MEGATech Showcase: Chill Out Your Inner Geek

Summer might technically be over, but there should still be plenty of decent weather left, and maybe even enough time to throw one last backyard party. In which case, you’ll probably be serving drinks be they of the soft or alcoholic variety, and those drinks are going to need some ice. The best part about the ice cube trays in this showcase is not just that they make wildly interesting ice shapes, but that they are made of silicone. Why is that the best part? Because you can make things other than ice with them. Cupcakes. Candy. Jello. Any food item that starts as liquid and becomes solid either through chilling or heating can be made into these shapes. I’m seriously considering making my usual holiday trays of cookies using some of them, purely because I can.

First up is a Boba Fett tray. It makes two shapes: His helmet and his Mandalorian symbol. Each tray will create three of each shape, and the tray is dishwasher safe. The tray itself measures 6.25? x 4.25? x 1?, which I would guess makes each “cube” about 1 1/2″ square. You can pick one up for just $10.00 US. At that price, why not get two?

Source: Gadget Review

These are kind of fun, aren’t they? If you’re wondering, this one makes little frozen replicas of Thor’s Hammer. It makes seven at a time (which is a weird number, but I can live with it), and is dishwasher safe. Of course, your guests may think you’ve given them the real hammer, but you can sit back and laugh at them when it melts in their hands. You’ll have to shell out $13.99 US for this one, available for pre-order now to be shipped in January.

Source: 7 Gadgets

Has anyone ever told you to “take a chill pill”? If you’re already upset, that doesn’t help. But what if they gave you a couple of chill pills floating in a glass of your favourite beverage? That might actually work, especially if said beverage is some high quality Irish whiskey. Or maybe that’s just me. Anyway, the tray measures 6.25″ x 5.75″ x .75″ and makes five at a time. Available now for $8.99 US.

Source: Foolish Gadgets

Wasn’t the Fortress of Solitude made of ice? I’m a little rusty on my Superman facts (I have to admit, I’ve not seen any of the movies since Christopher Reeve played the Man of Steel), but I’m pretty sure that’s it. In which case, these little molds of the “S” for Superman are entirely appropriate. The tray measures 8.5? x 4.5? and makes 12 ice symbols at a time. These have the added bonus of being a size and shape that more closely resembles regular ice cubes, so they’re sure to fit in your glassware. Each tray runs $9.99 US.

Source: Gadget Review

This one is obviously not a standard tray, but I think it’s neat anyway. Each package comes with two molds, which will make a 2″ x 2″ x 2″ ball of ice patterned to look like the earth. Round ice is supposed to be more drink-friendly, and these also make an environmental statement if you want them to. You know…global cooling vs. global warming. If you want to go there. Or, you can just get some because they’re neat. Each set of two molds costs $12.99 US.

Source: Foolish Gadgets

I have a soft spot for the Wizard of Oz. Some might call it an obsession, but I call it being a fan. I’m even taking a day off work to go see the 75th anniversary iMax version of the movie. This tray I actually own, and I love it. It makes eight shapes at a time (two each of our heroine and her friends), and is patterned to look like the yellow brick road. You can get one for between $10.99 and $13.95 US depending on where you shop.

Source: Geek Alerts

Odds are really good I am never going to improve my gaming skills beyond playing Space Invaders. I’m good with that. Especially since I can make 16 Space Invaders shapes at a time with this tray! As with all of the trays in this showcase, this one is dishwasher safe. By the way, if you’ve never played Space Invaders, you really need to. I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or what, but even considering its late 1970’s technology, it’s pretty darn fabulous. The ice cube tray can be yours for $9.99 US.

Source: 7 Gadgets

Speaking of ancient video games…PacMan! I was awful at this one. Perfectly awful. Still am, on the rare occasion when I can be talked into dropping a quarter in the machine (there’s an arcade in a bar here that has all the old games). But I could crunch some ice cubes with no problem! You can make eight PacMan and four ghost figures at one time. You know, maybe if that was the ratio in the actual game I could win…hmm. At any rate, the tray will cost you $10.00 US.

Source: Gadget Review

You knew I couldn’t do this without including these, right? Three daleks and three tardis (tardises?). You probably wouldn’t want to drop these into a rocks glass, but they’d be darn fine in a Sonic Screwdriver (yeah, I know…I was trying to think of something that would work). You can figure out what to use them in…I trust you. Each of these trays runs $12.99 US.

Source: Gadget Review

These don’t strike me as terribly practical for making ice, but I have a vision of some pretty neat cupcakes or cookies. This is the Gentleman’s Ice Tray, and it could lend a sense of class to your next gathering. Or, your drunken friends could pick out the mustaches and hold them under their noses until they slipped out of their hands. That’s what would happen at my house. The tray makes eight shapes, each of which go together to make two different gentlemen, for $6.95 US.

Source: Geek Alerts

This last one isn’t an ice tray, but rather a popsicle mold. Whatever. It occurs to me, however, that while the kid in the picture is cute and silly, if an adult were holding one of these the context would change radically into something decidedly not kid-friendly. Anyway, these are popsicle molds that are, obviously, shaped like super long tongues. They come in a set of two for $10.99 US.

Source: Foolish Gadgets