I love reading Dan's Data. No other site so reliably rounds up useless but impossibly cool scientific gadgetry. I can't justify buying all this crap, so I'll just throw it out here. If you're looking for something science-y to put on your desk that's a little more interesting than a set of those goddamn clicking chrome balls, these should fit the bill:

• An electromagnet that can lift 500lbs -- running off two D batteries. That's got to be useful for something, right?


• Or are you looking for finger-breaking fun but hate replacing batteries? Well why not buy yourself a gigantic rare-earth magnet? Besides the broken finger part, I mean.


• It would be irresponsible to imply that at-home science is exclusively about hurting yourself. There are also large parts of it devoted to ruining your furniture. So how about some ferromagnetic fluid? It's a freaky black liquid that changes shape in a magnetic field. These guys have a starter kit that's only sixteen bucks.


• Alright, so magnetism's awesome and all, but if you'd prefer using a different sort of invisible force to amaze and terrify your coworkers, you could just get one of these. "Like being punched by a ghost." Cool.