Keurig and its equivalents are so convenient it is hard to conceive of going back to something less handy, but important to find something that produces less waste, hence this minimalist solution using sugar-based containers that dissolve when used.

The Droops Coffee Maker system is centered around pods that melt away when exposed to hot water, visually inspired by variously-shaped colorful candies from their creator’s childhood.

The device itself is a modular stackable system involving a heating unit and water container which, when joined, form a circuit and allow you to brew your coffee.

“Droops coffee maker identifies the issue of unnecessary packaging waste cause by the massive consumption of coffee. Therefore, by reinventing the packaging as the content of the coffee, the packaging will be part of the coffee upon consumption.”

The post Dissolving Pods: Design Solves Disposable Plastic Problem first appeared on Gajitz.

If you’re old enough to remember wasting days at a time playing the original Super Mario Bros., you’re probably old enough to remember a time when video games didn’t have the option to get you up and moving around in front of a camera to play. Trammell Hudson of NYC Resistor remade the classic platform game into one that you actually have to move to play.

It isn’t really a remake of the game, per se; just the way it’s played. Mario and friends are lit up on a gigantic cylindrical screen and the game is played as normal – only instead of sitting on your butt and waggling your arms from time to time, you actually have to walk or jog around the cylinder so you can see what you’re doing. According to Hudson in an interview with Popular Science (above), the game only runs the first level and it takes about 12 laps around the screen to complete the level.

The cylinder is called MegaScroller. Hudson created it for the NYC Resistor 2014 Interactive Show. The huge screen can be used for displaying art pieces, but it also has an interactive mode which allows viewers to play video games. MegaScroller won two editor’s choice awards and a best in class award at 2014 NYC MakerFaire. Hudson has made the sources available on his website for those brave enough to construct their very own MegaScroller.

The post Giant Cylindrical Screen Makes You Run to Play Video Game first appeared on Gajitz.

Remember mix tapes? If you were lucky enough to have a big music collection and a two-deck tape player, you could hand-pick songs and record them right from professional-grade originals. If you weren’t as lucky, you’d wait all day for the song you wanted to come on the radio and then hold a recorder up to the speakers to capture the perfect tunes. Either way, every song was carefully selected and lovingly arranged to convey just the right message to the recipient.

The folks at MakerBot were feeling a little nostalgic for the days of mix tapes, so they came up with the MakerBot Mixtape, a 3D-printed USB storage device for MP3s. On it, you can store a playlist of your choosing, then hand it off to someone special.

The Mixtape comes in two varieties: a pre-made version for people who don’t have their own MakerBot Replicator at home, and a kit to print and assemble one at home for those who do. Both versions come with a USB cable to plug the mixtape into your computer. Although the aesthetic is perfect for using the mixtape to exchange songs, you can also use it as an awesome-looking USB storage device.

The post 3D-Printed USB Cassette Tape is a Retro Tune-Trading Treat first appeared on Gajitz.

We’ve known some “friendly” ping-pong games to end in ruined friendships, obsessive rematches, and black eyes (those paddles hurt!) but until now, we’ve never known of any ping-pong-related fatalities. That’s probably going to change now that [what we assume is] the world’s most lethal ping-pong gun has been brought to life. The contraption was made by Denver artist/inventor Ron Kessinger and uses compressed air to shoot water-filled ping-pong balls so hard that they smash through particle board. That’s one way to convince your other half that you need to replace that old Ikea dresser.

Ron’s invention is sort of like a potato cannon, but with slightly different specs. Shooting empty ping-pong balls obviously wouldn’t cause the type of satisfying destruction that guys who make projectile “toys” enjoy, so obviously he injected them with water to make them heavier. When the gun was demonstrated at a recent Denver Maker Meetup, Ron dazzled the crowd by shooting balls through pieces of drywall and particle board.

The gun works off of a standard wall outlet and has a 14-shot magazine. But really, one shot will probably be enough to settle whatever ping-pong dispute you manage to get yourself into.

The post Ping Pong, Pow: World’s Deadliest Pneumatic Ping Pong Gun first appeared on Gajitz.