MEGATech Showcase: Chilled-Out Geeky Entertaining Beth Snyder March 31, 2014 Features If you live anywhere there is winter, you’ll get this: I have seen robins in my yard on two consecutive days! Which means even though we are still in the grips of the winter that refuses to end, there is hope for spring. With spring comes entertaining. With geeky entertaining comes beverages. And beverages require ice. Well, not all of them, of course, but since I’m going with an “it’s finally getting warmer” theme we’ll just stick with that. Best part? Almost all of these can be used to make chocolates as well as ice, and some of them can even be used in the oven. But primarily I’ll be focusing on the incredibly cool ice cubes they’ll make… pun definitely intended. First we have the Firefly Serenity tray. I’m glad Nathan Fillion has found a new TV home, but I really hope to see him back in the role where he belongs. In the meantime, I can chill my drinks with Serenity, which seems kind of wrong, but not wrong enough I wouldn’t do it. Each Serenity-shaped cube measures 2 3/4? x 1 3/4? x 1?, and the tray makes six at a time. Freezer, dishwasher, and oven-safe (up to 450F), just $9.99 US. Source: Geek Alerts These are a little disconcerting. This tray makes cubes in the shape of Sterling Archer’s gun, and also his face. So you can have Archer’s face staring up at you while you swirl a glass of his favourite bourbon. It’s unclear how many cubes exactly this makes, but it appears to be three each of guns and faces. I could be wrong. You can preorder now at $11.99 US for delivery in April. Source: That’s Nerdalicious Oddly, the thought of floating Homer Simpson’s head in my drinks bothers me not at all. This one gives you ten little Homer heads and is “100% Official.” As with almost all of these trays, this one is made of food-grade silicone and can be used to make chocolates instead. Or doughnuts. Well, more like doughnut holes, but that seems appropriate. Each one costs $9.38 US. Source: Geek Alerts Do you have a crazy cat lady in your life? This could make a wonderful gift! The cat-shaped mold makes nine cat-shaped cubes. Get it? Cats have nine lives. There are nine cubes… Yeah, it’s not that funny. This one is not microwave or oven-safe, and they recommend hand washing. It’s made of silicone and is completely flexible, which allows you to remove your cat-cubes easily. Unfortunately, these are currently out of stock, with no word on when more will be available. Source: Craziest Gadgets Polar bears and ice go together like peanut butter and jelly. Conveniently enough, these polar bear molds are actually intended for making jelly or candies, although they can most certainly be used to make ice as well. These are freezer, microwave, and oven-safe (-58 to 500 degrees F), and are resistant to stains or smells. They’re also dishwasher safe, which is handy. Each mold measures 6.9″ by 7.2″ by 0.6″, and costs $12.95 US. Source: 7 Gadgets What could go better with an RPG session than a D20 made of ice for your drinks? Pretty much nothing, really. This silicone mold is dishwasher safe, and gives you a D20 that measures 2.4 inches in diameter. You can even use it to make D20 cupcakes (oven-safe up to 450F)! It takes about four hours for your ice to freeze solidly enough to grace your drinks, so you’ll want to plan ahead. Each mold costs $11.99 US. Source: Geek Alerts These are really, really neat. Looks just like a drop of rain just fell into your drink, doesn’t it? That’s what these are, the Rainy Day ice cube tray. Each one makes four “drops”, and they’re made of food-safe silicone. Only thing required of you is that you pay attention when you put one in your glass, so the ripples are facing up. I can’t get over how cool these look. These are supposed to be coming in May at a price of $9.99 US each, but they’re not offering pre-orders. You can, however, sign up to be emailed when they arrive. Source: 7 Gadgets Meet Mr. Bones. He’s a silly little skeleton who would love to cool your drinks. The mold itself is shaped like a coffin, with the skeleton inside (about 4 inches long by 6 1/2 inches wide), and makes one skeleton’s worth of ice. It gets better: He’s got a silicone “spine” to connect all his parts. If that doesn’t sound like a fun thing for a party, I don’t know what does. He costs about $10.00 US. Source: Geek Alerts To go along with the skeleton, how about a zombie hand? The Walking Dead might be at the end of the season, but for those of you like me who can’t keep up with it and have to rely on Netflix, this would be a fun thing to use for drinks while watching. It measures 3.15″ w x 5.51″ h x 1.38″ d, and is made of food-grade silicone. It’s only $13.99 US…you want one. You know you do. Source: Foolish Gadgets Is anyone old enough to remember the original Batman TV show? Every time there was a fight, these cartoon balloons would appear on the screen. “Pow!” “Biff!” “Bam!” Now you can float those same words in your drinks, thanks to this silicone ice cube tray. It’s not available yet, but they’re looking at a September delivery. Each one (which makes nine cubes of various shapes) will cost $14.99 US. Source: That’s Nerdalicious Given that this tray measures 27 x 10 x 3.5cm, it would seem these cubes are ridiculously huge. Which is fine if you’re having a drink in a large glass, but might limit which of your glasses you can use. At any rate, it’s neat! It makes four cubes: Darth Vader, C3PO, R2-D2, and a Stormtrooper. If you want one you’d better hurry, as there are very few left in stock. Cost is $19.99 US. Source: 7 Gadgets Prefer a little more variety? These sets of two ice cube trays each might do the trick. Each set costs $17.95 US, and how many and what size cubes each makes depends on the style you choose. One set contains Darth Vader and the Death Star, a second is Darth and a Stormtrooper, a third has Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon, the fourth is Han Solo and R2-D2, a fifth contains R2-D2 and some X-Wing Fighters, and the final set has the Death Star and some X-Wing Fighters. There’s something for everyone! Source: The Gadgeteer These are nice and simple, yet cool. The Marvel X-Men logo, molded in ice. They have the added bonus of not being a goofy shape, which means they’re going to fit in your glasses better than a lot of these, but they still retain their novelty. Each tray is made of silicone, and can be used to make candy or gelatin as well. Pick yours up for $14.99 US. Source: Geek Alerts It’s supposedly been scientifically proven that perfectly round ice balls are better for drinks. Something to do with how fast they melt, which can dilute your beverage. Here we have a set of silicone molds that will create six perfectly round balls of ice to keep your cocktails chilly. You can even add flavouring if you want to enhance your beverages as they melt! These are dishwasher safe, and cost $35.57 US per set. Source: 7 Gadgets Maybe that’s a little rich for your blood. How about some frozen peas? This silicone mold makes three “peas” of ice that appear to be slightly larger than a golf ball. Just fill the mold with water, freeze, and then squeeze out the ice when it’s done. No worries about it spilling before it freezes, either, as it stays upright once filled. Each one is about $15.00 US. Source: Foolish Gadgets Let’s go in the complete opposite direction as far as price goes, shall we? This is the Cocktail Kingdom Professional Ice Ball Maker, and its price tag reflects its pretentious name: You’re going to have to shell out $150.00 US for this thing. But it’s really, really amazing how it works, which might be worth it. You just put a regular cube of ice in the container, and then after a few minutes of pressure and melting it creates a 70mm ball of ice out of it. Check out the video in the source article, it’s pretty neat. Source: Geek.com Share This With The World!
