Books Aside: Sometimes it's the Small Stuff that Counts (Part 2)

As promised, here is Part 2 of my blog entry on functional and fun non-book items from Fully Booked. There's a whole bunch of new arrivals. Some of these, specifically the items from a brand called Hogwild, are exclusive to Fully Booked's main branch in High Street Fort Bonifacio (my favorite haunt). There is a limited number of items, so it would be a good idea to snap them up while you can.
1. Crocodile Can Opener
*Exclusive to the High Street Fort Bonifacio branch

Ummmm... I don't know about you, but opening a can of sardines would be so much easier with the Corocodile Can Opener. Click on this for more info. Its fun, and it works! As the product label states, it's "For Ages 14 and Up." I guess its because there are a lot of sharp parts that SHOULD always call for parental supervision. If I was stuck on a deserted island and I had to grab the nearest animal at hand to open a can, I suppose it would be crocodile. (Wrestling it into submission would be the difficult part.)

2. Twirling Spaghetti Fork
*Exclusive to the High Street Fort Bonifacio branch; For ages 8 and up

I've always had a hard time with spaghetti. Unless its cut up into bite-sized mouthfuls, which is considered by many a dining faux pas for adults, spaghetti is an unwieldy (though scrumptious) dish. The Twirling Spaghetti Fork is a fun way for kids (and adults) to hunker down and really dig into this popular dish. This is the kind of gadget you've always dreamed someone would invent. As they say in Italy: "Mangia Tutto!"

 For more info on the Twirling Spaghetti Fork click here.

3. Spyro Gyro Activity Book
*Exclusive to the High Street Fort Bonifacio branch; For ages 8 and up

Reminiscent of the classic drawing toy, the Spirograph, the Spyro Gyro is a motorized and updated pen version, which employs a 1 AA battery. Check out this video of a 1973 Spirograph ad

The activity book comes with the Spyro Gyro stylus (the cool thing is you can actually see how it works due to the transparent "viewing area"), three patterns (squares, circles, and triangles) that you attach to the stylus, nine interchangeable ink colors, and 1 AA battery, plus a book that acts as a how-to guide and provides about 19 activities to keep you occupied for hours on end.

4. Titan Rocket Pen
*Exclusive to the High Street Fort Bonifacio branch; Not for children under 3 years
For every would-be astronaut comes the perfect pen to write home from imagined-outerspace with. The Titan rocket pen comes with its own base, and actually launches and flies--just press the red ignition button.

5. Pig Popper

*Exclusive to the High Street Fort Bonifacio branch; For ages 4 and up

This item is as fun as it sounds, and yes, there is a pig involved. The Pig Popper is the kind of item that you would never buy for yourself, but secretly wish someone would give you. Just looking at it will already make you you laugh; actually using it is laughter on an entirely different level. As the instructions say, just don't shoot animals or anyone on the head. That doesn't count as funny.

The Pig Popper basically launches soft foam balls that look a lot like mini tennis balls. The shooter is a friendly-looking swine wearing a blue t-shirt (covered in snout print) and white shorts. Stuff a foam ball into his snout and squeeze his stomach to shoot. The harder you squeeze, the further you shoot (up to 20 feet). The set comes with six foam balls and handy net bag to carry them in.

6. Pizza Shark Pizza Cutter
*Exclusive to the High Street Fort Bonifacio branch; For ages 14 and up

This Pizza Shark Pizza Cutter, well, cuts pizza. However trite this may seem, the shark design pretty much rescuess this ordinary gadget from being common. I can see this working at parties, especially when your pizza's homemade. This would be great for sleepovers, when everyone sits down to watch a movie in their pajamas, cramming themselves full with pizza.

It also really works. My sister made some pizza the other night for her birthday dinner, and we tried the Pizza Shark out. He bit through that pizza faster than you could say "Jaws." Its not a good idea to let kids use this unsupervised because the blade is quite sharp.

7. Talking Moo Mixer and Supreme Moo Mixer
*Exclusive to the High Street Fort Bonifacio branch; For ages 8 and up

Though this may strike some as a gadget for lazy people, I have to say its downright cute. I wish they had this when I was a kid. Imagine mixing up your own bedtime chocolate milk drink, while hearing mooing sounds. Ha-ha! This gadget works on 2 AA batteries, and uses a nylon mixing whisk so little fingers aren't in any danger. Mix, moo, and drink! The photo doesn't show it, but this comes with a "no-spill, sip-top lid"

There is another version called the Supreme Moo Mixer, which is more or less the same thing except it comes with a 16 oz. "super-size" glass and has a stronger mixing setting, which is referred to as a "whirling vortex of power!" The downside? It doesn't moo.

8. Race Car Pen

*Exclusive to the High Street Fort Bonifacio branch; For ages 5 and up

Combining the features of a Transformer, a Matchbox car, and a regular ballpen, the Race Car Pen will make your naughtiest boy cousin, brother, or son sit down and do his homework--after playing around a bit, that is. Tip: Don't let him transform and race his ballpen until he finishes studying!

A few moves and presto! Its...

...a pen, or...

...a car that you can actually drag back, let go, and race!

This comes in three colors!

This non-book item hunt is insanely cool! I'm amazed at all the stuff I've discovered. In fact, this doesn't end here, but I'll have to save that for another entry in case more blog-worthy items make their way into the winding aisles of Fully Booked in the next few weeks (I'm pretty sure that's going to happen). Watch out for "Books Aside: Sometimes it's the Small Stuff that Counts (Part 3)"...