The gadget not to get your sister for Christmas: the Mechanical Tumour

I hope you’ve finished lunch – this is probably the most gruesome desktop computer accessory in the world – and would seriously gross any normal human being, let alone your nice sister who would much prefer something from this season’s Monsoon collection.

As part of our helpful series – What not to get for Christmas – we introduce the “mechanical tumour” which inflates as your computer’s stress levels rise. The danger of you accidentally buying this for your sister is reduced by the fact that it’s a one-off artwork rather than something you come across on Amazon when browsing for memory sticks.

Unveiled a few weeks ago, this hit the screens of the world and caused small gagging reactions across the globe.

By a Japanese interactive media artist called Mio I-zawa, it’s made of plastic, an air-compressor and pneumatic actuators. Plug it into your computer and the mechanical tumour pulsates gently while your CPU load is low but expands and wheezes as your CPU usage increases.

Here’s the little beauty in action:

[via Pink Tentacle]

Related: The gadget not to get your little brother for Christmas