Strollerderby
Liveblogging Toy Fair, Part 8: Watch Me Move a Ball WITH MY MIND
We’d never heard of toy maker Uncle Milton until today, but their booth has become a Toy Fair hot spot thanks to an amazing toy that grants the player telekinetic powers: The Star Wars Force Trainer.
This fascinating gadget (which will retail for about a grand) uses that same EEG technology as the Mattel Mind Flex game we saw earlier, but with the added bonus of sound clips from Star Wars. Here’s how it works: you strap on the headband, then focus your attention on the tube with the ball in it. The ball rises on an air jet; the better your concentration, the more power goes into the air jet, and the higher the ball rises.
Right before I tested the Force Trainer, an anchor from MSNBC gave it a go. Many ninja hand motions and crazy-eyed expressions later, he’d gotten the ball halfway up the tube.
Then it was my turn. And all I gotta say is, the force is strong with Babble:
The guy working the booth said that he’d only ever seen one other person get the ball all the way up, and that was the guy who created the toy. But credit where credit is due: you know how when you’re in labor, you’re told to pick a focus point and concentrate on that? I bet anyone who’s been through childbirth could rock this thing.
The Force Trainer is part of a really awesome line of Star Wars-themed science toys, which will be available from Uncle Milton in July.
Come back to Strollerderby tomorrow for continued Toy Fair coverage, including round-ups of all our favorite things! — Gwynne Watkins
See all of Babble’s Toy Fair 2009 Coverage.
All photos and video copyright Lauren De Luca and Babble.com. Please contact laurend@babble.com for permissions.
Go Back To Strollerderby
3 Comments
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI now feel a bit better about how totally I failed at this, while my boss succeeded – she’s had three kids, I’ve had none, so she’s got more practice with this than I have!
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI’m curious: does it respond to focusing on the ball, or is it more effective to simply concentrate in general?
On a related topic, your midichlorian levels are off the scale.
chattydaddy commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amyou go Gwynne!
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.