Strange German Lavalamps

[Purity!]

i was skimming german ebay and found these rather odd efforts... i think the 2nd one may not be a lavalamp at all, just tagged with that keywork, but i'm not sure what it is.

The first one looks interesting, sort of like it does something unusual but i'm not sure what? it seems to actually have lava in it?

http://cgi.ebay.de/Schoene-Lavalampe_W0QQitemZ370043660531QQihZ024Q...

http://cgi.ebay.de/Blitzroehe-Blitzkugel-Lavalampe_W0QQitemZ3002150...

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Both were sold in the USA, too, Purity, the latter being fairly common, the former not so much. The former is a motor-driven lamp that, while not a lava lamp, is interesting. I've got one, and it's fun to watch. A pump creates a current in the liquid inside, and sends large (fake) pears - mine has blue, pink and purple - gliding up through the plastic tube. They then fall slowly around the sides, some of them rolling down the corkscrew ramp. The light is inside the top.

As to the latter, these were sold as "Sculptured Elektra" lamps. Ever seen a lightning sphere, with neon "lightning bolts" moving inside that change when you touch the glass? This is similar, but inside a twisted, blue glass coil, and the light forms twisting skakelike loops. It will, like the spherical kind, change depending on where you touch the glass.

[Purity!]

thanks for that. for some reason i was seeing the spiral ramp as a tube, and thinking maybe actual lava went up it (maybe mixed it up with those 'lavaboilers' i've heard about) then down the outside.

btw i'm a uk-er!