The makeshift TIE fighterIf you're a true Star Wars fan, you've probably got all the series' merchandise such as Princess Leia headphone covers, real-world Star Wars currency, and lightsaber night lights. But we're willing to bet you don't have this: An 8' x 8' x 8' replica TIE fighter, big enough to sit inside and pilot.

Image courtesty of Mark Jenkins

What can you do with a roll of packing tape? If you're us, you can recklessly waste it by overtaping the heck out of Zappos return boxes in an obsessive-compulsive meltdown, that's what.

A stalwart of toy store shelves for over four decades, the soft, safe foam of Nerf has proven a huge boon to indoor active play, saving countless fragile ornaments from being smashed to bits by kids who ignore the whole "don't play ball in the house" rule.

But who came up with the squishy stuff in the first place? What's the best Nerf gun around? And just where does that strange name come from? Read on, and find out.

Most illusionists are content to restrict their eye-dazzling tricks to paper, paintings, or webpages.  Miami sculptor Rafael Barrios has something a bit more ambitious in mind.

Between now and June 30, nine stainless-steel sculptures designed by Barrios — each weighing about a ton — are being publicly displayed along a stretch of New York City's Park Avenue, between 51^st and 67^th streets.  Chosen by the Fund for Park Avenue, the sculptures are typified by the one seen in this video:

Back in the day, making a good playground was a simple task.

A slide. A few swings. Maybe a merry-go-round, or a teeter-totter. Job done.

But times have changed, and so have our expectations. These days, municipalities strive to provide a little more variety in their outdoor play spaces, and the country's full of innovative, unique playgrounds that'll delight kids -- not to mention adults -- of any age. Here are five standouts.

Hanging With Friends (Zynga)What happens when Zynga Scrabble-a-like smash Words With Friends meets traditional guessing game Hangman? Hanging With Friends is the answer, and it's been a huge hit in the App Store and Android market alike.

But what happens when "Hanging" with friends turns into "Getting Beaten By" friends? The fun stops, that's what. If that's the case for you, turn that frown upside-down with these tips.

Image credit: bdesham (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdesham/2432400623/)

By Jacob Bolm, Tecca

We've seen some pretty awesome Lego creations in the past, including a Volkswagen van, Angry Birds, and even the heart of the Large Hadron Collider. But what about Lego inventions that actually work? Here are some of our favorite, fully functional Lego creations.

From the knuckle-whitening, edge-of-your-seat thrills of Tron's light cycles to the brain-busting strategy of Tri-Dimensional Chess, fiction is full of made-up games put to work as plot devices, action sequences, or merely for a little light relief. Check out seven of the most famous -- and find out how you can go about playing some of them in real life.