Considering how many hours we spend tapping away at our computers each day, it’s perhaps no wonder we’re suckers for innovative desk toys. And we’re far from alone in feeling that way. This week, a new kinetic desk toy called Mezmoglobe rocked up on Kickstarter — and, based on its blow away performance in its first 24 hours alone, it seems that there are plenty of other desk toy junkies out there.
Called Mezmoglobe, it’s the creation of Kristoph Krisjans, who previously introduced the world to his Moondrop fidget toy, designed to simulate how gravity affects objects on the moon. Mezmoglobe is a globe-shaped object hewn out of a solid piece of aerospace grade aluminum, using the latest high-precision CNC machines. A symmetrical helix pattern is milled along its spherical surface to produce a mind-bending “flowing” optical illusion when you spin it on its base. The results may just be the most perfect fidget toy since 2016’s ridiculously successful Fidget Cube.
“From a very young age, I have always been fascinated by all kinds of physics toys — especially perpetual motion toys that present odd visual effects,” Krisjans told Digital Trends. “I am sure most people can remember a spinning top from their childhood. I had many types of tops, but my favorite ones had a drawn spiral on the top side so it would create the hypnotic effect when spun. A couple years ago, I saw one of those tops and it reminded me how cool the effect actually looks. I had an idea to put this principle in a high-quality desk toy that would look appealing not only spinning, but also standing still.”
As ever, we offer our usual warnings about crowdfunding campaigns, which can be subject to delays, failures to ship as described, or sometimes even failures to ship at all. As Krisjans noted, however, he has previously shipped 15,000 desk toys to 9,000 backers around the world — which should hopefully bode well for Mezmoglobe delivering on its promises.
If you would like to get involved, you can head over to the project’s Kickstarter page, where it has already raised more than 16 times its initial modest funding goal, with 33 days remaining on the clock. A single Mezmoglobe, available in a range of anodized color options, starts at just $35. Shipping is planned to take place in January 2019.
