If a toy is cool and trendy, chances are good that it comes from Japan. A lot of people think that Japanese toys are going to fall out of favor — after all, this is a global society now, and it’s not like China isn’t cranking out hits. However, there’s something special about the culture of technology that you’ll find in Japan. If you’re thinking about going to really have a good time, you can’t skip over Japan at all — not when it comes to high tech toys.

Check out 7 cool toys from Japan, and then tell us that you’re not interested in any of them. Go on, we actually dare you to take it there with us.

1. A Pregnant Doll!

OK, this has to be one of the most bizarre toys from Japan that we’ve seen in a long time. It’s a toy that definitely seems to defy everything that we know about toys, because this just doesn’t seem interesting to us at all. Maybe this might be something your health teacher picks up to scare you into using a condom or, better yet — to never have sex. Ever.

Actually, if you want the truth, these dolls are from the 18th and 19th centuries. They were used to “satisfy a deep curiosity for the mysteries of life”. Yeeeeah. OK.

2.  Tuttuki Bako!

This is a toy from Japan that lets you stick your finger into the hole on the side and interact with a strange and unique world. OK, it’s not one of the most interesting that we’ve seen, but we can see how people would want to play with this for a while.

3. An Edamame Keychain?

How cute is this? It’s a little edamame keychain! Look at the vibrant green! I can just imagine cute little Japanese schoolgirls using this keychain — as they merrily skip from side to side. OK, maybe we’ve been watching too much anime around the office…

What’s neat about this keychain is that the little popping edamame actually do pop in and out of their little pod — all three of them. It’s definitely cute, and it’s something to just pick up your spirits. Read more »

High heels and Hollywood have gone hand in hand for a long time. In fact, the craze for high heels has gotten so strong that even regular people think that they need to be in high heels all the time.

It’s a great debate in both fashion as well as feminist circles about the role that high heels really play. Many women, like Victoria Beckham, would never think to go outside without a good pair of high heeled shoes on. It’s a matter of taste for them. They feel more feminine when they actually have these shoes on, while other women might feel just plain ridiculous.

Feminists argue that high heeled shoes are just another way to keep women down.

However, when we looked at this:

We just didn’t think that the woman in the picture looked all that oppressed to us. We’re all for women having choices and the truth is that choices cut both ways.

But let’s take the politics out of it and just be honest: high heels are hot. So in that spirit, we wanted to show you 7 crazy, sexy, and funny high heeled shoes that celebrities are trying to walk around in.

1. Coils and …Pink?

This is an Alexander McQueen creation. He’s a fashion designer that is well loved by people like Lady Gaga and Daphne Guinness.

In fact, Alexander McQueen has such a reputation for designing tall high heels that some models can’t even work for him — they keep falling off stage!

2. All White, Big Coils

This is a shoe that Lady Gaga picked up — if you’re not sure where the shoe is from, it’s actually from her “Bad Romance” video. And if you haven’t seen it, you need to YouTube so hard that we think angels are crying. Gaga ooh la la — want your bad romance!

3. Go Sky High!

Now we’ve seen everything. If Megan Fox or Lady Gaga .want to rock this shoe, they can have at it. But we don’t think even the Sex and the City girls would touch this sky high heel anytime soon.

The celebrity look is catching fire with regular women, and they want to walk like that on the runway…and by runway we mean the sidewalk on their way to somewhere trendy like Starbucks. Or is Starbucks not hip enough anymore?

Seriously, where are all of these women gathering? The shoe is going to be less than $100, which means that it’ll be in the hands of women that usually don’t have access to the cutting edge trends. That’s just the way fashion goes.

This is being billed as one of the tallest high heels in the world, and that means that there’s already controversy. The problem with this statement is that there is already the Alexander McQueen shoes that are 10 inches tall.

Which one is going to be more comfortable to actually wear? We’re not really sure, to be honest.

This new tall heel is called the Sky Heel, and it does have a platform to use. This could give you more balance than your classic stiletto, but don’t hope for that. You’ll need to definitely do some runway walking in your bedroom before you really take this shoe to the streets. Read more »

Whoa. There’s something extreme about science. Of course, saying that anything is “extreme” these days isn’t very extreme. However, what does it really take to be an extreme scientific wonder? Well, it has to be something that’s going to be all about moving science forward, or being the “hottest”, or the most radioactive, or even the hardest substance on earth. We’re extremely excited to talk about all things science-y and well…extreme.

Now, we know that this isn’t one of our usual crazy and funny posts, but work with us here. Deep down, we’re just nerds on the inside, okay? Okay? It means that sometimes we really just need to let that nerdy side out and connect on a different level. Hey, we’re in good company — the nerds in the crowd are waiting for us to spill the beans on the science joy, and we’re ready to give it to them. So if you’re feeling a bit put out, just think of it as nerd’s revenge.

Onward to the science stuff!

1. Diamonds Go Hard…Real Hard…

Is our inner scientist conflicting with our inner nerd? No, we’re just talking about diamonds. As you might have remembered from science class, diamonds are considered one of the hardest substances on earth. It’s ranked 9 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, but it’s not truly the hardest substance known to man.

What is the hardest substance is called an aggregated diamond nanorod. As you might tell from the name, this is actually a group of nano-scale diamonds, which are tightly packed together. This is something that is developed in the lab, not in nature which means that the diamond still is the hardest substance that is known in nature.

The scientific gains that come from diamond nanorods are plenty — for starters, companies will use them as super-strong versions of the industrial diamonds that are already in use. Some jewelers use diamond cutters to shape weaker metals like silver and copper to give it more of a customized look. Of course, who discovered this nifty little thing? The Germans, of course!

