ants are easy to care for, they need no food or water (unlike Fido or Fluffy) and while they don’t provide much companionship, they’re fun to watch!

The ant life expectancy is approximately 6 months. Worker ants will conveniently carry their late brethren to the top of the gel for easy disposal. How nice!

Three interesting facts about ants:

1. Ants are one of the oldest living creatures on earth. Like sharks, they haven’t changed much in millions of years. Nature got it right first time, proving the old axiom “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

2. Ants are the world’s strongest creature in relation to their size. They can carry 10-20 times their bodyweight. They are also the longest living of all insects.

3. At any given moment, there are at least (10 to the 15th power) ants living on earth. That’s 10 Quadrillion ants, representing 0.1% of all the planet’s insects.

Available at ThinkGeek for $19.99.

A neat twist on the standard puzzle, the Mirror Puzzle is just that, a jigsaw puzzle made out of a mirror. Whatever happens to be reflecting in the mirror is the puzzle. Definitely more difficult than a standard puzzle, but also way cooler!

Designed by Tobias Wong and made in New York, it comes with a Lucite top and base. You can pick one up at Uncommon Goods for $200.

(via AskMen.com)

Tired of loose leaf tea in strainers or the standard rectangle or circular shaped tea bags? Want to add a little something different to your daily tea? Tea Forté has re-designed the teabag into something chat worthy. Their take on the tea bag is truly a three-dimensional one. First, they’ve ditched the term “tea bag.” Instead, the company prefers to call them “Silken-Tea-Infusers.”

Each Silken-Tea-Infuser is individually hand-crafted in the shape of a pyramid. Using only exquisite whole-leaf teas and rough cut herbs, Tea Forté has eight different tea varieties: Four herbal (Flora, Lemon Gigner, Oasis, Chamomile Tisane), three black (Forté, Earl Grey, Black Currant), and a green tea (Oasis.)

A little pricey, a tin of fifteeen will cost $24. Available at Tea Forté as well as distinguished reatilers.

(via Treehugger)

No matter who or where you are, one thing is for certain. We will all die. Yes, it’s a morbid, but true thought. If you want to make one final (stlyish) statement from beyond the grave, check out Maximal Design’s Soul Ash Solace.

This unit is a combination coffin and cremation urn, crafted of eco-friendly materials (corrugated board, paper-maché and wood) and according to the manufacturer, is also budget-conscious and burns easily.

On top of the coffin there’s a stainless steel hour glass shaped “memory capsule.” After cremation, this capsule remains, as a reminder that time heals all wounds.

(via Gizmodo)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will bar Continental and Delta from flying to Caracas until Venezuelan carriers are allowed to expand service to the United States. Venezuela is blocked from expanding its U.S. service by a 1995 U.S. Federal Aviation Administration decision that downgraded the country’s security, safety and technical rating.

Venezuela’s Francisco Paz Fleites, head of the country’s civil aviation institute argues in a television interview: “There is a new aviation law and international aviation institute, our radar has improved, as has our control over our planes, pilots and maintenance.”

Also affected is American Airlines, the U.S. carrier with the most service to Venezuela. American’s service will be cut by 70 percent, according to Francisco Paz Fleites, head of the country’s civil aviation institute.

The new restrictions will go into effect on March 1 and apply to both passenger and cargo flights. Combined, the three U.S. airlines have a daily capacity of approximately 3,000 seats on their U.S.-Venezuela routes, company officials said.

(via Bloomberg.com)