It's one of Pixar's most popular franchises - only Toy Story comes close in terms of the merchandise it spawned - but how much do you really know about Pixar's Cars (and its sequel, Cars 2)? With a third movie now in the pipeline, here are five cool facts about Lightning McQueen and his anthropomorphic automobile allies:

  • Several Cars characters (including Sally and, in Cars 2, Giuseppe) are named after characters from Isaac Asimov's Sally, a short story about - guess what? - sentient cars. Asimov, of course, is best known for writing I, Robot and coming up with The Three Laws of Robotics.
  • Luigi, the Italian car who runs the tyre shop, has the following number plate: 445-108. These are the exact co-ordinates for Ferrari's factory in Modena (Luigi states in the first film that he is a big Ferrari fan).
  • Doc Hudson was voiced by Paul Newman in one of his very last roles. In addition to his considerable acting talents and his non-profit salad dressings, Newman was a keen motorsport enthusiast and, at one point, a professional racer himself. Clearly, he was the perfect choice for the role!
  • A British writer named Jake Mandeville-Anthony tried to sue Disney, claiming that they stole his idea for Cars. According to Mandeville-Anthony, he had written a screenplay called Cars in the late eighties and sent it to numerous companies (including Disney), complete with character sketches and plans for the merchandise. The lawsuit was dismissed after a judge decided that the two works didn't really bear any relation to one another.

Bongzilla has been the source of much excitement here at Gadget HQ this week. Not only is one of our most popular products back in stock, but our next office party is now set to be even wilder than the last one!

Cover the following points:

  • Up to six people can drink at once
  • Bungs can stop up the holes if less than six are drinking
  • Adjustable pole
  • Funnel holds more than 4 litres of beer (can hold an entire 12 pack)
  • Self-assembly (but it's easy to do!)
  • Portable (adjust the pole or disassemble for easy transportation)

Beer Bong Deal of the Week

As you may have noticed, we're having a bit of a beer bong blitz here on Gadget Inspector right now. Spring is in the air and we're relishing the imminent arrival of Drinking Season - those golden few months when the weather is fine and the drinks taste great!

To celebrate our burgeoning alcoholism the arrival of this season's beer bong haul, we're running a great deal this week on some of our best bong products. Three of our favourite beer bongs have been reduced to just £9.99 - there's never been a better time to grab a funnel and get chugging!

Offer ends Friday 28/03/14.

Bongzilla Beer Bong Banner

We got a huge shipment of new stock in yesterday, mostly consisting of beer bongs, drinking accessories, and party stuff. We were thrilled, as we always are when this sort of thing turns up on our doorstep, but the one thing that has us really excited is the arrival of a certain six-man beer bong.

That's right, folks, Bongzilla is back! This leviathan among beer bongs - the glimmering jewel in the crown of our Party/Drinking section - is a bit of a favourite here at the GI office, and not just because it was one of our best-selling items last time around. You probably won't be surprised to learn that us gadgeteers enjoy the occasional drink every now and then, but Bongzilla is the one drinking product that puts us to shame - the 6 Man Beer Bong Challenge is a surprisingly tough one to conquer!

If you fancy tackling Bongzilla with your pals next Friday night, here's what you have to do:

  • Buy a Bongzilla beer bong from the Gadget Inspector website
  • Grab five friends who like the odd drink
  • Fill Bongzilla's funnel up with your favourite lager, grab a tube each, and get chugging!

If the six of you manage to deplete Bongzilla's beer reservoir without gagging or falling over, then congratulations - you are made of stronger stuff than we are!

Beer bong banner

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, which means that we'll soon be swapping our gloves and scarves for sunglasses and boardshorts. Summer is on its way, everybody!

And, with the evenings getting lighter every day, it's the perfect time to get your hands on a beer bong and celebrate the turning of the seasons with a drink or three. No matter where you are - at a house party, out on the town, or just hanging out in the garden with a few of your buddies - a beer bong is always a great way to kick the party off.

And you'll be amazed by the sheer variety of beer bongs available. We've got red bongs, green bongs, dual bongs, long bongs, and - back in stock this week - the mighty Bongzilla, a 6-man beer behemoth that will push you and your drinking abilities to the very limit!

Bongzilla

If you're looking for beer bongs, Gadget Inspector has got you covered this summer. You can even build your own!

Gadget Inspector | Gadgets and Gizmos, Gifts and Novelties
We know, we know - it's not even Christmas yet, so how can anyone be expected to start thinking about New Year's?

Don't worry, though, because that's the whole point: we know that you're neck-deep in wrapping paper and Quality Street right now, and so we're here to think about the New Year so that you don't have to.

If you're hosting the party...

Hosting the New Year's Eve party is a big responsibility, and not just because of all the tidying you'll have to do (probably hungover) on New Year's Day. When the party is being held at your house, the onus is on you to give everyone a night to remember. Here are some of the things you'll need:

Touch Speaker
Parties need music, but how best to provide it? If you use your stereo, you'll have to change the CD every 45 minutes; if you play Spotify off your phone or laptop, well, it'll sound like it's being played off a phone or laptop. What you need is this ingenious Touch Speaker - simply place your phone on top for instant amplification! There are no cables or pairing required, which makes this speaker ideal for parties - if someone wants to put their own music on, they simply have to take off the current phone and put theirs on instead!
16oz Red Solo Cups
Paper cups are surprisingly hard to come by at the last minute - by the afternoon of December 31, every shop in your area will most likely have sold out. So why not order some Solo cups now and save yourself the panic on the day? These top-quality cups are just like the ones you've seen in countless American teen movies, and those parties are always awesome, right?

Jager Bomb Cups
Of course, Solo cups aren't the only option, and if you're planning to serve up a few Jagerbombs at your NYE bash, these specially-moulded Bomber cups may well be a better choice. Fill the middle section with alcohol, fill the rest of the cup with energy drink, and get ready to drop one last bomb before the big countdown!

You can rest assured that people will bring plenty of booze to your party, but all of those bottles will be useless if you've no means of getting into them. You'll need a bottle opener at the very least, but if you want to turn things up to 11, we heartily recommend our 'Manly Bar Tool' set (featuring, among other things: a hammer-shaped bottle opener, a screwdriver corkscrew, and a saw for slicing lemons).

Beer Pong
No party is complete without a bit of beer pong! This American-style kit contains 14 cups, 2 balls, and a pair of mats on which to place the cups; if you really want to impress your guests, you might consider purchasing a Professional Beer Pong Table too!

If you're going to somebody else's party...

Just because you're not the host doesn't mean that you can't make an effort. Here are a few fun items that you might consider bringing along - each one is sure to kick the party into a higher gear!

Challenge your friends and find out who the best drinker in your group is! As the name suggests, this absurdly large vessel holds and entire YARD of ale (or lager, or whatever). Furthermore, it's marked with ratings (ranging from 'Wimp' to 'Solid Legend') that will let you know exactly how a big a drinker you are.
Ultimate Beer Bong
Of course, if drinking is your game then there's no beating a good old-fashioned beer bong. We've got a huge variety of bongs to choose from, ranging from the classic 2ft design to