Gift Giving Guy

You remember show and tell. Bring something cool to school, stand in front of the class and talk about your treasure. Public speaking for seven year olds — I hated it.

But I enjoyed the informal gift show-and-tell with friends: “Look what I got!” In 1978, my show-and-tell present was a Star Wars digital watch that displayed the time in glowing red LED glory. (The movie debuted in May 1977, so anything Star Wars was the rage among second graders. That said, I’m still inexcusably a geek.)

Men still practice informal show-and-tell with friends, brothers, fathers, neighbors and co-workers. We like to huddle around cool stuff (for me, it’s gadgets) and talk.

It’s not easy to keep giving wow gifts. Show-and-tell presents can be trendy and sometimes expensive, so consider giving them sparingly. Several “coolhunting” web sites seek items that inspire show and tell.

• Boing Boing Gadgets
• Cool Hunting
• Engadget
• Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools
• Uncrate

(Originally published on December 30, 2008, but backdated to February 10, 2008 to fit in with the Guy Gift Guideline series)

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