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Dan Looks at Office Toys

Daniel Rutter writes "In a move that's made me wonder afresh whether I'm actually living this life or just dreaming it, I've just put up a review of a bunch of office toys. Two rubber band guns, a pneumatic ping-pong ball launcher, a bubble gun, some iridescent bouncing putty, a frickin' CROSSBOW that shoots sucker darts, and a couple of high-flying ring-ins that aren't really suitable for indoor play at all."

16 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wait, didn't all the .com's go out of business because of this crap?

    I dislike work as is, do I really need someone shooting darts at me?

  2. I've only this to say... by acehole · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's all fun and games till someone looses an eye.

    (Even then you point and laugh)

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  3. what? no rubber-band machine gun by lingqi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    like this?

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  4. rubber band guns by crystalplague · · Score: 5, Funny

    me and my friend use to set up pillow bunkers in his room about 20 feet apart and use his 2 rubber band guns in wars. those things HURT. Especially when the main tactic was to make a fully enclosed bunker except for an eye hole...which in retrospect was not a good tactic. Ever been hit with super stretched rubber bands from 20 feet away in the eye at 5hits/sec? not fun...oh the blindness, the pain. all in all though it was good fun until one person decided "screw this" and rushed the other, ripping down his bunker and holding the gun up to whatever bare skin he could find and unloading.

  5. The Bandit Crossbow! by Mzilikazi · · Score: 4, Informative
    I had one of those when I was a kid. Or rather, my little gun nut brother did, but I used it frequently. Back in the 80s, toy guns didn't have to be bright fluorescent colors, so it was a sleek matte black. The little suction cup darts were fun and all, but this toy definitely lent itself to some modification.

    First, you could get more power out of each shot by looping the string around the ends of the bow. This slight modification meant that the suction cup darts would go way to fast to stick to anything, but would hurt like a muthafucka. The next step, naturally, was to replace the safe and cushy ammunition with sharpened pencils, which worked great. They would stick in the wall if aimed properly. (Of course, eye protection was important here, because occasionally shots would get flipped straight up instead of horizontally.)

    Steel ball bearings didn't work as well, but that's what the slingshot was for. :)

    God that thing was fun.

    Cheers,
    Mziliazki

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    1. Re:The Bandit Crossbow! by ebh · · Score: 3, Funny

      This has to be the first time a Slashdot post has been referred to *in the original article*!

    2. Re:The Bandit Crossbow! by mike3411 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Which prompts the question, a la the chicken/egg fiasco, which came first, the article or the slashdot post referencing the article?

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  6. The Humble Office Chair by IntelliTubbie · · Score: 5, Funny
    Why a standard-issue ergonomic office chair is the ultimate cube toy:
    • Can be operated as a stand-alone unit (chair goes up! chair goes down! chair goes up!) or in a networked environment (a vigorous game of CHAIRBALL).
    • Easily disguised as an "innocent" piece of furniture.
    • Unlike a rubber band machine gun, your company will probably pay for you to have one.
    • Marginally more comfortable to sit on than a crossbow.
    Cheers,
    IT
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  7. A hundred pounds of silly puddy by zenyu · · Score: 5, Funny


    I just keep repeating that over and over again in my head. $800+S/H.

    I could finally discover how big a silly puddy ball can get and still bounce...

    I could glue a cat to the wall by it's paws!

    I could transfer an entire newspaper to puddy!

  8. Why not... by Polo · · Score: 4, Funny
    Why not cut to the chase and bring to work...
  9. Re:Ricochet/Metricom and office toys by Sorthum · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh, the irony that the company was named "Ricochet."

  10. Office Toys I Enjoy by guttentag · · Score: 3, Funny
    • PS2
    • Wireless DSL connection
    • Cable TV
    • Full-sized refrigerator
    • My couch
    • My backyard
    • My bed
    Oh, wait. Do you have to be employed to answer this survey? I can't remember what toys I used to play with... they all seem so insignificant by comparison.
  11. Re:BURP Gun by fmaxwell · · Score: 3, Funny

    The BURP gun just looks like a glorified penis pump.

    I wouldn't know...

  12. Mod that guy up! by fmaxwell · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That was a +5 insightful/funny comment if I ever read one!

    For you folks that haven't looked lately, the job market for computer professionals is in the toilet. Restored arcade video games, all the free soda you want, bringing your pets to work, dressing like a you're at a Grateful Dead concert, and running around the office like a kid with ADD who forgot their Ritalin is out. Companies can hire professionals that look, dress, and behave the part. If you refuse to work somewhere unless they have a shiatsu massage chair, then apply at Brookstone because you're not going to find a tech job that does anymore.

  13. Older Brother? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I had a matte black bandit crossbow and I have an older brother.. hm.. ;)

    Seriously, these things did hurt like a motherfucka when altered as you said. I found the best trick was to ditch the default rope that came with it and use a tighter wire, but still wrap it around the corners of the bow. Pencils were not really the best ammo since they were so thin, they sometimes got swept over and didn't fire, or fired waaaay off kilter when did. No, the best ammo when properly tightened is a fat Crayola(tm) magic marker, of course with the cap off ;)

    The best ammo I ever made for it was a small amber medicine bottle filled with ball bearing. My gullible best friend let me shoot things off the top of his head. Even when experimenting with the bottle o' bearings. Let's just say I didn't account for the weight of the bottle slightly dropping it, and my (one time) best friend didn't appreciate his hospital visit.

    God, that was fun.

  14. Dan's Desktop Trebuchet by lugonn · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I still think this, is the best toy Dan's got.

    I built one almost like it. but I didn't use a kit. Just some Bass wood stock/dowels, glue, large paper clips (trigger, release), and hemp cord.

    Shoots quarters/nickels 30 ft. w/1 lbs. counter weight. Needs more weight so I can shoot heavy split shots though.