Man Creates A Real-life “Magic Mirror” For His Girlfriend

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, what’s the best Christmas gift of all? That award might go to a one-of-a-kind creation by Dylan Pierce, of Philadelphia. He built his girlfriend a high-tech mirror that not only updates her on the weather, but is also programmed to dole out compliments. He posted a step-by-step guide to the DIY on Reddit, where the post quickly went viral.

Pierce actually got the idea from his girlfriend, Amy, a woodworker who sells her pieces online. Rather than just making her any old wooden handmade mirror, though, he took it a step further and went high-tech. The creation process, which he describes in detail on his blog, involved an acrylic double-sided mirror, an inexpensive computer called Raspberry Pi, and some custom coding to create the display. He revealed the gift on Christmas, to Amy’s complete surprise. As he told The Daily Mail, Pierce had to make the piece in secret while she was at work. Initially, she just thought it was a normal mirror — then Pierce told her to plug it in. "I wish I had a picture of her when the Raspberry Pi boot text starting flowing down the screen. Made all the work worth it a hundred times over," he told the paper. Pierce also told The Daily Mail that the project isn’t done yet. He plans to add customizable messages to surprise Amy. Sounds like he’ll have a hard time topping this present for future birthdays and holidays. See more step-by-step images of the mirror on Pierce's blog.

Opener image: Photographed by Erica Gannett.