The great open-ended construction toys we all know and love - LEGO, Duplo, Fischertechnik, Gears! Gears! Gears!, KÕNex, Bristle Blocks, Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, Zome, and ZoobÊ- are largely closed systems, meaning they canÕt be used in connection with other products. Now imagine this all changed, and you could create the worldÕs first construction toy mashup where pieces from one design could connect to the others. Makes a creative toy builder salivate with possibilities!

Drool no more, friend. The Free Art & Technology Lab (aka, F.A.T.) has come up with an ingenious solution to the problem: make connectors to connect the disconnected! ThatÕs right, the eighty pieces in their Free Universal Connector Kit are designed to marry modules from one system to another so you can be free to explore the nirvana of uber-interoperability.

It's easy to make your own set of connectors. First, download the free Construction Kit file from the link on this page. If you own or have access to any of the open-hardware desktop 3D printers, such as the Makerbot, RepRap, Ultimaker, or Printrbot, you can use the file to output your connectors. Another option is to upload the file to an online 3D printing service bureau (Ponoko, Sculpteo or Shapeways for example), who will make and ship the kit back to you (for a few bucks).

If none of these are in the cards, you could console yourself by downloading the Free Universal Connector Kit poster pdf, and hang it on your wall. At which point you may suddenly take note that the full acronym for this quintessentially creative product is...F.A.T. F.U.C.K. Very funny guys!