Stephen’s Picks
Recycled Elephant Poo
This sounds like a real turd of an idea – take a bunch of elephant poop, dry it out, bleach it, then turn it into paper! The Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company does just that and is able to make 25 sheets of paper from a single piece of dung! It makes sense, as most of the fibrous material in the poo is undigested pieces of grass and trees bark.
Water Monitor
Designer Adam Kereliuk has come up with a concept product you attach to water faucets throughout your house that monitors your water usage. While a water bill may tell you you spend too much time in the shower, seeing how much you are using in real time might make you change your water habits.
R2D2 Laundry Basket
George Lucas will slap the Star Wars brand on anything to make a buck. Forget the lightsaber remote control, the Tie-fighter speaker system, R2D2 mailbox, or even the R2 home theater projector, now you can throw your dirty laundry in the R2D2 laundry basket. Sounds pretty lame, but I’m almost certain there are enough Star Wars fans out there to buy a bundle of them.
Beethoven Clock
I’m going to impose a self-moritorium on clock reporting after seeing this one. Take a bust of Beethoven, slap a couple pair of glasses on his face, and then embed the time in those glasses. Only 100 were made, so if you buy one today, I’m sure there will still be 99 left next year.
Vibe Space Gate Bass Tunnel
Here is a bass system that will really kick your butt, and probably make your house crumble to the ground. The Vibe Space Gate Bass Tunnel is an arc of 36 Space II subwoofers and 16 amps that will blast out 38,800 Watts of heart stopping power.
Charlie’s Picks
Braun Self-Setting Watch
You’ve heard of atomic watches? Here’s a watch from Braun that communicates with a time signal via radio, working in very much the same way. The a W-200 sets itself, but it’ll set you back over $400. It’s only available in Europe so far.
Zucchetti Rubinetteria Shower Head
Here’s a luxurious ceiling-mounted shower head designed by Roberto Palomba that not only has a rain-like water droplets emitting from its flush-mounted head, it also has special lighting and a built-in waterproof speaker. It’s one of those ultra-luxurious things that doesn’t have a price attached, but to give you an idea, it’s all controlled by a keyboard outside the shower.
TRUS USB Solar Flash Drive
The TRUS USB flash drive has a solar-powered LCD screen on the side that show you its remaining capacity. Now this is an idea I think should be implemented in all USB drives. No pricing or release date was announced but I predict this is not the last time we’ll hear about a drive like this.
Toyota Hybrid X
Toyota rolled out the probable successor to the Prius, and so far it’s calling it the Hybrid X. It has its special injected foam seats, beautiful interior design, a strange bean-like exterior, and most important, a lot of people are saying it will be a plug-in hybrid. Expect a lot of its design to be incorporated in the upcoming Toyota Prius.
