A spray bottle and some water are so much cheaper and quicker than an iron in this modern business-casual world, though!


The "no books" one hit me right in the left aorta though. I'm going to need to rethink my life for a little while.

@32ndnote: I have to disagree. There are clothes and materials which you absolutely totally HAVE to iron with a firm hand. I use mine barely once a month, i'll admit that, but still at like 25 bucks or something, its not all that expensive. (you can find cheaper ones, i think i remember seeing one for 15 bucks once)

OI! rice cookers are not junk. rice cookers rock.

The rice cooker is one of the smartest buys we ever made...it gets used nearly as much as the microwave. We buy these pre-fab rice/rice-n-beans things in bags (Vigo is the brand name) and it's awesome. I can't even fathom not having one now.

Shoe inserts definitely depend on the shoe. In some shoes where there's room, they're great...if your shoes don't have room, you're just going to cramp your feet and become uncomfortable.

Tie rack? No way my closet could survive without it. Or my ties.

Take your Kindle and shove it. No. Thanks.

...and her arguement against having a nice home theater speaker system is the extra remote? Seriously. We're supposed to suffer along with the crappy speakers that TV makers put in their TVs fully expecting you not to use them because you don't want another remote in the house? Besides, virtually all remotes that come with anything are multi-use anyway - the one that came with oure reciever is the only one that needs to get used...for the reciever, DVD, DirecTV, and TV.

Radar detector...15 years ago I swore by them. But then I moved to MN where they are illegal, and I've developed a super power at being able to spot cops with my bare eyes at extreme distances...something that I had gotten too lazy to do with the radar detector.

...and as for the Ionic Breeze - they should have stores that sell only those things, Bose audio crap, Apple products, and Monster Cable. And tattoo everyone who shops there on the forehead so the rest of us can see them coming.

Ok, rice cookers and bread machines I understand...why buy an appliance (a uni-tasker in the words of Alton Brown) when you can do the same job with your stove/oven. I suppose if you're making copious amounts of rice and bread, it becomes worth it, but maybe not.

But an ice cream maker? If you're the homemade ice-cream type, is there a standard-kitchen-issue equivalent that will get the job done? You can't just stick a bunch of cream in your freezer and hope for the same result.

All in all, it was a weird list. I've never even heard of an ear candle before this, and I haven't owned a VCR in about 8 years (much less a VCR+ gizmo), but classifying books as equally useless as Happy Meal Toys is just wrong...

This worthless article itself should be on the list.

The ear candles aren't advertised to work as the article says they supposedly do. There was a time where companies said it would vacuum out the wax, but that isn't true. Now companies tell you that it doesn't do that at all and not to expect that to happen. What happens is that the heat and moisture from the wax causes your own natural ear wax to soften and allows it to come out of your ear. I use them all the time and they really help.

I'm tired of people putting them down when they don't even know what they do! I stopped reading the article at that point and won't be going back to that crappy site again!

@MostlyHarmless: An iron is one of those things where, when you need it, you need it, and there's really no faking it. Yes, much of what I wear is wash-and-wear, but there'd be big trouble if I showed up in court/corporate-meeting/interview wearing un-ironed clothing.

@mmmsoap: Actually, there IS a way to make ice cream in a plastic bag, but it certainly doesn't yield a high amount.

WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK?

Books are some of the most important things in the world, and to just throw them away because some stupid device comes along?

::screams in booklover rage:: MAY HE BE FUCKED SIDEWAYS WITH A GUTENBERG PRESS!

@mmmsoap: Exactly. Kinda like ties and condoms. I very very very rarely if ever need them, but i always keep one, just in case.

This article sucked. It was based on nothing but opinions of uneducated individuals.
"A home theater is a waste because it is too much work to operate? Seriously?

This was a waste of my time. Shame on you Consumerist.

An iron is essential for many pieces of clothing. This depends on where you work of course.

Some people need shoe inserts because they have oddly shaped feet. Some of us would love them, but no one makes a size 15 insert. :P

Books? Hah.

It sounds like the blogger didn't set up his home theater correctly. If it's right, the sound on the TV is off, and the surround is pumping out all the awesome. The same could be said for his bread recipes.

It sounds like "some people may find these useless, and some people may not know how to use them properly..." :|

There's a difference between my clothes (that my dear wife irons) and those of the people at work that haven't iron. It's the wrinkles! Even "wash and wear" looks much sharper when ironed.

@YouDidWhatNow?: I bet the idea that home theater audio is useless came from the same idiot that still has their HDTV hooked up to a DVD player with composite cables.

What? Polaroid Cameras? As a photographer, polaroids are definitely NOT worthless.
Rice cookers? Yes, sure you can cook rice on the stove but some of us SUCK at cooking rice on the stove. I have a plastic cooker that works in my microwave, I think of it as invaluable.
The iron, I agree with wholeheartedly though, I've never understood the point of having clothes that need to be ironed.
The kindle thing? I admittedly haven't used a kindle but I can't imagine it feels better to sit and look at it than read a REAL book.
Not to mention, taking the kindle to the beach or the pool? On a backpacking vacation to the tropics? Yeah, no thanks.

