Dell Taiwan accidentally priced one 19-inch monitor, normally costing around $150, at only $15, and received a whopping 140,000 orders within the 8 hours it was live. Now, the Taiwanese government is forcing them to honor the sales.

This kind of thing isn't too uncommon, and normally a company like Dell would either honor the price (if relatively few orders were placed) or offer some kind of discount, so as not to, you know, go out of business. But the Taiwanese government is now saying Dell must honor all 140,000 orders or face prosecution for violation of fair trade laws (and no, we have no idea what fair trade has to do with this situation).

Dell has apologized and says it will compensate buyers for the mistake, but they probably mean some sort of discount instead of a loss of millions of dollars. [Channel Register via The Raw Feed]

Come on, this isn't much of a transformation. This powered USB gadget is in the shape of Optimus Prime's severed head, and the ears (or whatever) swing out to reveal the speakers within.

There should also be a version in the shape of something called "Ultra Magnus," which we're going to assume is another Transformer, and is available for pre-order now. It'll sell for $50 when it arrives sometime later this month. [BigBadToyStore via Chip Chick]

We knew certain prisoners used pigeons to smuggle cellphones, but this guy looks like he's merely keeping up with the times. Tying paper messages onto a bird's leg is so 20th century. [Terra]

Here's something for our hefty "WTF, Verizon?" file: The BlackBerry Tour, soon to be Verizon's top phone, cannot be pre-ordered by existing customers under contract who want to upgrade. What's worse, upgrades may be blocked even after the phone's release.

On the pre-order page, Verizon notes that, "Pre–orders not available for upgrade orders at this time." So if you're stuck with a years-old Curve 8330 or Pearl and want at least a current-gen BlackBerry, you'd better hope you've finished your contract. Even if you're eligible to upgrade to every other phone Verizon offers, you'll be blocked from nabbing the Tour. Oddly-named Verizon customer service agent "Markelvus" confirmed that the only Verizon customers allowed to pre-order the Tour are those whose contracts are completed.

Even stranger, Verizon customer service rep "Alexis" (who refused to provide me with her last name) stated that existing contract customers may not even be allowed to upgrade to the Tour when it's released. She said that such customers will be notified when upgrades are available, but that she does not know when that may be, and it could be well after the phone's July 13th release date.

She said, and I quote, "There is not a clear explanation on why existing customers are not able to order this device now. I am not sure when you are able to order it."

Those mid-contract upgrades cost Verizon money, so on kind of a cold, reptilian level, we understand the reason for the rule. But there's also a little thing called "not screwing your customers," and Verizon seems to have a tough time grasping that one. The Tour will be the most desirable phone in Verizon's lineup upon its release (and while we like the Tour okay, it's definitely not in the same league as the Pre, iPhone, or Hero), and yet they're keeping their contracted customers from ordering only this one device.

Sorry, Verizon customers. We feel your pain, we really do. We're getting tired of applauding Verizon's network while bashing absolutely everything else they do. At what point is staying with the Big Red no longer worth the hassle?

"I don't know Mary. Even though this thing is supposed to hold 5 tons, you could still stand to lose a few pounds. You know, just for health's sake." [Getty Images via Gawker]

The Sears Tower Skydeck is four separate glass retractable "protrusions" that can each hold up to five tons, and is probably the best laxative to be found on the 103rd floor. What's holding you up is three layers of half-inch thick glass (plus whatever joints and connectors they have to connect the glass). The visit is included in the $15 admission. [Sun Times]

How much do you know about the most celebrated personal stereo of all time, one that is today turning the big Three Oh? A lot? OK, hell, let's see what you got:

1. What was the full product name of the first Walkman?
A) Super Karate Monkey Machine
B) WM-1
C) TPS-L2
D) Excalibur

2. What is the official, Sony-approved plural form of Walkman?
A) Walkmans
B) Walkmen
C) Walkmanidae
D) Walkman personal stereos

3. In the Walkman's first 10 years, how many different designs did Sony release?
A) 25
B) 70
C) 130
D) 170

4. What is another name that the Walkman was to have gone by?
A) Soundabout
B) Freestyle
C) Stowaway
D) Super Karate Monkey Machine

