Case modding insanity
For gamers, making modifications to your computer’s case started out as another form of bragging rights at LAN parties, i.e. “my computer looks cooler than your computer”. But as Apple in general and the iMac in particular made people start thinking about the industrial design of objects that people were looking at more and more frequently, it became more and more of a general aesthetic and style issue. Now it’s to the point where it’s a full-blown hobby.
Hell, even I have a digital temperature guage on the front of my case and a very apropos fan grill which was thoughtfully given to me by my brother-in-law.
I’ve seen the teddy bear computer case, a case made from the cardboard box that WinXP comes in, and many many others. Still, I hadn’t realized the art/science/hobby had been elevated to the level where a case had been made out of a life-sized anime girl sculpture.