Yes its true the new macbooks come out tomorrow, all with their shiny new form design and 13.3″ screen and most importantly the addition of a new port… (I’ll tell you a secret… its an HDMI outlet).  Don’t ask how I know and I won’t tell you (oh yea and LED backlit screens).

If that isn’t enough then I should also mention that Windy City Novelties, Inc (a Vernon Hills Illinois based novelty and party goods wholesaler) announced their new product line of iGlow hair gel (patents pending and trademarked)!  Now you can add a frightful array of glow to your hair when you go out (and even style with it).

Oh yeah! and here’s a video of how it works:

Halloween is a fun time, as you can probably tell its a big time of the year for me (just look at all the posts related to it here)  I love the fun nature of the holiday and the fact that everyone can act like a kid.

But… there are safe ways to play and not safe ways to play.

• Putting a candle in a pumpkin and letting it burn through the night? NOT SAFE!
• Walking around in a dark costume so that no one can see you? NOT SAFE

Luckily these are two dangers that can be easily avoided.  For the pumpkin simply use one of our LED candles to illuminate it, they look like real candles and flicker like it too.  And for the dark outfits, just bring a couple of glow sticks with you to make sure that you’re easily seen.

A few other safety notes:

1. only trick or treat in areas you are familiar with
2. never go off on your own
3. abide by your local rules regulating trick or treat hours
4. INSPECT ALL CANDY BEFORE EATING ANY
5. Have fun and don’t ruin the time for you or anyone else.

This message was brought to you by Windy City Novelties, Inc.

Introducing the new iGlow™ hair gel.  It’s actual hair gel that glows in the dark!!! (image a glow stick in your hair).

Simply mix the two packages together to get an amazingly bright styling gel that you simply run through your hair. 

No Blacklights, no neon flourescents, just honest to goodness GLOW.  The process is simple:  1. Open the Package  2. Read the directions  3. Combine and mix the ingredients in the two packages *(note you don’t have to mix all of the chemicals at once, you can keep some in the pouches for later use) 4. Apply small amounts of the gel to your hair to do a layering affect  5. Go out and party!!!

This item is intended for those 13 and over.  As with all chemical products please use this with adult supervision.  I once put colored hair spray in my hair without them knowing and they nearly blew their lids!

iglow-hair-gel-directions

iglow-hair-gel-safety-test

Wondering how glow products like iGlow hair gel works?  Click here to find out

Some people don’t like LED cups, its sad but true… While I always enjoy the bright colors and virtually endless lifespan (due to their replaceable batteries) there are those out there that would prefer a vivid GLOWING cup instead.  Come to think about it there is something almost hypnotic about the way the Glow just flows inside the cup, making beautiful waves of glow flow with every drink… WO!!! It almost got me again.  Note to self: don’t let the Glowing Cups pull me in when writing about them.

How To Activate a Glow Cup: Locate the ampules on either side of the cup towards the bottom.  They will be marked with a small sticker saying “press here”.  Apply pressure to each ampule individually to activate.  You will hear and feel a “POP” as it cracks.  Repeat the process on the other side of the Glow Cup.  If you are finding it hard to activate try pushing the glow cup against a side of a table or other stationary item, again with the ampule facing the corner you are pushing against.  After both ampules of the Glow Cup are activated shake vigorously for 5 seconds, this will mix the chemicals and ensure a BRIGHT long lasting glow.  *For the 1 oz. Glow Cup Shot glass the ampule is actually on the bottom of the cup, all other instructions are the same. 

Then poor in your favorite drink and be amazed as the Glow Cup entertains and delights on its own!

Glow Cups come in a variety of sizes from 2 oz shot glasses to 12, 16, and 20 oz cups as well as Martini Glasses, Margarita Glasses, Beer Mugs and utensils!

We also have posts on our blog about our Glowing Martini Cups, Glowing Beer Mugs and Glowing Utensils

Visit us online to see these and many other great items, Windy City Novelties, Inc.

To learn how Glow works click here.

Summer time means Ice Cream sundaes and desert parties. To avoid the same boring routine of paper cups or sugar cones why not try something new??? Glowing Ice Cream Cups double as desert bowls and add flair to any evening event.

They work like a normal glow stick, read that article here . The glow is sandwiched between two layers and sealed to create a finished bowl with glow juice able to move around on the inside giving the illusion of being a bowl full of glow liquid. While actually you’ll have your ice cream, cake or any other desert ready to eat in a safe fun cup.

If you’re going with the glowing ice cream cups you should do it right with the matching glowing ice cream spoons .

To go along with this glowing ice cream post I am going to share with you my secret recipe for the ultimate sundae.

1. Activate a Glowing Ice Crem Cup.
2. Add in your favorite Ice Cream, Cookie Dough is always great.
3. Fill in all empty spaces of the cup with whipped cream.
4. Apply chocolate sauce to the rest of the exposed ice cream.
5. Top it all off with more whipped cream, and sprinkle with nuts or sprinkles
6. Eat and Enjoy!
7. Finish off the evening with a fun Glowing Ice Cream Bowl

Find more fun items at Windy City Novelties, Inc.

