1599: Nanda Bayin, a Burman king, reportedly laughed to death when informed, by a visiting Italian merchant, that “Venice was a free state without a king.”

1671: François Vatel, chef to Louis XIV, committed suicide because his seafood order was late and he couldn’t stand the shame of a postponed meal. His body was discovered by an aide, sent to tell him of the arrival of the fish. The authenticity of this story is quite questionable

1943: Critic Alexander Woollcott suffered a fatal heart attack during an on-air discussion about Adolf Hitler.

1981: Jeff Dailey, a 19-year-old gamer, became the first known person to die while playing video games. After achieving a score of 16,660 in the arcade game Berzerk, he succumbed to a massive heart attack. A year later, an 18-year-old gamer died after achieving high scores in the same game.

1997: A terrible diet and a room with no ventilation are being blamed for the death of a man who was killed by his own gas. There was no mark on his body, but an autopsy showed large amounts of methane gas in his system, police said. His diet had consisted primarily of beans and cabbage (and a couple of other things).

In 2003, Damnoen Saen-um, a Thai ice cream salesman, is reported to have died while laughing in his sleep at the age of 52. His wife was unable to wake him, and he stopped breathing after two minutes of continuous laughter. It is believed that he died either of heart failure or asphyxiation.

2006: Markus Loffel, a German DJ who was a prominent member in the trance movement, Loffel suffered a heart attack last year when he realized that Trance music was shit.

2007: Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old woman from Sacramento, died of water intoxication while trying to win a Wii console in a KDND 107.9 “The End” radio station’s “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest, which involved drinking large quantities of water without urinating

2007: Kevin Whitrick, a 42-year-old man, committed suicide by hanging himself live on a webcam during an Internet chat session.

2008: Gerald Mellin, a U.K. businessman, committed suicide by tying one end of a rope around his neck and the other to a tree. He then hopped into his Aston Martin DB7 and drove down a main road in Swansea until the rope decapitated him. He supposedly did this as an act of revenge against his ex-wife for leaving him.

The full chemical name, which starts Methionyl… and ends …isoleucine, contains 189,819 letters

Full word can be found here

It’s not that we’ve gotten lazy as a species, far from it! We’re more productive now than we’ve ever been, but with more and more work to do, we have to create time by cutting down on late night raids on Molten Core, ordering fast-food, talking on the phone while driving… The only time we have left is spent sleeping. Now you have to stay up late and get up early in an effort to get more done.

The Flying Alarm Clock wakes you up with a loud shrieking alarm coupled with a little propeller-driven key that leaps off your nightstand. To turn off the horrible racket, you have to get out of bed and retrieve the key. The propeller flies the key high into the air and off into some dusty corner. You have to force your sleep addled brain into wakefulness, move your stiff legs and retrieve the key before the alarm goes off. By the time you’ve done so, you’re awake enough at least to go make a pot of coffee.

Amazon – Flying Alarm Clock ($13.08)
eBay – Flying Alarm Clock

USB Plasma Ball

Just the word plasma makes you think of going boldly where no-one has gone before. However, the beauty of this awesome mini plasma ball is that you don’t have to wrestle Klingons in the outer regions of the Thark Quadrant to play with it.

Just plug this neat gizmo into your USB port, and streams of red and blue plasma light will flicker out from the core of the hand-blown glass sphere throwing mesmerising light trails across its surface.

Touch the sphere with your fingers, and blue light will shoot out towards your fingertips. Absurdly cheap considering the sheer weight of scientific brilliance stuffed inside of it, the Mini USB Plasma Ball is just 13cm high, and is an utterly compelling science project cum wanna have desk-top diversion.

Amazon – USB Plasma Ball ($11.95)
eBay – USB Plasma Ball

Space Warp Desktop

You know those desk-based toys of yore where five balls hang from strings and clink back and forth in different patterns? Well slap that old desk gadget in a Delorean at 88 Mph and you’ll get the futuristic Space Warp Desktop. Imported from Japan, this mesmerizing desk toy features either chromed ball bearings or glowing orbs perpetually rotating on a clear track.

Flip a switch on the back to choose which type of balls you prefer, while the ones you don’t want are automatically sorted and stored in the base. The glowing balls are powered by a built in UV light in the base which charges them up, causing them to glow as they roll down the track only to be charged up again at the end of the run. It’s Japanese efficiency at its finest served up for your desk-based enjoyment.

eBay – Space Warp Desktop

Anti-Gravity Globe

Levitron AG technology heralds a breakthrough in the art of magnetic levitation. Observe Earth levitate in space – only touching air! This globe is the ultimate coversation piece. Museum quality design and futuristic effect make this a must-have for home or office.

Developed by an international engineering team, this stylish, electromagnetic base uses minimal power to create Real Levitation. Suspended in mid-air, this globe defies gravity – inspiring wonder and amazement.

Amazon – Levitron AG Anti-Gravity Globe ($70.49)
eBay – Anti-Gravity Globe

USB Webcam Missile Launcher

Where would we be without Instant Messaging? It lets us stay in contact and chat with friends all over the world (especially delightful during work hours). But sometimes the urge to reach out and shoot someone is unbearable. And that’s where the USB MSN Missile Launcher comes in. Don’t be content with sharing images, jokes, and assorted links with your friends – it’s time to share missiles!

You’ll have your USB MSN Missile Launcher set up within minutes and that’s when the fun begins. For you see, as you chat you and your buddies can control each other’s launcher. And since each USB MSN Missile Launcher has an integrated webcam (which can be used as just a webcam if you haven’t any buddies), you’ll know exactly when you are aimed at your buddy’s head. Then fire away! The only downside is that your buddy can do the same to you! The upside is, you can always retaliate by turning your buddy’s USM MSN Missile Launcher to face the door of his office and peg his boss in the gut when he/she comes to lecture your buddy about using IM for non-work-related matters. Ah the joys of progress . . . and revenge.

Amazon – USB Webcam Missile Launcher ($72.90)
eBay – USB Webcam Missile Launcher