5. What was the original desired name for the Walkman?
A) Stereo Buddy
B) Music Boy
C) Stereo Walky
D) Singman

6. What was the inspiration for the Walkman?
A) Sony founder Masaru Ibuka wanted to listen to opera tapes during his long trans-Atlantic flights
B) Sony president Akio Morita wanted to listen to music while he played tennis
C) In 1978, Sony's cassette division had lost its radio-cassette business to the radio division, and needed to impress their bosses with something new
D) All of the above

7. How many Walkman units sold in the first 10 years?
A) 1 million
B) 10 million
C) 50 million
D) 100 million

8. And how many competing Walkman clones sold?
A) 10 million
B) 50 million
C) 100 million
D) 150 million

9. Complete this sentence from a 1981 UK Daily Mirror article: "The Walkman has become the _________ of electronics."
A) Hairpiece
B) Skateboard
C) Lucky Strike
D) Hula Hoop

10. Which all-time great wrestler/movie star does the figure in the Walkman 10th-anniversary monument (at left) resemble?
A) "Macho Man" Randy Savage
B) Andre the Giant
C) Jesse "The Body" Ventura
D) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

1. (C) TPS-L2 - We're not entirely sure what happened to TPS-L1, but they quickly switched to the WM naming system. [Source]

2. (D) "Walkman personal stereos," which is totally unfair for journalists with tight word counts. "Walkmen" is a band, however, if you like bands named after your personal electronics. [Source]

3. (D) 170 different models, so basically 17 per year on average, enough to suit every man woman and child. [Source; Image Source]

4. (A) in the US (B) in Sweden (C) in the UK, but alas never (D) [Source]

5. (C) "Stereo Walky" – but, fortunately, Walky was already trademarked by Toshiba [Source]

6. (D) All of the above, and probably a handful of other apocryphal tales, too. [Source, Source; Image Source]

7. (C) 50 million [Source]

8. (D) 150 million, proving you can't patent a general concept, no matter how slick. [Source; Image Source]

9. (B) Skateboard [Source]

10. (B) Andre the Giant—seriously, doesn't he? [Source]

ANSWER KEY [Image Source]

Special serious thanks to Don the Intern for kicking ass all over the research end of our little Walkman 30th-anniversary party. Don't forget to check out our gallery of the craziest Walkman models, and of course, those brilliant Walkman ads from back in the 1980s. Hat tips to Pocket Calculator's Walkman Museum and to Tim and Nick Jarman's Walkman Central.

This unbelievable papercraft project, by Japanese art student Wataru Itou, took over 4 years to create and features lights and a moving train. It's probably the most stunning papercraft sculpture we've ever seen.

The sculpture is called, in English, "A Castle on the Sea," and is currently exhibited at Uminohotaru, which we assume is some kind of gallery right on the ocean. The entire project, excluding the lights and possibly a few mechanical elements of the train, is made of painstakingly cut and folded paper. Check out a few of these shots, if you don't mind your socks being rocked clear off your feet and across the room. [Tokyo Bling]

Whenever you give users—especially kids—a photo sharing application where they can upload their own photos, you're gonna get some nudity. That's fine, except for the part where I said kids. Now it's bad news for Apple.

We can see how they approved the app, since it's innocent by itself (a photo sharing and uploading app). But when 15 year old girls start uploading topless photos of themselves, like the previously approved and then denied Hottest Girls app, that's when someone needs to take the app off the market. [Krapps via Wired]

Smokers, like rabid animals, are usually confined to enclosed areas, away from the rest of us. The FRESH concept, designed for airports and other high-traffic areas, uses a "wall" of air to stop the carcinogen-laden smoke from reaching us normals.

The "wall" is actually created by colliding high and low air pressure in a spherical shape, keeping any harmful smoke within its boundaries. Fresh air is continually cycled through the interior of the FRESH unit so the smokers don't hotbox the thing. It was designed by D.K. Wei, and doesn't seem to be in the running for production, but it is definitely a cool-looking, functional way to reduce secondhand smoke as well as making smokers feel less like herded cattle. [Yanko Design]

Henry Ford Estate volunteer Ed Hebb, who may or may not have worked with Henry Ford himself, shows us how to start and drive a Model T. It's pretty damn informative seeing as you'll never get to drive one. [Neatorama]