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Ever wonder what it would be like to be an oppressed citizen in the USSR in 1984? Here's your chance. For a mere 220 American Dollars you can visit the newest, hippest theme park in Lithuania and be swept back into the glory days of Soviet Russia. A past bunker of the Soviet Union has now been converted to a historical reenactment site."On entry, all belongings, including money, cameras and phones, are handed over and under the watchful eye of guards and alsatians, tourists change into threadbare Soviet coats and are herded through the bunker.
Experiences include watching TV programs from 1984, wearing gas masks, learning the Soviet anthem under duress, eating typical Soviet food (with genuine Soviet tableware) and even undergoing a concentration-camp-style interrogation and medical check."
Geeks love classic Nintendo and since many techies are also handy at hacking electronics, it’s no surprise that there are tons of mods for old Nintendo controllers. Whether you’re a big fan of Mario, Zelda, Contra or Bomberman, these classic Nintendo controller hacks are sure to remind you of the good ol’ days of gaming.
Ding-dong. Who’s there? Does it really matter when you have an awesomely geektastic doorbell like this? When I posted this one on Neatorama last year, we got quite a few notable comments, some wondering if hitting the right button code would make the secret door in your house open up and others desperately hoping that the ring would be the theme song for Mario. Whatever the specifics though, this thing is pretty darn cool.
If you’re looking for a Nintendo controller mod that could save your life, then try this LED bike light made from a controller. While it’s own creator seems to hate it, saying, “I had yet to see an NES controller bike flasher, and what could be more tacky then modding it with ultrabright LEDs,” it still is both functional and far more stylish than standard rear bike lights.
If you think people look at you crazy when you use a Bluetooth, just imagine how insane they’ll think you are when they see you talking into a Nintendo controller. Fortunately, you can do so without actually losing your mind if you just follow the tutorial on DIY Happy that shows you how to turn your controller into a cell phone.
Sure you can control your iPod directly using their patented click wheel, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, owners of 3rd and 4th gen iPods can hack a Nintendo controller into being a wired remote control. Sure it’s a bit pointless, but not everyone has mastered the art of blending style with functionality.
Perhaps you don’t have a 3rd or 4th generation iPod though, don’t worry, you can still play with your Apple toy with a Nintendo attachment if you simply build yourself a cool docking station like this one. While it was made specifically for the iPhone, it seems like it would also work for any iPod with minimal adjustments.
But why just dock or control an iPod with a controller when you could, instead make your controller into the mp3 player? This one is great because every button actually does something and the device can plug directly into your computer. Plus, you can even attach it to these sweet cartridge speakers for even more rocking old school gaming fun.
Card readers are incredibly handy, but man are they boring to look at. If you want to spice up your desk area, then the instructions on this blog post can teach you how to combine the inside of your favorite card reader with the outside of a Nintendo controller. I haven’t tried this myself, but it does look incredibly simple, which is always a plus.
With all these mods that can be hooked into a USB-port, it seems only logical to go ahead and make a hub for all of them. Of course, I would recommend adding a slightly longer cord to yours, but that’s just me.
Now that you have 4 ports of Nintendo goodness, why not go ahead and make a flash drive out of a controller? The best part of this one is the fact that the drive has a security feature that makes it operate only after the user has entered the Konami code. I know you Neatonauts love that idea.
What better way to open the files on your Nintendo USB drive that’s hooked into a Nintendo USB hub than with a Nintendo computer mouse? While this optical mouse looks neat, it can’t move around as well on your desk and it certainly isn’t very ergonomic. I guess that’s the price you pay for computer fashion.
Speaking of fashion, maybe you’re not so good at working with electronics but you still want to show off your love of the Nintendo controller. In that case, the NES belt is a perfect choice for you to show off your fashion geekery without having to learn about all the inner workings of the controller itself.
For those who aren’t into hard plastic belt buckles, there is still hope for your Nintendo fashion needs. While making a Zip-up controller wallet is bound to be a little more difficult, it’s still a great place to hold on to your change.
