As a somewhat absent-minded person, I’m always glad to see when products hit the market that are helpful to people like me. How about a special lid that prevents pots from boiling over, for when you put some pasta in the boiling water and then wander off? Sounds like a great idea. Too bad it isn’t. [More]
new and exciting products
Finally, An Advancement In Peanut Butter Jar Technology
By 7.26.13
Does that last bit of mayonnaise or peanut butter at the bottom of a jar really bother you? I usually hand the jar over to my dog and let her take care of it, but for some reason not everyone has a dog. That’s why some entrepreneurs have harnessed the technology behind deodorant sticks to eliminate this problem. [More]
Just What You Needed: Emergency Flatware Pen Caps For The Office
By 6.25.13
Dine Ink “novelty pen caps” raise several important questions around the office. For example: “why are you writing with a fork?” and “why are you eating with a pen?” There is also always the inevitable “why did you spend perfectly good money on that?” [More]
Coinstar Lets You Add Coins To Your PayPal Account, For A 10% Cut
By 6.10.13
Sure, after you check for silver quarters, you could roll up the coins in that jar you’ve got on the counter and deposit them in the bank. You could take them to a coin-counting machine at the bank and deposit them in your savings account. You could even dump them in a fountain, making hundreds of wishes in the process. But the folks behind Coinstar’s ubiquitous machines hope that you’ll take your spare change–and maybe a few bills–and deposit it in your PayPal account. [More]
Look Tough, Nap Hard With The Travel Hoodie Pillow
By 6.6.13
The Travel Hoodie Pillow is exactly what this world needs: a travel pillow that not only doesn’t look like a travel pillow and you can carry it around incognito, but lets you put a hood over your face, blocking your eyes from the light and from the curious stares of people who don’t understand why you’re wearing a sweatshirtless hood. [More]
The Origo Won’t Let Smartphone Addicts Start Car Unless Phone Is Inaccessible
By 4.19.13
Drivers distracted by their phones or other gadgets in the car are a serious safety problem and really annoying to get stuck behind when the light turns green. What if there were an overly restrictive answer to that problem? Meet the Origo: a system that won’t let you start your car unless your phone is in a specific dock. [More]
Will The Edge Of Glory Really Let You Slice A Tomato WIth A Credit Card?
By 4.3.13
Have you always dreamed of slicing vegetables with the sharpened edge of a plastic credit card? Yeah, us either. But pitchman Anthony Sullivan does just that in the ad for the Edge of Glory, an inexpensive, small, and easy-to-use gadget that claims to sharpen any knife in your drawer. Is it worth $10.99 plus shipping and handling? According to tests by our super-sharp siblings down the hall at Consumer Reports, the answer is “maybe.” If you only have cheap knives. Or want to chop your food with a credit card. Which actually works. [More]
Scope ‘Introduces’ Bacon Mouthwash With A Mint Finish Just Before April 1st
By 3.29.13 — Updated: 4.2.13
Do you know what’s wrong with the current oral hygiene products market? Not enough bacon. In what has got to be an early April Fool’s joke, Procter & Gamble has joined the global bacon obsession. Yesterday they announced a new flavor of Scope mouthwash flavored like the famed pork product. It tastes like bacon, but leaves your breath minty fresh. If that’s even possible, the existence of Scope Bacon is a disturbing bit of flavor chemistry and we have to try it right now. [More]
Does The Lint Lizard Actually Work? Surprisingly, Yes
By 3.22.13
Infomercial products usually claim to solve a problem that you didn’t know you had. This is usually the stuff of jokes, but what if the products actually improved our lives and made us and our homes more safe? Such a thing is possible in the case of the Lint Lizard, a $11 gadget that promises to attach to your vacuum and suck gobs of lint out of the crevices of your dryer. [More]
You Need An Automatic Egg Tube On A Stick Maker
By 3.18.13
If there’s anything that I need in my life, it’s eggs cooked in a flexible tube like a sausage without casing. Here I am, cooking my eggs in a frying pan like a sucker. Then I learned about the Rollie. [More]
No More Kinder Surprise Smuggling: New, Legal Chocolate Eggs With Toys Inside Available In The U.S.
By 3.14.13 — Updated: 3.15.13
If you’re a lucky and/or worldly person, you’ve experienced the tiny ovoid wonder that is the Kinder Surprise candy. It’s a chocolate egg with a plastic egg inside, and the interior egg includes a moderately cool toy. As many Americans learn the hard way while traveling home from Canada every year, the Surprise is illegal in the United States. This Easter, though, chocolate eggs hit the market that are thoroughly American-proof and legal. Meet Choco Treasure. [More]
Stuff No One Needs: Comic Sans Stencils
By 3.8.13
You know what’s even worse than using the font Comic Sans for every message you create on a computer, printed and online alike? Bringing the horror to the real world by using these two-inch-tall Comic Sans stencils. Don’t do it. Not even you, Banksy. [More]
This Exists: Wax Vac, The Ear Canal Sucking Machine
By 3.1.13
The best infomercial/direct-response ad products solve problems that you had no idea you had. The Chia Pet? The Topsy Tail? The Shake Weight? The Snuggie? The Comfort WipeAll things that your life would have continued just fine without, but they make so much sense that you simply must have them. We’re not sure that’s the case with the Wax Vac, which combines the glamor of an ear thermometer with all of the fun of sticking an electric sucking machine in your ear while grinning. [More]
Perhaps You Would Like A Fridge With A Built-In Sodastream Or Hot Water Dispenser
By 2.15.13 — Updated: 4.15.15
Many of our friends and readers are big fans of the Sodastream, a device that lets you make your own sweet (or not-so-sweet) fizzy beverages at home. What if you could combine a refrigerator water/ice dispenser with the at-home carbonation technology of the Sodastream? Don’t rush to the patent office: Samsung has already introduced that product. It hits stores in April. [More]
If You Find Using A Butter Knife Difficult And Dangerous, The Banana Slicer Is For You
By 11.29.12
In our hectic modern world, it’s difficult to find time in the day to pick up a butter knife and slice up a banana. I eat at least once sliced-up banana with peanut butter every day, and know this feeling well. That’s why someone decided to invent the Banana Slicer, which chops your banana into uniform slices with a single stroke. Because apparently that’s something that people want. [More]
Now At Walmart: Gingerbread Oreos
By 11.2.12 — Updated: 5.9.16
Here’s one bit of early Christmas merchandise that we’re not going to complain about. For once. Hitting shelves now, only at Walmart, introducing… gingerbread-flavored Oreos. [More]
Don’t Know How To Create A Pat Of Butter? Help Is Here
By 10.19.12
Sure. You could take a stick of butter out of your fridge and cut a small slice off with a knife to butter your food. If you’re cooking and need to measure out a specific portion of butter, you could use a very sharp knife and follow the guide lines on the wrapper. Or you could buy a Butter Cutter, the device that cuts a perfectly-sized pat of butter for you without dirtying a knife or having to measure. [More]
You Don’t Need The Perfect Tortilla Pan. No One Does.
By 7.25.12
Every time I look at a TV during the last few weeks, I see ads for the Perfect Tortilla, a wavy mold designed to help you make lovely edible bowls out of a regular store-bought tortilla. At home, visiting family, even at a sports bar: the ad is everywhere. What makes it annoying isn’t the spokesman who resembles a bald Billy Mays. It’s that this product is useless, even by the rarified standards of as-seen-on-TV merchandise. [More]
