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An artificial Christmas tree that pulls faces and plays appalling tunes is
what you really, really need for the last festive season of the century. At
least, that’s the message from Cheng Chung Huang of Taiwan, who has invented (GB
2 334 899) a plastic tree with an electric motor hidden inside. The motor drives
a crankshaft that has a tongue, eyes and eyebrows attached. These poke through a
funny face mask that sits on the branches. A sound-sensitive switch controls the
motor, so any noise in the room makes the face wag its tongue, roll its eyes and
raise its eyebrows. At the same time, a music synthesiser plays a tune.