@#9
FTA: "my sisters-in-law chipped in and got us an external sound system for our TV one holiday for a present. It came with four speakers, two boxy units that sat near the TV, and its very own remote. Just what I needed." (emphasis mine)

Wow, what a ungrateful bitch.
It's even worse that she's basically announcing it to the entire world with her article.

@Billy-Austin:

...heat rises, so unless you've got your head over the flame, that heat isn't going into your ear. As for moisture from the candle wax...well, if you think there's significant moisture in wax then I don't know what else to tell you. Maybe if you poured some homeopathic pee-water through it...

@Posthaus:

S-Video.

@moozicmon: Sadly, it could have been an interesting, informative list--there's certainly plenty of worthless shit out there. (the Ab Roller would probably remain on a more thoughtful list.)

Should be retitled "20 Things That I Think Are Worthless Pieces of Junk"

@32ndnote: I'm a quilter, so I use my iron almost every day. However, having it out all the time in my sewing studio means that when I do need to touch up a hem, it takes no time. When I kept it on the top shelf of the closet and had to struggle with the noisy rusty guillotine of an ironing board I had, it was easier to stay wrinkled.

@Eldritch: Not to mention: Kindle is still so screwed up with DRM. I know that, short of burning down my house, no one can make my books suddenly broken, obsolete, unreadable, etc. with a few clicks of a mouse somewhere. We've seen it happen already with Tivo deleting episodes of shows that are about to come out on DVD, and with MSN Music shutting down and locking people out of their purchased music collections.

I'm not saying I would never switch to a digital reader; heaven knows I've shifted away from CDs now that I've ripped them all onto my iPod. But I still have the CDs in the basement. Just. In. Case.

I found the list to be pretty obnoxious. Correct me if I'm wrong, but his entire rational against tie racks seemed to be "I don't enjoy wearing ties." I expected some clever substitute for the tie rack, but he doesn't offer any alternative (Not that there aren't any). I can understand that it isn't supposed to be some axiomatic list, and it is necessarily based on personal opinion, but "I don't like the objects that this product is intended to be used with" is a really horrible rationale for a list.

@MTVAH:

I was going to accuse you of not knowing the correct spelling of "rationale," but then I saw that you spelled it correctly the second time. Also, you're cute.

@mmmsoap: "Why buy an appliance when you can do the same job with your stove/oven?" Um... dare I ask, are you single and childless?

I LIVE by my rice cooker and bread maker. Dump ingredients, push button, walk away. No stirring, no checking, no kneading, no standing next to the stove/oven... I have no time for that, and with my kids, I'd get interrupted about 20 times in the process, even if I did. Plus, speaking of kids, the rice cooker and bread maker are so easy that my kids can use them. Which, at ages 5 and 9, they are not exactly ready for hot stoves and ovens, yet.

I craft a lot. I find it cathartic. Hobby kits (everyting in the box, limited time looking for bits and peices) are great, and iron is a must for both cloths and cloth related crafts, and BOOKS? BOOKS??? Have you gone mad! I'll never abandon the tactile pleasure of a good book.

Kindle? Really...... Kindle?

A netbook costs a bit less than the kindle and it can also ready PDF files - and do so much more!

I like physical books, since if I loan one (you cannot do that with kindle content) or if I loose a book or it gets wet, I can just inexpensively repurchase that book, if needed.

@Coop: LOL exactly what i was thinking. I'm like seriously?

Sheesh. What a maroon. Really.

Until the Kindle:
* is in color
* loses the DRM
* lets me make my own data backups
* lets me annotate (audio & text)
* lets me print pages/text annotations at will
I am not buyin' it. No way, no how.

My books don't crash, I can mark 'em up, most thieves aren't interested in them, and if they get wet... I can still read them.

As far as irons go, hey... some of us -like- to look nice.

And then there's the comment about the surround sound system and other -possibly- useful objects... my goodness. Yeah, I agree with the majority here. Unfortunately, this blogger has made the mistake of thinking that these things -must- be useless because he _personally_ finds them to be so.

@YouDidWhatNow?: You beat me to it.

You could fill an entire list of 20 most useless pieces of junk with all homeopathic products.

@32ndnote: I remember visiting my boyfriend's family on an island off the coast of Maine, and finding out that no one on the island (that he knew) owned an iron. There was no reason to. Everyone wore cotton, denim, flannel, and wool almost every day, and looking rumpled was perfectly fine.

I don't know why that detail stuck with me, but it did.

@MostlyHarmless: i got an iron once for $7, new, basic model. after using it twice in three years, i gave it to a thrift store and just borrow my sister's if i need to iron that badly.
to be fair - i don't need to wear anything to work that often that needs to be pressed and the one time a year i need my suit for the annual meeting with vice presidents [who don't notice me in a crowd of 300] i just send it to the cleaners and have it done.

20. Up yours. A good rice cooker is essential.
17. If I gave up my Iron, I may as well give up my job.
10. Take your Kindle and shove it. I'm not retarded enough to pay $300+ for a device just so I can read a book. Buy used paperback's, trade with your neighbors and friends.
9. Stick an Ice Pick in your left ear. Carry on.
8. An Ice Cream maker is a mandatory must have if you like to eat ice cream. Especially when you host a BBQ and friends with kids come over on hot summer days.

