Turn it on and it turns you on. So claims Michael Shulman, 31, a New York publicity agent and creator of Op-Tickle, a psychedelic electrical toy that, he says, is just as groovy as grass, and a lot safer than the ubiquitous weed.
Shulman's invention is just a bit more than a pipedream. The human brain insistently finds patterns where none exist. With this in mind, Shulman built his toy, a circular arrangement of Christmas-tree lights. Plugged in, they flash on and off in colorsred, yellow and bluebut in no rhythmic pattern. Still, the mesmerized viewer, if he turns on some music,...