Best New Toys and Games

Many strange things in history have been invented to make a task easier or to just have some fun. Here are three such inventions - all unusual and designed for problems of the head.

If you have children, you already know: They have boundless amounts of energy. No matter what you do, it cannot be contained, right?

Well, think again.

Zen Design Group, based in Berkley, Mich., is now offering a line of toys that convert children's energy into electricity

The creation of the next hot toy or snack is often a long one, involving lots of time and market research. But did you know that the ever-popular Silly Putty, the Slinky and the Popsicle were all invented accidentally?

The advancements of the last thirty years have raised the invention stakes for everyone. What's wrong with that, you ask? Nothing, except that this often results in the less creative among us churning out mediocre or bad ideas when they could be doing something much more productive, like removing shopping carts from the parking lot at a local Wal-Mart! In my opinion, the following two patented inventions illustrate this point exactly.

Brett Foster, who is soon to be the hero of little girls everywhere, made a tiny working television set at a scale of 1:12 and is selling them online for the tune of about $200. This is the real deal, kids.

Have you ever wondered what you could do with crayons other than draw or eat them? Artist Diem Chau crafts detailed sculptures on them.

The site for the 2009 World Cyber Games video game tournament has been announced. It's a first-ever for China.

Speed-cubing - the "sport" of solving Rubik's Cube as quickly as possible - just got a little easier (or at least, faster) with the introduction of the Speed Cubing Kit from MegaHouse.

What do you do when you want to try sufing but a trip to either coast is out of the question? Well you can try to make your own massive waves...but the easier way would be to simply buy a Monojet Surf Board.