Is there such a thing as a high-end drinking bird toy?
July 23, 2024 5:14 AM   Subscribe

Are there fancy versions of a drinking bird toy for sale somewhere? Ones with... metal parts? Blown glass? Anything that makes it a bit less "classroom science demo"? I'd also be interested in other solar-powered art objects/design pieces that would make good gifts.
posted by sagc to Grab Bag (9 answers total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
 
I can't help with the drinking bird, but as for the "other solar-powered art objects" - do you already know about Crookes radiometers? I don't know if they'd suit your aesthetic, but at least they're more Victorian scientific laboratory than classroom science demo, and Amazon will sell you one.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:33 AM on July 23, 2024 [2 favorites]


Best answer: ... And I've just found a European web store selling blown-glass drinking storks.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:51 AM on July 23, 2024 [4 favorites]


Uncommon Objects and Science Decor would be excellent sites to explore. Also museum stores, like MOMA, and Etsy have a variety of interesting kinetic sculptures. Depending on what you're looking for, there's a lot of beautiful science-based art and design objects out there.

This isn't the drinking bird, but it's a friggin' awesome looking blown glass black swan barometer (to predict the weather).
posted by luzdeluna at 7:08 AM on July 23, 2024 [5 favorites]


I have given someone a solar powered rainbow maker before.
posted by rongorongo at 7:53 AM on July 23, 2024 [2 favorites]


re: art objects/design pieces

perhaps a Klein bottle?

or a gyroscope?
posted by tinker at 8:11 AM on July 23, 2024 [1 favorite]


This is also not solar-powered, but I got a science-loving friend a Galileo thermometer as a wedding gift.
posted by confluency at 8:22 AM on July 23, 2024


I have a Galileo Thermometer, nifty. I love prism for making rainbows in various patterns. I love this moon lamp as a nightlight, available from many places, and not cheesy. I like solar string lights as nightlights and deck lighting, too.

I gave a solar/ crank/ battery radio w/ flashlight as a recent wedding gift. Nerdy, but invaluable in an outage, handy as a flashlight. Got it on closeout, so no link.
posted by theora55 at 9:45 AM on July 23, 2024


I am quite partial to these solar powered wheel of dharmas.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:42 AM on July 23, 2024


I'd like to second the solar powered rainbow maker. I won it at a college fair and loved it. When the sun would hit in the afternoon to power it it was an event, and the cats would get to chase rainbows. It finally broke from the suction cup detaching and hitting the ground repeatedly, but it lasted a few years before that!
posted by wellifyouinsist at 9:16 PM on July 23, 2024


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