Some people love gadgets, myself included, and there are plenty of places to buy all sorts of gadgets for your home, office, and mobile life. Most of these gadgets are pretty predictable and practical.
Some gadgets, however, are unusual, even weird. They do not fit conventional ideas of practical technology, but many of them are still useful. You might get some strange looks, but these gadgets are still cool.
From Gihawoo Design comes the Plug and Player, an MP3 player that is also a plug. All you do is plug it into an outlet and start listening. It is small and requires no additional charger, since the charger is part of the device itself. Would you actually listen to it while it is charging? That seems almost like asking to get a nice tingly electric surge. Still, the idea is a nice one.
2. Soap Grater
This is a rather low-tech gadget that eliminates the need for plastic soap dispensers. It is supposedly cleaner than the messy liquid soaps as well. How does it work? Just slide a regular old-fashioned bar of soap into it, push in on the handle and let the shredded shavings of soap fall into your hand. Then, wash as you normally would. It is potentially also useful for saving on soap, since it should cost less in the long run.
3. Water Reactive and Sun Reactive Dress
Rainbow Winters does not have a typical name, and it is only fitting that her fashion collection is not your typical line of clothing. Her “Rainforest” dress changes colour depending on the sunlight and water. This is like an environmental mood ring. Rather than reacting to your body’s state, this dress with sun-reactive ink can get bright and colourful when in sunlight and change to a normal solid colour indoors. If you want to be noticed in your cute mini-dress, this is the dress for you.
4. Electronic Spy Camera Shirt
ThinkGeek has tons of weird gadgets, and its Electronic Spy Camera Shirt certainly ranks near the top. The shirt actually has a picture of a spy holding a camera, but little does your mark know that there is a real camera built into it. It comes with a handheld control box that can fit in your pocket and take pictures. Just be careful where you take this and who you photograph with it.
Another cool idea from ThinkGeek is the USB Stress ball. It looks and feels like a normal red stress ball that you can squeeze every time your boss yells at you for being on Facebook, but this ball has a USB cord that connects to your computer. When you squeeze, twist, squash, or smash the ball, your computer screen will squeeze, twist, and so on, matching your motions.
6. Goatee Saver
If you thought this could not get any stranger, enter: the Goatee Saver. This is a product for men who are serious about their goatees. If you have ever had trouble shaping up the perfect goatee, GoateeSaver may be the answer to your prayers. After you are finished with it, you will have the perfect goatee, but while you are using it, you will look like something out of Silence of the Lambs. The GoateeSaver muzzle fits over the optimal goatee area and is held in place by a mouthpiece. If you ever wanted to combine BDSM with shaving, this might be exactly what you need.
Average parents put their babies in cribs that look like cages. Intelligent parents put their babies in stasis pods. The Cencio from Intellicot is closer to the latter. With automatic rocking, an air circulation system for summer cooling, a built-in lifting system so you don’t have to bend down to pick your baby, an integrated video monitor, and a totally awesome night light,
Cencio is the baby crib of the future. If you do not mind placing your child in what looks like a washing machine, there is little doubt your baby will love it.
Straight from Japan comes an invention that is definitely designed for those attached to their computers. Since you are sitting there all the time anyway, why not keep your feet warm? With these comfy house shoes and accompanying USB cord, your feet will always be warm. Just try not to forget to detach yourself before you get up to go to the fridge.
Gadgets make the world go round, and although these gadgets are kind of out there, they are exactly what hard-working, stressed out people need. Enjoy!
Tavis J. Hampton is a freelance writer and gadget lover. He also loves affordable hosting from virtual dedicated hosting company 34SP.com.