I'm done ranting. ;-P

@betatron: +1 Millions of Japanese can't be wrong. I live in Japan and they're EVERYWHERE! And these people know their rice!

@betatron: mine is great - i lived for a couple of years without a microwave and used mine to reheat leftovers too. fortunately, the insert on mine comes out and is dishwasher safe. and it's not a fancy computerized model so it doesn't know if i put rice in it or not, just when the water is evaporated, it's done.
sometimes i steam chinese buns in it too!

So what do I do when I have a wrinkled shirt? I go to the dry cleaners, of course.

And when I run out of toilet paper? I just use money, of course. Or just tear pages out of my worthless books.

sheesh

@YouDidWhatNow?: They do have one for Apple products: The Apple Store.

@YouDidWhatNow?: i thought that was sky-mall?

Just because some ungrateful jackass gets a crappy, made-in-China balloon kit and is too lazy to return it to the store, then ALL hobby kits are suddenly "worthless pieces of junk"?

And I happen to love my shoe inserts. Honest to Baby Jesus, when I started using them I suddenly stopped having back problems (after 8+ years of back problems, thank you very much). And when I stop using them, for whatever reasons, my back problems come back. You've got to buy the good ones, though, not just odor eaters. Better yet, Birkenstockers. Those shoes rock. I couldn't bring myself to pay so much for shoes, but once I did... my knee and joint pain disappeared. No lie. I'm not a paid spokesperson. Those shoes are just awesome.

@catastrophegirl - minus one kitten: Why do you need to hang out with Cheney and Biden to start with? That too with the spartans no less. Also, I doubt if the spandex shorts and the red cape need too much maintenance.

@umbriago: You know what do I do when I have a wrinkled shirt? I iron it. You know, with an iron.

@Billy-Austin: "The ear candles aren't advertised to work as the article says they supposedly do. There was a time where companies said it would vacuum out the wax, but that isn't true. Now companies tell you that it doesn't do that at all and not to expect that to happen. What happens is that the heat and moisture from the wax causes your own natural ear wax to soften and allows it to come out of your ear. I use them all the time and they really help."

So in other words, they lied. Now, they have a new line that's untrue (any more than a warm q-tip would be.)

It's at worst dangerous, at best ineffective. I'm personally sick of people suggesting that anyone try out quack health products.

@Eldritch: I agree. I have trouble trusting machines, and I'm no old fogey... just 23! Books are awesome, and I can't concentrate for long periods of time reading on a screen. I will NEVER be converted to a Kindle, and neither will my children.

Rice cookers are great, especially genuine Japanese ones. Best rice ever. There is a good chance that you'll get sick of eating rice every day, but that's not the cooker's fault, is it?

Polaroid cameras were, for their time, absolutely indispensable for producing quick images. Fifteen years ago, if you wanted quick pictures, it was Polaroid or nothing.

Screw the Kindle. Give me an old fashioned book anyday. The batteries won't go dead, the publisher can't suddenly decided that I've read it too many times, and if I leave a $5 paperback on the bus, who cares?. I think the Kindle should be a definite "useless item."

I also happen to like Happy-Meal toys. I have several on my desk at home and at work.

One person's trash is another person's treasure, and vice versa.

* Home Theater Sound Systems
What kind of idiot wrote this list? I'm going to get a television and have to put up with the crappy on-board speakers? Why not take it a step further - get rid of the television all together. Seriously, you dont actually *NEED* a television to survive day to day. That's a thousand bucks you could have saved right there.

* Bread Machines
Um, some of us LIKE knowing what the hell is going in our bread instead of a long list of chemicals. Besiudes the bread machine SAVES money - the cost of the flour and ingredients are pennies compared to 2 bucks for a store bought loaf.

* Books
And now we come to the most utterly moronic thing on the list. Sorry, but I refuse to touch a DRM ridden piece of crap that Amazon can turn off on a whim. My copy of Conan here on my nightstand? I'll be able to read that in a 100 years - you think a Kindle will be able to do the same thing?

What a shit article. I read only 3 items:
1) tie rack - i have about 10-15 ties, and was hoping for some magical replacement that could be better than the spinny one i just got for $6. his reason is he doesn't really wear ties. Oh OK, thanks. That's helpful.

2) Home theater sound system - because it comes with a remote. I have a Harmony Remote. No big deal.

3) VCRPlus+ - It was pretty cool when it was came out. Nowadays, it's just obsolete. Why not add Walkman or Edsel to teh list?

I'm not going to read any more.

@moozicmon: Not only that, but the "too much work to operate" consists entirely of pushing a few extra remote buttons.

I don't see how one can survive without an iron. I honestly don't think anyone in my office cares whether or not my clothing is pressed, but my own dignity prohibits me from leaving the house in wrinkled clothes.

Dry cleaning is a waste of money and is too harsh on cotton shirts. I don't want my shirts coming back shiny. If I wanted shiny shirts I'd buy them that way.