Theodore Gray Gift Guide
Father’s Day (June 19) and Tau Day (June 28)
Not sure what to do about Father’s Day? Can’t get him flowers because that would be weird? How about my book on how to do dangerous science demonstrations that are actually seriously dangerous, not “dangerous” like those wimpy other books? Or if he’s into mechanical things I’ve got a book about how they work, and a couple dozen kits that let him build working transparent acrylic models of interesting mechanisms.
And since we’re coming up on tau day (6/28, because tau is 2pi, which is 6.2831…) you might also consider one of our line of tau quilts at the bottom of this page. We also have pi quilts, but if your dad is a tau-enthusiast he will be blown away that we actually make quilts of this fairly obscure variation on pi. Pi day was March 14, but if you’re a traditionalist and just really want an excuse to get a pi quilt, you could get it in honor of European pi day, 22/7 (because 22/7 = 3.1428… is sometimes used as a rational approximation of pi, and Europeans sensibly put dates in day/month/year order). I just made that up by the way.
This listing is for an autographed copy: if you want a regular copy much cheaper and faster, you can order it from Amazon with this link.
Theodore Gray's Completely Mad Science, (autographed copy). This is a combined volume that includes everything from both Mad Science and Mad Science 2, plus new articles that don't appear in either of those books. This is the book you want to get if you want to learn about all kinds of things that you shouldn't do (plus a few that are fine even for kids). A stern warnings section tries to make clear which is which, warning about real dangers without knee-jerk over-warning just because vinegar is involved (as you so often see with this sort of book).
Order here if you want an autographed copy directly from me. If you just want the book fast and cheap, you're probably better off ordering it from an online bookseller.
This listing is for an autographed copy: if you want a regular copy much cheaper and faster, you can order it from Amazon with this link.
How Things Work: The Inner Live of Everyday Machines is my first book in a long time that isn’t about chemistry. As much as I like chemistry, my love of machines goes back just as far, to when I was growing up with mechanical things (and chemistry sets). As with all my books, this one is full of pictures (by Nick Mann) and stories about some of my favorite devices: Clocks, Locks, Scales, and everything to do with making cloth (the chapter in which I make a pot holder starting from cotton seeds).
COMPLETE CARS
These models show, in transparent 3D form, the key ideas behind the major mechanical components in an internal combustion engine car. All the parts work, including the engine (with LEDs for simulated spark plugs), steering wheel, gear shift, and differential. Electric motors can be added to make the models run on their own.
This listing is for an autographed copy: if you want a regular copy much cheaper and faster, you can order it from Amazon with this link.
Reactions: An Illustrated Exploration of Elements, Molecules, and Change in the Universe is the third and final installment in the trilogy of The Elements, Molecules, and Reactions. You start with Elements, put them together into Molecules, and then mix the molecules together to get Reactions. Together these three books cover the whole of chemistry in pictures and stories. And they look great together on a shelf. If you have any of the previous books, you should definitely get this one (and if you don't, then you should get this one and the previous ones).
Order here if you want an autographed copy directly from me. If you just want the book fast and cheap, you're probably better off ordering it from an online bookseller.
We can make a quilt out of any set of words you like! We'll even do naughty words, if that's what you want. When you place your order you'll have a chance to specify which words specifically you want. Keep in mind that the fewer words there are, the better they will look: 10-30 words maximum is a good target. "Happy Birthday Bob"? The sky's the limit on quilted word cleverness.
Reverse appliqué letters (which means different color fabric for the letters) is available for an extra charge. (If you know what reverse appliqué is and are willing to do your own cutting out of the letters, you can order at the regular price and ask add a comment that you'd like double fabric so you can cut our your letters: No extra charge for that.)
Include special requests for fabric color or layout in the form you will get on checkout and we'll get back to you if there's any trouble with your choices.
TAU DAY 2022 (JUNE 28)
Tau, as the sophisticated reader will know, is 2pi. If you’re one of those who understand that 2pi occurs far more frequently in the equations of physics than an individual pi, then we have the quilt for you!
Despite being twice the value, these quilts are prices the same as our pi quilts: $133.13 (the fourth root of tau/2) for a 46" square version and $314.15 for the full Queen size (94" square)! This beautiful, warm, puffy quilt displays over a hundred digits of tau rendered entirely in stitches for a gorgeous sculptural look. 100% cotton top and back fabric with 100% polyester batting. There is a choice of fabric and thread colors, but we strongly recommend unbleached cotton with natural unbleached thread. This allows the texture to really stand out.
If you want even more tau, we also have a remarkable circular quilt that contains all the digits of tau. Seriously.
This quilt contains an infinite number of digits of tau (2pi)...at least conceptually. In practice only about the first 5800 are actually readable, and after about 10,000 they have gotten so small that they are less than one stitch wide. The last infinity digits are represented by a single stitch. The purest form of this quilt is round, but we also have a square version (same circular design, but with the corners filled in with a simple pattern).
Unlike most of our other quilts, this one is made with wool batting, so it is thinner and drapes more like a traditional quilt.
We also have a less extreme (but thicker and puffier) regular tau quilt with about 180 digits of pi..
