Not everything that comes across my desk for review is a game or a movie.
Sometimes other things come my way that some company thinks will be of interest
to someone that likes games or movies. The latest one of these things is
Nanodots, small spherical magnets about the size of a BB but each with the
magnetic pull of a good-sized magnet. Now I'm sure that most of us have
played with magnetic toys of some kind before, but Nanodots are different.
The first thing is that they are amazingly strong magnets - two of the balls
will race towards each other if they get within three inches of each other.
Just pulling on the balls is fascinating as they form strands and loops that
collapse on themselves in seemingly endless ways. A blob of Nanodots also
makes for a quite effective stress ball. But the real fun comes in trying
to align the balls into geometric shapes - toroids, cubes, and complex polygons.
It takes a little work and patience to make the more complex shapes, but like
most puzzles a little patience and brainpower lead to satisfactory results.
They even come with step-by-step instructions to recreate the polygon the
Nanodots are shipped in. While Nanodots are essentially a desk toy, and a bit on
the pricey side at that, I can attest to the fact that they are a fascinating
way to kill time ... at least for a guy who likes games and movies.