To learn how Glow works click here.

So you’ve seen the Glowing Cups and Glow sticks before, and want to try something new to spice up your evening event.  Well how bout Glowing Utensils like knifes, forks, or spoons?  How cool would it be for your guests to come to a fully glowing table setting.

Planning an ice cream social?  Dreading the boring old fashioned ice cream cups?   Well try something new with Glowing Ice Cream Cups, you’re definitely going to get glowing reviews with them!

But don’t forget the spoons for the Ice Cream Cups:

But if a black tie event is what you’re planning for then you are sure to want to serve martinis, and while we have fantastic Glowing Martini Cups, we also have amazing Glowing Martini picks! You can even use the picks for cheese or appetizers.

Visit us online at Windy City Novelties, Inc. to see our other great items!

To learn how Glow works click here.

Making your own glowstick is difficult and time consuming, and quite honestly all your hardwork will be used up in a few hours of glow. Instead I recommend purchasing your glow from Windy City Novelties. We use the highest quality products around to make sure you get a nice bright glow!

I get this question all the time: How does a glow stick work? Now depending on the age of the person asking I have several different answers.
1. (to a young child) A glow stick works by magic, and it will stay lit till you go to sleep.

2. (to a teenager or curious adult) A glow stick works by a chemical reaction, when you break the ampule inside the stick it mixes two compounds to form the affect of glow until the reaction is finished.

But I’m going to guess that if you’re here then you want to really know how a glow stick works… So here is my answer to the do-it-yourselfers out there, and those that really need to know hos stuff works.

CAVEAT: I am not a chemist, with that if there are words that I find too cumbersome to either easily explain or understand by there own then I will link them to a wikipedia page with their definition.

Glow sticks give off illumination as a by product of a chemical reaction called chemiluminescence (light from chemical reaction in difficult language). This is achieved by the mixing of two liquids that alone are uninteresting.

The free flowing chemical inside the plastic tube is a combination of a dye for coloring (usually either a sensitizer or a fluorophor) and what has been called Cyalume which is also known as Bis(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl-6-carbopentoxyphenyl) oxalate (CPPO) which is a solid ester where the oxidation products are what causes the chemiluminescence (glow) in a glow stick.

If you’re adventurous and want to try to make it yourself it can be done by reacting 2-carbopentoxy-3,5,6-trichlorophenol with oxalyl chloride.

The liquid in the capsule inside the plastic housing of the glow stick is Hydrogen Peroxide. Same stuff that you get from Walgreens or CVS. If you’ve ever noticed how it bubbles on contact then you’ll understand why its the activating agent. When it mixes with the Cyalume it releases an Oxygen molecule that quickly forms Carbon Dioxide which in turn releases enough energy in the new bonds being broken and formed to excite the electrons in the dyes causing what you see as Glow. When the glow extinguishes you know that the chemical reaction is finished and that the dye has released enough photons (energy in the form of light) to be stable.

In true scientific terms the reaction is best described by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., who wrote on About.com :

“Specifically, the chemical reaction works like this: The hydrogen peroxide oxidizes the phenyl oxalate ester, to form phenol and an unstable peroxyacid ester. The unstable peroxyacid ester decomposes, resulting in phenol and a cyclic peroxy compound. The cyclic peroxy compound decomposes to carbon dioxide. This decomposition reaction releases the energy that excites the dye.”

It should be noted that while different dyes cause the different colors, some chemical formulations are actually patented. Most importantly is the Red dye formulation, which is used in several different colored glow. If you’ve ever seen a red dyed plastic tubing being used to get a red glow stick then you know that you are not buying from the patent holders or one of their licensees.

This posting has been made possible by the help of information obtained from the following references:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/a/howlightsticks.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glow_stick
http://www.howstuffworks.com/light-stick.htm
as viewed on 6/11/08 at 11:02 AM

Safety and being prepared is a necessity of life.  Freak storms or other emergencies can appear out of no where.  Everyone has always been told to have matches, candles, and a flashlight in case of emergency.  But the problem with that is the fact that there could be a gas leak.  In a modern household you usually have a natural gas oven, a propane grill, and an automobile that all use highly flammable fuel.  Lighting a match could be a foolish thing to do if you haven’t investigated the area yet.  To first check if the area is safe use a Glow Stick.  They create no heat, have no flame, are waterproof (key if raining) and produce a lot of light.

Why not use flashlights or flares you ask? Simply put because both of these options emit either a spark or heat to generate their light, and since you don’t know if a gas line has been leaking or if its raining out this might not be the best of options.

Safety glow sticks are designed to be in storage for long periods of time while still retaining their ability to glow bright for hours. Easily used as signal lights, emergency lighting, or simply to keep the kids from getting too worried.

Please note that safety glow sticks are DIFFERENTLY FORMULATED from novelty glow sticks. They are made of higher quality chemicals to enhance not only the strength of the light but also storage ability and strength of the plastics.

And Safety sticks are also great for road control, especially with our Glow Cone accessory that easily attaches to standard orange safety cones.