Thanks to Coilhouse, I just learned that artist Theo Jansen is producing 3D printed baby versions of his amazing strandbeests - wind-powered kinetic sculptures that "walk" on their own.
If you don't remember Jansen, here he is with his eerie, lifelike beests, which he calls "new forms of life:"
Of course you want one, right? Well, now you can get one! A small 3D printed version, at least, without all the wings and propellers. Here's a video of a little strandbeest running around on a string. Give it five seconds, and you won't believe this little guy isn't actually alive:
Squee! (Yes, I'm squee-ing over 3D printing. Technology is amazing.)
While Jansen's rhetoric about the evolution of his beests can sometimes border on precious, it's true that the way they move makes it hard to believe they're not alive. Who knows? Maybe someday someone will build an AI with a standbeest skeleton, and it really will evolve. We'd just need to drop them on a largish moon with a good brisk wind. . . squeee. :)
Buy your own baby strandbeest, "Animaris Geneticus Parvus," for about $100 from Jansen's shop at shapeways.