Think Hard: Telekinetic Toys On Their Way

Two companies are set to release toys this fall that kids can operate using only their minds—and that’s just the beginning of a telekinetic revolution, experts say. To use one toy, intrigued individuals wear a headset and concentrate on anything. The toy senses the brain’s electrical activity and uses it to run a fan, shooting the ball upward, the Washington Post reports.

The toys are the first “brain-computer interfaces” for mainstream audiences, but could pave the way for much bigger things, like high-functioning artificial limbs controlled by the nervous system, and devices that make sure you don’t fall asleep at the wheel. Gadgets have already allowed paralyzed people to check email without lifting a finger. “You have to dream big,” says a neurologist. (More toys stories.)