2. The Super Magnet!

This is a fairly new scientific wonder that was just discovered but it’s already got scientists excited. And if you haven’t seen a bunch of nerds get excited, you just need to go to a Star Trek convention. Yes, Star Trek will never die. Deal with it.

Back to the science. This is a small magnet that is actually constructed from iron and nitrogen. On their own, you wouldn’t think much of the magnetic properties. However, when you combine them together you actually have a product that’s pretty deadly. If there’s anything that we’ve learned so far, we’ve learned that magnets have plenty of uses. For example, junkyards use magnets to move cars from place to place. However, if you don’t have a magnet that can handle that type of load, you won’t be able to pick up the car. Yet there’s also a darker outcome: the car could fall off the magnet and crash onto other cars and possibly even threaten people if the junkyard is open to the public. This type of strong magnet pictured here could be developed someday into a magnet system that would prevent this “slippage” from happening.

3. Helium 2 — Superfluidity FTW!

Everyone likes superfluidity …well, everyone in this case referring to the science junkies. If you haven’t caught on why superfluidity is so interesting, let us explain real quick: this is a state of matter that occurs at really low temps, has the same temperature through the entire surface, and no viscosity — it’s truly “liquid”, in other words. There’s one substance that fits this bill to a “T”, and that’s Helium 2.

Helium 2? Yes, that’s right — there’s a second He in the building, and it’s actually a liquid instead of a gas. The weird thing about He2 is that it’ll just up and “leave” a container — spontaneously without any human interaction. It’ll also go through items that we think of as solid — it has no friction whatsoever.

So if you’re paranoid, don’t worry — Helium 2 really is out to get you. Be afraid. Read more »

Death is hard. OK, that was obvious, but you get what we mean. When you lose someone that’s important to you, it can be really hard to step back and actually think about anything except your loss. There are books, movies, and even a few TV shows dedicated to getting over the loss of a loved one.

These people stepped over that part and went to turn their grief into an enduring symbol of compassion and love for the ones they’ve buried — amazing memorials and burial sites for the dead.

Sometimes things around here are crazy. Sometimes things around here are funny. But this is just plain cool, no matter what your feelings are. We’ll admit that some of the items are a little wacky, but hey — that’s the beauty of it all, isn’t it?

So, let’s go back to the wacky and the cool today with 5 super cool graves that you need to see.

1. Go Go BMW!

Who said that you can’t take it with you? We imagine that the person who passed away must have really loved their BMW. While we can’t be sure, it actually looks like a BMW 5-series — those are the ones that are most likely to be done in the convertible style, but it isn’t like the 6 series doesn’t have its share of convertibles too!

For someone that was truly a fan of convertibles, BMW, or just fast cars, this is an amazing tribute. We had to include it first.

2. This Wrench Is For You!

If everyone loves a good screw, then this guy must have loved his tools a whole bunch. We think that the gentlemen resting underground was once a mechanic that really loved doing what he did for a living. What better way to honor your loved one than with a creative headstone that truly captured one of the dearly departed’s favorite hobbies? Though, when we look at all of that granite, it goes without saying that this was probably a pretty expensive piece.

3. To Infinity and Beyond!!

Can we slip in some Toy Story jokes or is that not hip anyone? This is one cool memorial — for one, it’s pretty tall and um, really phallic — knocking out the Toy Story jokes *and* the Freud jokes. Now that’s a twofer we can get behind!

All jokes aside, this is really cool. It’s really a shame that you can’t get any color treatment on the rocket though. That would be sweet — but it wouldn’t last very long! Read more »

When you think about hot girls, chances are good that you’re thinking that they’re going to be in something like Playboy, Maxim, or FHM. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. You might even think about them connected with something awesome, like poker.

Who ever thought that there would be women that really like cooking, and are actually hot? There are quite a few cooking cuties out there, and television has never been the same since.

Don’t believe us? Check out this crazy list of 5 “cooking cuties” that we’re loving right now.

1. Rachael Ray

A lot of people don’t like Rachael Ray, and we know that the anti-Rays might be in full force after this one. However, we think that she’s radiant. A lot of the criticism stems from the fact that Rachael Ray is rarely grouchy on air and she has a bit of a rough, husky voice. However, those are qualities that we find appealing. Food is supposed to be fun and enjoyable, so why not make it so that the star of the show is a happy person by default. Rachael Ray strikes us as a woman that really is that happy all the time, and she lights up the room with her presence. Definitely someone that we would love to have dinner with and even go out for a few drinks.

She’s an author, a TV show host, an incredible spokeswoman, and has even posed for FHM. Yummy.

2. Giada de Laurentiis

When it comes to Giada de Laurentiis, there’s one thing that you need to know — she’s hot. And she can actually cook her cute oversized head off! She’s worked at Spago, a Wolfgang Puck-run restaurant creation. Anyone tapped by Wolfgang himself to run things in his restaurant is definitely a cook that shouldn’t be taken lightly. The good looks run in the family — her mother was an actress, and she really is Italian, like from Italy — even though a lot of people say her voice is grating, we think Giada’s soft Italian accent on things is rather nice.

Giada currently runs five shows for Food Network and is supposed to be working on some cookbooks right now.

3. Nigella Lawson

Now, some would say that Nigella Lawson really isn’t that hot, but the truth is that it’s nice to see a more full figured woman taking the spotlight. It looks good to see a woman with some meat on her bones, and it helps that she’s got such a sexy British accent. Read more »