I think infinity mirror’s are cool. I want to get a smart gift like that for a friend. But not an infinity mirror. What other cool gift can I order online that’s AS COOL AS an infinity mirror? Preferably 20$ to 50$
Those little parabola mirrors that make the toy seem to float above.
Newton’s cradle
Good quality Rubik’s cube
Prism color cube
I’ll list a few that I like but with no links because I don’t want to use Amazon and most results that I find are limited to EU based shops anyway so not sure if it helps you. But I am sure you’ll be able to look them up
Sand pendulum. Basically a pendulum that draws patterns on very fine sand. If you see them you can probably make one yourself that is even cooler
Double Pendulum, pretty cool to look at
Gyroscopes.
Tensegrity models. Those floating style structures that actually hang
Decorations with magnetic sand or fluid
This thread just walked me back into Sharper Image circa 2003
Magnetic sand hour glass
I’ve always liked those magnetic levitating globes!
(You can also find magnetic levitating <insert TV show prop here> for a variety of tv shows and video games)
Gonna suggest a kinetic sand table. The tabletop is glass and underneath there’s a bunch of sand and a metal ball that rolls around drawing patterns. They’re pretty neat.
I built one of these (shoutout to V1Engineering) and a $20-$50 budget will get you maybe 10% of the way there.
Little piece of bismuth was a good gift I gave, small desk ornament or such
Socks.
Awesome, and you can get them in different colors, like grey, or black, or blue, or beige. Not white though. White socks are only for playing sports.
A desktop stirling engine makes for a fun kinetic sculpture. They’re powered by temperature differential such as by setting it over your morning coffee/tea or just the warmth of the sunlight hitting it.
If the recipient is technically inclined, then a kit for a mini tesla coil would be cool
RGB LED strip kit. Can use as backlighting for a mirror or tv, and could later be used to make an infinity mirror.
I’ve always thought Galileo Thermometers were pretty cool.
Arc electric lighters
Euler’s Disc, along with the most solid glass mirror you can find.
If you’re wanting something that makes for a neat, mesmerising visual effect, maybe a plasma ball?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_globe
It looks like they’re available on Amazon for the mid-to-low end of that price range.
X-Files Theme plays
I feel like the novelty of these things wears off almost immediately
