Whether you’re after a gag gift for your favorite nerd or a motor for a DIY robotics project, you’ll find it at this ultimate geek mall. We spotted bars of caffeine-spiked glycerin soap ($25), a 3.6-volt micro hydro generator ($29), and a mini turbojet engine ($2400). If you can dream it up, you’ll find the parts to build it here.

My comments:

A gag gift is any funny-looking gift that will presumably make its receiver gag – go opened mouthed in astonishment and shock.

To gag originally of course is to open your mouth again and again when you’re unable to swallow food due to, say, have too big a mouthful or a sudden feeling of, say, nausea. By extension, gag becomes colloquially synonymous with a joke, presumably one that will make the listener gag, that is to be open-mouthed but breathless in laughter.

Gag gifts, again, can be anything that’s strange looking, funny but above all, shocking to behold at first.

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本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.