While the rest of the controllers included here are actual Nintendo controllers hacked into serving other functions, this is a hand-made giant Nintendo controller that can not only operate as a coffee table, but is also wired up to work on a classic Nintendo system. It even opens up to reveal a nice storage space where you can put away your games when you’re done playing. Talk about functional! Have any of you tried modding a Nintendo controller or do you plan to try any of these ideas out? Tell us about it in the comments.
These days, merchandise is made out of everything possible. The more popular the movie or book, the weirder the merch that seems to come out. The ultimate proof lies in the amazing mountains of merchandise produced for Star Wars. There’s even enough of these themed goodies to deck out your whole kitchen in Star Wars cooking toys, here are 12 of the most awe-inspiring Star Wars kitchen gadgets around.
While this toaster looks admittedly awesome and pretty high-quality, it’s obviously the imprint of Darth’s mask that most fans are after. Of course, the problem is that your toast will be incredibly inconsistent in texture and taste. The edges are browned, Darth is a little burned and the rest is practically raw. If they just added a sound track so it would play the Imperial March as it heated though, I think I could quickly forget those other problems .
If you start off your morning with a nice slice of Vader toast, why not finish up the evening with a nice frothy brew from your hefty Darth Vader stein? Just be sure you don’t drink enough that you end up getting seduced into joining the dark side.
I love merchandise that isn’t actually intended for use. Take this piece for example, what’s the point of making a R2D2 cookie jar if you can’t even put cookies inside of it? Sure it looks cool, but so would a statue. Really though if you really want this thing, don’t let the fact that it probably contains lead and will poison your cookies stop you from buying it. Instead, just fill it with store-bought, individually-wrapped cookies. Image via Technabob
This R2D2 peppermill is mighty cute and highly useful, but doesn’t it seem like a peppermill based on a droid should be an electric grinder? Even so, this manually-operated droid will still help spice up your seasonings cabinet.
R2’s simple shape has made him a favorite for kitchen accessories, which makes it no wonder that he also works as an ideal soy sauce dispenser. Serve up your sushi with this cute soy sauce holder and some awesome lightsaber chopsticks and your guests will be sure to understand that they’re in for a dinner that’s out of this world…perhaps even from a galaxy far, far away.
Roastmyweenie.com made these awesome, unauthorized grill accessories back in 2008, but any mention of them seems to be stripped from the website, which means they probably got in trouble for copyright infringement.
Nevertheless, there’s something delightfully fun about a weenie roaster that looks like it’s about to fly into the death star for an epic battle scene. And how wonderfully intimidating are those hot dog missiles?
I have never been so bummed that a piece of merchandise wasn’t actually made until I saw this barbecue. I mean, who wouldn’t want to own this? These days, this thing would be even more awesome because you could not only use it to grill up some grub, you could also buy a spare and fill it with lighter fluid and other flammables and then shoot it so it would explode. Then you could put the video on YouTube for instant internet celebrity status as a real-life Luke Skywalker…then again, maybe it’s thinking like this that led them to can the idea.
This is another rejected piece of merchandise that is simply too good to have not made it to the market. The only way this could be better would be if it were a regular fridge so Hans could be closer to life size. Can you imagine a cooler refrigerator for a bachelor pad? I sure can’t.
While you may not be able to actually own your own Hans Solo mini fridge, you could always try asking artist Robert Saccenti to make you a recreation of his artistic rendition of Hans Solo frozen in guacamole, titled, “He’s No Guac To Me Dead.”
While the thing used over 50 avocados worth of guacamole, you probably would want to skip actually eating it, considering Hans has silver paint and starch all over his body. Surprisingly, this guy only won second place for his presentation in the 2009 Guac Bowl. I call foul!
In space, giant slugs can be seriously bad news as they try to swallow your ship whole, but when you’re in the kitchen, space slugs can be quite “handy.” Now you can finally use an oven mitt without feeling like your grandma. Now that you have all your space accessories, you’d better grab a Star Wars cookbook and get down with your wookie cookie-making self.
