Gallery: Fuzzy Bosons, Stuffed Microbes and Fossil Ice: Best Science-Themed Holiday Gifts
01higgs-boson
The holidays are here, and it’s never too late to start thinking about fun stuff to bestow upon family and friends. (That’s actually not true. Order soon!) But what to get the scientist or science geek on your list? To help, we’ve gathered our favorite science-themed gifts: From archaeology to infectious disease to particle physics, from nerdy to frightening to ethereal, these things are sure to be more popular than the latest biography of a dead scientist you probably would have settled for. __Above:__ The Higgs Boson --------------- After a decades-long search, this most elusive of the [Standard Model’s particles](http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/science/standardmodel-en.html) could no longer escape the particle physicists doggedly pursuing it. In July, [scientists announced](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/higgs-boson-discovery/) they’d found a particle that looks an awful lot like the Higgs boson. Being scientists, they're still not ready to call it the Higgs officially. But we are: It's the Higgs! Commemorate one of the year’s most significant science discoveries with [this fuzzy, gravel-filled heavy boson](http://www.particlezoo.net/individual_pages/shop_higgsboson.html). \[Note: Also check out [the history of the universe](http://www.particlezoo.net/individual_pages/shop_hotu_wholeset.html). In plush form. Seriously.\] Available from [particlezoo.net](http://www.particlezoo.net), $10.49 *Photo: www.particlezoo.net*
02thinking-cap
Thinking Cap ------------- It’s too bad we’re too old to sit in classrooms where teachers might say, “Put on your thinking caps,” because we would definitely wear one of [these knit brain caps](http://www.etsy.com/listing/117707193/custom-order-knit-brain-hat?ref=similar_items_sash) from AdriannaKnits. Featuring protruding gyri (the bulging, curved structures visible on a mammalian brain’s surface) and sulci (the fissures between the bulges), these caps can be custom-made in a variety of colors. And sizes. Come to think of it, we probably need a few. Knit brain cap available on [Etsy.com](http://www.etsy.com/listing/117707193/custom-order-knit-brain-hat?ref=similar_items_sash), $32. *Photo: Adrianna Cooper | www.adriannaknits.com*
03ecospheres
Ecospheres ---------- Instead of seeing a world in a grain of sand, how about holding a complete ecosystem in the palm of your hand? Glass enclosed and captivating, the fragility and resilience of ecosystems are captured within [ecospheres](http://eco-sphere.com/gallery.html) – self-sustaining, sealed miniature worlds inhabited by tiny shrimp, algae, and bacteria. Interactions among these organisms, swimming in sea water, and a bubble of air keep the ecoengine running for years. [Even Carl Sagan liked them](http://eco-sphere.com/sagan.html). Ecospheres are available in [multiple shapes and sizes](http://eco-sphere.com/gallery.html) (prices vary) from such sites as [eco-sphere.com](http://eco-sphere.com/index.html). And if you find yourself anywhere near, say, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, go check out their [gigantic ecosphere](http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/rose-center-for-earth-and-space/dorothy-and-lewis-b.-cullman-hall-of-the-universe/ecosphere)! *Photo: Ecosphere Associates, Inc*.
04schrodingers-cat-finger-puppet
Schrodinger’s Cat Finger Puppet ------------------------------- Everyone needs something feline, quantum and weird for the holidays. Now you see it, now you don’t. Dead? Alive? Hard to say. Thankfully, *The Unemployed Philosophers Guild* has resurrected Schrodinger’s cat [in finger puppet form](http://www.philosophersguild.com/Schrodingers-Cat-Finger-Puppet.html) – perfect for all the cat lovers out there who also appreciate quantum physics thought experiments from the early 20^th^ century. Superposition-cat’s got [quite a few puppet-pals](http://www.philosophersguild.com/Puppets/), too. Choose from a long list of your favorite overachievers and intellectuals, including such luminaries as [Nikola Tesla](http://www.philosophersguild.com/Nikola-Tesla-Finger-Puppet.html), [Charles Darwin](http://www.philosophersguild.com/Charles-Darwin-Finger-Puppet.html), [Karl Marx](http://www.philosophersguild.com/Karl-Marx-Finger-Puppet.html), and [The Scream](http://www.philosophersguild.com/Scream-Finger-Puppet.html). Available from [The Unemployed Philosophers Guild](http://www.philosophersguild.com/Schrodingers-Cat-Finger-Puppet.html), $5.95. *Photo: Unemployed Philosophers.*
05global-warming-mug
Global Warming Mug ------------------ Step 1: Add hot water (or coffee, tea, mulled rum, whatever). Step 2: Watch as the polar ice caps melt, causing a surge in sea level that swallows islands, including Cuba, and the state of Florida. Step 3: Recoil in horror. Yes, the [Global Warming Mug](http://www.philosophersguild.com/Global-Warming-Mug.html) depicts a doomsday scenario. Sorry for the downer. In other words, if your morning is going badly, just consider that things could be much, much worse. Available from [The Unemployed Philosophers Guild](http://www.philosophersguild.com/), $12.95. *Photo: Unemployed Philosophers.*
06solar-system-tree-ornaments
Solar System Ornaments ---------------------- These beautiful, handcrafted glass planets could take a tree from being just the best on Earth to truly otherworldly. The [solar system](http://glasssculpture.org/artglass/holiday/ornament/order-space.php) set includes the sun and nine planets. Yes, nine. Pluto-lovers out there will appreciate the dwarf planet’s inclusion (as a member of the solar system!), and appropriately [reddish hue](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/pluto-20100204.html). Designer Joy Day used images from NASA’s Cassini probe while crafting Saturn, and Mars even features polar ice caps. We wants them. Available from [GlassSculpture.org](http://glasssculpture.org/artglass/holiday/ornaments.html), singly ($25-$75) or as a set ($345). *Photo: BJ Johnson.*
