Novelty & Gag Toys

Charlie Forster was at the library one afternoon in March when he ran into a friend from Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh. "I was like, 'Do you want to come over to my house?" he said. "So we took the bus home and made grilled cheeses and watched that movie 'Her,'" which explores isolation and relationships nurtured via electronic devices. Little did he know that the coronavirus that was spreading across the country would give him and his friends their own lesson in being alone. Their new life started to become clear not long after, when Charlie checked in with another friend about plans to meet for lunch. "She was like, 'My parents -- my mom just read an article about social distancing and is outlawing any get-togethers,'" he recalled. And so that was it. That bland Friday afternoon of grilled cheese and watching "Her" was the last social occasion of senior year, filling in for gradu...

It won't look like it did before everything shut down in mid-March, however. There's no indoor dining, you're limited to parties of six or fewer and tables are going to be farther apart. Stores are limited to half the usual capacity. And it's reservations only at the salon. Other highlights: You've still got to wear a mask. But you can now gather in groups of 10 or less, following social distancing guidelines. Here are the latest updates as the Chicago suburbs and Illinois begin phase three of the reopening plan: Truffle pasta, but not many masks in Forest Park As the sun began to set on Madison Street Friday between Harlem and Des Plaines avenues in Forest Park, loud music blared from motorcycles and cars with rolled down windows. People laughed and talking loudly from inside restaurants with open fronts. One man even smoked a cigarette, one foot on the sidewalk and one foot on the bar's wooden floor. Covered patios connect...

The NBA still has a long list of considerations to parse through before attempting to relaunch its season — so many, in fact, that a final resolution plan may not emerge from a highly-anticipated Board of Governors call reportedly scheduled for Friday. This should register as a relatively low priority for now, as the league navigates an unprecedented global health and economic crisis, but the question of game presentation is one that will eventually need addressing. Without fans in arenas, silent games are a prospect that would pose unique challenges to both athletes and broadcasters — even setting aside the financial ramifications of losing gate proceeds (which, according to a recent estimate, account for 40% of the league's revenue) through the end of this season.  "I think it would take a little bit of competitiveness out, because obviously I think the fans and atmosphere make a big thing about the game," Zach LaVine said of the possibility of empty-are...

The year 1995 could really be counted as year zero of the digital world we live in today. Amazon, Craigslist and eBay all launched. Microsoft took its first significant plunge into the stirring waters of the World Wide Web. The PlayStation made its North American debut. Toy Story, the first all-CGI movie, hit the big screen. Future YouTube star Logan Paul was born. People were going online in ever greater numbers. According to a Times Mirror Center survey in mid-1995, about 24 million Americans used a home computer on any given day, with about 12 million subscribing to an online service, up from 5 million six months earlier. There were massive jumps in the number of websites -- from about 2,700 in 1994 to 23,500 in 1995, and from there past 257,000...

© Provided by Live Science Newton's Cradle Physics teaching tool, executive desk diversion, and meditation aide. The Newtons cradle, or Newtons "pendulum", has been a classic in the science-themed toys department for years. It was invented by British actor Simon Prebble in the late 60s, and named in honor of Sir Isaac Newton's third law of motion. The novelty "toy" demonstrates that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The fact that the resulting demonstration, and the rhythmic sound it produces has a calming and relaxing effect, has made Newton's cradles popular desktop devices. If you're looking to take action and buy a Newtons cradle, we've got some options we hope you'll have a good reaction to... Our overall top pick in the collection, the Coffled Newtons cradle, is a very traditional design, honoring the original invention created over 50 years ago. It's testament to Newton...

© Boy Santos Malls allowed to partially open MANILA, Philippines — Malls located in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) have been allowed to partially reopen but were reminded to implement strict protocols to ensure the safety of consumers. In Quezon City, Mayor Joy Belmonte issued guidelines allowing limited operations of non-leisure establishments inside malls in line with the omnibus guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). Allowed to operate with up to 50 percent of their workforce in Quezon City are businesses such as dining (take-out and delivery only); clothing and accessories (with no fitting of clothes and no return/no exchange policy) and mall-based government services. Also allowed to partially reopen are hardware stores, bookstores, school and office supplies, baby care supplies, electronics, toy stores (with playgrounds and amusement areas closed) and flower, jew...

God only knows when it began, but I can tell you this: it is never going to end. I don't mean the pandemic, the origins of which are more or less clear, temporally if not yet biologically, and I don't mean our great national hunkering-down, which hadn't even started back on the Groundhog Day it now so resembles. I mean a minor, unexpected, and vexing byproduct of them both: the feel-good chain e-mail, some version of which you have almost certainly received since you've been stuck at home. Friends! I know these are trying times, so, in the interest of bringing a little joy into all of our lives, I'm inviting you to join in sharing a beloved poem/recipe/Bible verse/inspiring quote/home workout/elephant joke/photo of yourself in your favorite Renaissance Faire outfit/drawing of a cat in a litter box. This is meant to be FUN!, so please don't spend too much time on it. It shouldn't take more than fifty hours of wondering how to graciously decline this request f...