Category Archives: Health
Geeky Paper Lunch Bag Prints
UPDATE (April 28th/2013): Krusty Burger now added! My way of saying thanks to the influx of hobbyists coming here daily to make these.
The new template is below with the others. Original post as follows:
Another printable for you to tackle, for those who like really easy DIY. These are logos you can print onto your paper lunch bag to make it look like a take-out bag:
You can use white paper bags or regular brown bags (for that McDonald’s look). Your choices are Los Pollos Hermanos, The Krusty Krab, Mooby’s, and Smiley’s (that only took a minute to make so why not?).
You can find the instructions and downloads after the jump. Read the rest of this entry
About That WWF Wrestling Bed
A little over a year ago I was doing a series for geeky beds, and one design was a WWF-styled wrestling ring bed. It’s one of my most popular posts and I am emailed frequently by those looking for one. I do not make or sell beds, I’m just a designer. However there are ways to acquire such a bed:
Earlier this year a company in Bahrain actually made a custom bed for a lucky customer:
So if you’re in that neck of the woods, you can ask them to make you one as well. You can find their website here. (UPDATE: Sorry it looks like that company is closed now.)
However you can enlist just about any custom furniture business to craft one for you. The bed would entail: a custom frame, specially-made buckles and ropes, and a custom bed cover. The frame would need some large decals for decoration. It won’t be cheap, I assure you.
Using “off-the-shelf” parts from an actual boxing or wrestling ring is not an option. Those are pretty heavy-duty and too large for your bed frame (even a King size bed). If you want to modify actual parts you can find them here.
For the finished bed seen above it appears to me the turn buckles are pillow-like enclosures wrapped around the ropes. The ropes themselves appear to be similar to “velvet ropes” which are easy to acquire.
Instead of building a whole bed from scratch, you could probably add to an existing bed by building a frame for the ropes to latch onto. All the corner posts would need to be connected to ensure some sort of stability.
And lastly if you do make one, THESE AREN’T SAFE FOR WRESTLING!!! They are just for show. It would be fun to jump into and out of, but that’s it. No “going off the top rope” or trying to execute crazy wrestler moves. I would also design the ropes to easily detach to prevent kids from getting all tangled up. I like how the completed design above has one side without any ropes, great for accessibility.
Hopefully that answers some questions. I know many would prefer a ready-made product they can purchase and assemble themselves, but for now there is no such thing.
UPDATE: You can actually buy an MMA-themed bed here (also just for kids).
Comic Book Mirrors
I had a mullet last year. Not something I’m proud of.
The idea of using a magazine cover as a mirror is an old one. Why not a comic book-themed mirror for us geeks?
This would be a large mirror (bathroom or dresser mirror, or a tall full-body mirror), because most comics feature the entire figure within the cover frame. The mirror would be adorned with stickers or decals featuring your favorite superhero’s logo, book title, publishing mast, bar code — all the bells and whistles.
In my opinion this mirror would be a great confidence booster. Think of it: if you are seeing yourself labelled as Superman or Wonder Woman everyday, you might subconsciously subscribe to the notion that you are indeed super*.
This would be a great DIY project. One thing to be wary of: if you are tackling the bathroom mirror, you are going to need some decals fit for a car because of the steam and moisture. Go to an auto detailing place because those decals are designed to withstand the elements (warning: you’ll need a paint stripping heat gun to remove the decals).
If anyone has any tips in regards to decals or large sticker printing (especially a website that specializes in them), please leave a comment and I’ll update this post.
UPDATE: A local car graphics company has informed me that vinyl decals will indeed do the trick. They are waterproof and UV resistant and all that jazz.
*If you’re reading this blog, you are super.
Superman Cape Towel
A couple years ago I started my Geeky IKEA series, and one of the first items was a desk based on the Fortress of Solitude. In truth, that idea was far less ambitious than I originally envisioned. I wanted a WHOLE bathroom based on the Fortress, one that would feature a sink that looked like the crystal control panel, a shower cabinet which resembled the chamber that turned Superman into a human (Superman II), lots of frosted glass – the whole nine yards. The topper was some towels that were plain blue, and one that looked like Superman’s cape.
