The Cultured Girl

Here is a time-wasting toy (via Shiny Shiny) that you would never buy for yourself. But as a gift, it’s actually way more fun that it looks on first glance. Called 20Q, the handheld gadget is a computerized version of the 20 questions game: You think of a thing, and with some surprisingly sophisticated artificial intelligence, it guesses what you are thinking by asking yes or no questions on its little LED screen. My roommate has one of these (which he got as a gift, of course), and the thing is almost always right, or at least very close. (Instead of guessing “marijuana,” it asked “Is it a weed?”) A mind-reading marvel for under $20.