Doctored-up Degrees

The Novelty, Ohio-based folks behind the entertainingly brainy Mental Floss magazine have assembled their most boiled-down batch of big-time learning yet: law and medical degrees in a box. Each metal tin contains atiny textbook (a nice thin 96 pages each), 10 "heroes" of medicine/thecourtroom trading cards, a bar/board exam trivia challenge and a rolled diploma with "real Latin words" writtenon it. (Don't worry the other side is in English.) The law school's tiny tome addresses subjects such as "A ThoroughlyIncomplete, Yet Wholly Satisfying, History of Pre-U.S. Law" and "Supreme Wisdom: Some Fancy-Shmancy Quotes to Keep on Hand." The "You Be The Judge" trivia cards are highly amusing, and challenge your legal finesse with real-life odd ball quandaries. Meanwhile, the authoritative mini-medical text spans such diverse topicsas "Getting Outfitted: Everything you ever wanted to know about sphygmomanometers, overpriced flashlights, rectal thermometers and aichmophobia" and "Microbiology: The great plagues (and food poisoning!)." Here's thebest part: You actually can learn something playing with these things. Just like the magazine, these tins of humor are smart and saucy at the same time. They make the perfect gift for a recent grad or for anyone allergic to Ivy.