0799-genotype
$99 Genotyping -------------- It’s painless. Just spit in a tube and send it to the folks at [23andme](http://www.23andme.com/). They’ll read your DNA, check out your genotype, and return all kinds of information revealed by the order of those four little base pairs (A, T, C, and G). Want to know how much of your DNA is Neanderthal? [You can find out](https://www.23andme.com/ancestry/deep/). What about your genetic risk for developing various diseases? [That, too](https://www.23andme.com/health/all/) (but remember to read risk interpretations very carefully). Drug responses, maternal ancestry, and [even a short musical composition](http://blog.23andme.com/ancestry/we-got-the-music-in-you/) await. Bonus: Consider turning your [genome into art](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/dna-art/). Available from [23andme.com](http://www.23andme.com), $99. *Photo by MJ/TR on Flickr*
08giant-microbes
GIANT Microbes -------------- Sharing is caring, and microbes can sometimes be the gifts that keep on giving. So what’s better than sharing your latest food-poisoning disaster with friends, in the form of an [oversized, stuffed norovirus](http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/norovirus.html)? (Norovirus is the highly contagious culprit behind many food-borne cases of acute gastroenteritis. And it has a special affinity for cruise ships, apparently.) But at <giantmicrobes.com>, stuffed norovirus is just the start. Other available microbes include [the common cold](http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/commoncold.html) (rhinovirus), [sore throat](http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/sorethroat.html) (streptococcus), [Lyme disease](http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/lymedisease.html) (*Borrelia burgdorferi*), and – for the more adventurous, [Ebola](http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/ebola.html), [the Black Death](http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/blackdeath.html) (*Yersinia pestis*), and [dengue fever](http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/denguefever.html) (dengue virus). In plush form, of course. So please: If you’re going to give [chlamydia](http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/chlamydia.html) to anyone this holiday season, let it be oversized and stuffed. Available from [GIANT microbes](http://www.giantmicrobes.com), $9 to $30. *Photo: GIANTmicrobes Inc.*
09fossiliced-ice-cubes
FossilIced Ice Cubes -------------------- There’s nothing like a frozen *T. rex* fossil floating in a festive cocktail. Unless it’s an icy jumble of *Triceratops* bones. Available from *Fred&Friends*, [these ice cube bone trays](http://fredandfriends.com/products/view/fossiliced-ice-trays) will transform a drink from a casual treat into a bona fide archaeological dig. Sipping concoctions cooled by dino skulls sounds like a good time to us, but if you’re looking for different [surprising, frozen shapes](http://fredandfriends.com/products/browse/category/ice-trays/title), such notables as [cerebral ice cubes](http://fredandfriends.com/products/view/category/best-seller/brain-freeze-ice-tray), [frozen Yetis](http://fredandfriends.com/products/view/category/new/abominable-ice-men-ice-tray), and [piratical emblems](http://fredandfriends.com/products/view/category/ice-trays/bone-chillers) await. \[For something warmer, check out the [Ninjabread Men Cookie Cutters](http://fredandfriends.com/products/view/category/kitchen/ninjabread-men-cookie-cutters).\] Check on [Fred&Friends](http://fredandfriends.com/buy) for FossilIced suppliers. Available from a variety of places for $8. *Photo: Fred Studio*
10the-official-sarcastic-rover-t-shirt
The Official Sarcastic Rover T-shirt ------------------------------------ “*You can't get blood from a stone, but you CAN get super heated plasma from one if you laser it with atomic science. FACT*” -- [@SarcasticRover](https://twitter.com/sarcasticrover) Here at Wired Science, we report on those doing a science. Or sciences. One of our favorite subjects is NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, the laser-shooting, six-wheeled, nuclear-powered robot currently investigating the Red Planet’s rocky denizens. [@SarcasticRover](https://twitter.com/sarcasticrover), Curiosity’s curmudgeonly Twitter alter-ego, is also one of our favorites. So check out the official SarcasticRover T-shirt, featuring the [somewhat-disgruntled government worker](http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/345956/title/The_man_behind_Sarcastic_Rover)’s logo and favorite catchphrase. Available from [zazzle](http://www.zazzle.com/sarcasticrover/gifts) and [cafepress](http://www.cafepress.com/sarcasticrover?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=buyat&utm_term=78888&utm_content=0). *Logo: Mandy Stobo (@badportraits)*
11periodic-beer-glass
Periodic Beer Glass ------------------- Spelling “Beer” with chemical elements serves several functions. First, it’s a warning to those who may mistake a light-colored ale for something less exciting (like sparkling cider), and second, it’s a gentle reminder of the chemistry that’s crucial for the crafting of holiday beverages (and indeed, year-round beverages). Not that you’d want to (or could) drink a combination of beryllium and erbium, the two elements whose symbols spell “Beer” [in this glass](http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e5b7/). Beryllium, Be, is an alkaline earth metal typically found in gemstones and high-tech wizardry. Erbium, Er, is a rare earth metal that can sometimes look pink and is often used in photographic filters and optical communication systems. Drink beer instead. Pint glass from [ThinkGeek.com](http://www.thinkgeek.com), $7.99. *Photo: ThinkGeek.com*
