Even since the beginning of the modern era it was recognized that people needed all the help they could get when it came to procuring a caffeinated beverage. After all, the motor skills needed to make a pot of tea or coffee require some degree of coordination—best left to automation. Back in the day, they might have used an old-timey appliance such as this alarm clock tea maker contraption.

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Tags: coffee, old-timey, Retrosink, Rube Goldberg, steampunk, tea

Well… they look like flying ants to me. But (hopefully) they are just the Ant Tablecloth Weights they claim to be.

Product Description:

Table cloth weights will let you reign over your domain while providing a festive touch to your outdoor dining experience. Simply clip to your table cloth to insure place settings stay put if a sudden gust of wind joins you for dinner. Resin, metal, 1 x 1/2 x 1/2″.

Tags: Cheap Gifts, picnic, TGIF

One of the many good things about dried pasta is that it offers something for everybody. With an almost endless variety of shapes and styles, a pasta aficionado can quickly amass quite a collection. When it comes time to reach into the pantry and cook up a batch, chances are choosing can become a difficult decision—especially considering everyone has their own personal faves. But there is a way for everyone to have the pasta they want without boiling pot after pot of water.

The Jokari 229476 Healthy Steps Pasta Portion Basket is part of a set that allows for up to four individual servings of pasta to be prepared in one cooking vessel. The cooking baskets rest on the edge of a pot, allowing pasta of any type to cook undisturbed. Spaghetti and macaroni at the same time? No problem—just lift out your pasta basket when done. As for the sauce… well, for that you’re on your own.

Tags: Jokari, pasta, silicone

Cheers to you if you guess correctly…

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Tags: what is it?

A mezzaluna is a nice and neat way to chop herbs or other small items. The concave cutting board keeps chopped goodies in place while one simply rocks a rounded knife over them. It’s efficient and practical—until it comes time to store the knife.

The Totally Bamboo Geo Mezzaluna Cutting Board And Knife Combination features on-board storage for the oddly-shaped knife. Tucking away directly into the body of the board, the mezzaluna offers an easy and safe way to keep the handy cutlery at the ready. Plus its Moso bamboo construction is ecologically sound. Measures 10-inches by 10-inches and stands 1-inch tall.

Tags: bamboo, cutting board, cutting tool, knife, Mid-Range Gifts

Hot pepper fanatics will often go to great lengths to fuel their obsession. As they eat their way up the Scoville scale they climb into ever-higher heat territory with each new pepper variety offering more of a kick than the last. There is only one way such a devotion to all things hot can end up: at the top of the scale.

The Grow Your Own World’s Hottest Pepper kit offers an easy way for the capsaicin-addicted to achieve new heights for their endorphin rush. Just pop open the kit, add water and sunlight and soon your very own Naga jolokia (aka: Bhut jolokia or ghost chili) will be sprouting up, offering its temptation to all those brave enough to try. And of course, if the obsession ever gets out of hand, you can always nip it in the bud.

Tags: Cheap Gifts, heat, peppers, plants