Keep Your Beverages on the Level on the Go

Commuters, boaters and other travelers may find the Calypso drink holder a handy item to keep beverages from spilling.

The durable plastic holder is designed with a gyroscope mechanism to keep cans, bottles, mugs or glasses upright as you rattle and roll along. Sloshing is eliminated, too, since the beverage stays level and the container position changes automatically in relation to the vehicle’s movement. Don’t fill mugs or glasses to the top--about three-quarters full provides best results.

Manufactured in Germany, the Calypso beverage leveler has a 5-inch-by-5-inch base, which attaches to dashboards with included adhesive strips. Slide the top part into the base so it’s in a horizontal position. Manufacturers say that on a sloping dashboard, the base can be adjusted up to 40 degrees.

To order Calypso ($19.99, plus $2.50 shipping and handling) contact Fundraising Concepts, P.O. Box 55532, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91423; (818) 905-1435. Allow four to five weeks for delivery.

Rubik Returns With Mental Fitness Games

Remember Rubik’s Cube, invented in 1977 by Hungarian professor of architecture Erno Rubik? Prof. Rubik is back with four “mental fitness� puzzles and a redesigned version of the cube.

“One of the great misunderstandings surrounding Rubik’s Cube was that I was somehow trying to drive people crazy,� Rubik says. “In fact, the objective of these puzzles is to help bring about a more alert and active mental condition.�

Even if you can’t solve the puzzles, according to Rubik, “the few moments you’ve spent fiddling around with them has helped greatly in exercising your mind and reducing everyday tensions.�

Rubik’s Tangle (suggested retail, $5.99), his first two-dimensional puzzle, requires players to arrange 25 tiles of rope to create four continuous lines.

Rubik’s XV ($6.99) is two puzzles in one. The object of the first is to arrange Roman numerals I through XV in order by sliding levers on the puzzle’s side. In Part 2, players must create a square, lining up numbers so each column, row and diagonal totals 15.

Rubik’s Dice ($8.99) offers 82,575,360 possible combinations, with only one correct answer. The puzzle is a hollow cube with seven plates inside. White plates, which include red dots, are loose and can adhere to the inner sides of the cube. By shaking and turning the dice, players solve the puzzle when no red appears through the holes.

Rubik’s Triamid ($8.99) may be tougher than the original cube. Players have to construct a large pyramid, with each color on its own side, using 10 smaller pyramids. Rubik says there are “hundreds of blind alleys programmed into the design.�

All the puzzles are available nationally at game, toy and specialty stores. In Los Angeles, you can find them at Thrifty Drugs; in Orange County, at Toy City and PlayCo stores. Or you can order them by calling (800) 236-7123.