Filed under: Editor's Picks, Switched Video SHOP HOP: In this new series, the Switched Video crew will be touring shops around the country in search of great gadgets and gear. For the first episode, we show up at AC Gears in New York City to sample some of its newer wares: AC Gears in New York City ...

One year before I dropped onto this earth, Sanyo was demonstrating this astonishing human washing machine at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, in 1970 AD. The Ultrasonic Bath is a giant, six foot high contraption into which the victim must climb (yes, using a ladder). Once settled into place, the luck...

Filed under: Computers So imagine this -- you're sitting at your desk. You decided to skip the bra, because it's summer and pretty warm out. But, of course, some jerk at the office has the AC blasting. It's probably about 50 degrees in the office, and now the girls are getting a bit chilly. So you o...

The premise seems like a cruel Carrot Top joke by way of George W. Bush logic: Strap a device to your thigh to monitor your restless leg syndrome, and then make ‘creative beats’ from the vibrations emitted, in order to 'increase your brain power.' The Yurex is an especially absurd gadget, but it...

Filed under: Computers Trying to parse the vagaries of the economic future may be as difficult as peering into a fortune teller's crystal ball - but many Japanese are forking over their hard-earned Yen to do just that, even while cutting back on other expenses. Zappallas Inc. is a Japanese company t...

Filed under: Editor's Picks, Holiday Gift Guide 2008 Looking for something sleek and cool and design-y that can pretty much guarantee you won't find anywhere else? (That is, unless you feel like schlepping all the way to Tokyo, and then schlepping all the way back with a heavy paper shredder.) If th...

So everyone in the products department at Wired has a type of gadget that they absolutely adore and completely geek out on. For McClusky it's anything having to do with cycling. Joe Brown hearts Nokia. Dylan? Camera nerd. Jose loves himself some voice recorders. Intern Nate Ralph enjoys anything gam...

Fresh blueberries, strawberries, almonds and yogurt. I love summer. I forgot to add the ground flax seed before taking the picture, but it was mixed into the final product. The flax seed slows down your body’s absorption of the fruit, so you get more bang for your breakfast buck. Great source ...

Gadget Lab predicts that there will be new fashion amongst underaged Japanese smokers: stupid, wispy, half-grown bum-fluff mustaches. Why? Age-detecting cigarette machines. In order to combat illegal vending sales to the under 20s, Fujitaka Co has come up with a machine which uses a digital camera t...

If you thought custom handlebar tape and a playing card in the spokes were the ultimate in bike style, you just weren't using your imagination. Tokyo Times has some shots from the streets of the Japanese capital, showing rides variously pimped and preened. Our favorite for impracticality is the mode...