I abandoned the idea because I felt it was too ambitious and I didn’t want to deal with a toilet ruining the concept! So I went with the desk.
I then remembered the cool towels. And just like the previous post, I am surprised these don’t exist! It just makes sense that geeks — well, men in general — would love to have the cape hanging there when not in use. As if to announce hey I am Superman, just gotta hang up my cape while I wash-up. Grunt. Snort. And yes, many ladies would like to be Supergirl too.
This only works with Superman/Supergirl, as they were the only heroes to have a logo prominently on the cape. I suppose you could do a black Batman cape with multiple pointed ends, but it is nowhere near as iconic as this.
Like I said these aren’t available at all, but you could easily have these made wherever they personalize towels. The logo would need to sit near the middle, like the above example (a long towel folded over a rack).
Duracell Battery Coffee Thermos Container
I post lots of ideas, but once in a while I am shocked – shocked – that a particular item doesn’t already exist. Case in point: this thermos/beverage container fashioned after a Duracell coppertop. Considering our dependency on coffee as a source of energy, it makes perfect sense. Plus the design of the battery resembles your typical thermos.
It might look a little alarming to a passerby to see someone open a giant battery and casually drink its contents, but that is part of the charm. I can also envision people asking to be ‘recharged’ when they fill this up at a Dunkin’ Donuts/Tim Hortons.
This design would only work with Duracell batteries as they are iconic. Plus the coppertop makes for the perfect partition between the cup and container.
One thing I couldn’t get my head around was that protruding contact at the top of the battery, because the cup needed to sit flat. So I just designed the contact to sink into a cavity when the cup is sitting on a surface. There would be a spring inside to keep the contact outward, to maintain the appearance of a battery when the cup is screwed on.
Other posts you might dig: Kool-Aid water bottle, McDonald’s lunch box, Superman Ziploc bags, Super Mario Toaster, and my greatest food idea ever.
Perfection Board Game Health Reminder
It is recommended that you take a break every hour from working on the computer or playing video games on the couch. Prolonged periods of sitting and doing repetitive motions can lead to RSI or DEATH. Well, probably not death. But you could become fused to the chair. Ew.
The problem is that the duration of sessions on the computer or game console can be difficult to gauge. For many, hours can fly by effortlessly while they are engaged in their work or game. It’s tough to enforce a routine break for yourself.
So I created this egg timer design based on the board game Perfection. You set the intervals for your break at 30 minutes or hourly, and the yellow play pieces will pop up slightly at every interval, reminding you to stand up and take five minutes.
It wouldn’t have the loud winding timer like the board game, the dial is just used to set the break frequency. Just a ‘pop’ and subsequent rattle of play pieces every hour to alert you. Initially I thought it would be fun to have all the pieces thrown from the timer – like the board game – but that is too high maintenance and could become annoying.
This would be a fun-looking yet helpful device for your desktop. I wouldn’t be surprised if your nearby co-workers also used the timer as well.
Kool-Aid Sports Bottle
I was in the grocery store when I noticed the bulbous shape located at the top of a few drink bottles, such as Gatorade and Sunny D to name a few. It then occurred to me it would be cool to turn that bulbous shape into a familiar mascot – the Kool-Aid Man. And presto, a manly sports bottle idea was born.
It is your typical reusable sports bottle, only with the molded shape of the Kool-Aid Man seemingly “perched” at the top. The jug handle would be used for a fastening strap if needed.
I believe this bottle design would be easy to execute. I’ve seen many intricate plastic molds made for disposable bottles of all things, and did my best to make this design similar in scope. This would be a novelty item, as I doubt Kool-Aid would attempt to take on Gatorade and Powerade in the sports drink category.
Added art: Here is the bottle sans juice:
