With the rapid advancement of technology, we keep seeing the development of cool and useful gadgets that are designed to make our lives easier. Many great inventions throughout history will forever be remembered for their significance to humanity. However, not all inventions are meant to change the world. There are many unusual ones that are just fun to use or are made to just make little things in our life simpler. Here’s a look at some of the wackiest innovations of recent times. From an umbrella for your dog to the machine that folds your clothes, these inventions may sound weird but can be pretty useful, too.
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Drinking a glass of milk is great for your health but did you know that it can be used to make t-shirts and other clothing items? In 2011, German fashion designer Anke Domaske introduced a fabric called QMilch made from high concentrations of the milk protein casein. It was the first man-made fiber produced entirely without chemicals. “It feels like silk and it doesn’t smell -- you can wash it just like anything else,” Domaske said in an interview with Reuters.
Milk fabric has been around since the 1930s but they always used a lot of chemicals. QMilch is made almost entirely from casein along with a few other natural ingredients, making the fabric ecological. About 6 liters of milk are needed to make one dress. What’s more, since QMilch is made from all-natural materials it has many health benefits too. The amino acids in casein are antibacterial, anti-aging and can even help regulate both blood circulation and body temperature.
Nobody likes plain toast, right? But what if the toast takes a selfie? The wacky Selfie Toaster by the Vermont Novelty Toaster Corp uses a computer-guided metal cutting machine to create a plate of your face on your toast. All you have to do is provide a decent shot of your face and the company will send you a toaster that can burn your image into the toast.
The company prepares the image in Photoshop for about 15-30 minutes, and then with the help of a computer-guided metal cutting machine, it creates a plate of your face. Once the plate is finished and polished, it’s inserted into the custom toaster where it can impart your mug onto bread after it's heated.
We’ve all grown up jumping up and down on pogo sticks. In 2001, a company updated the classic pogo stick by replacing the metal spring with an air pump. This allows for a much smoother ride and higher jumps that will attract kids and adults alike. However, the landings might be a bit trickier and it will take a few tries for you to get the hang of it.
Springs are cool, but they can't be quickly adjusted to accommodate different weight riders. The air-powered pogo stick improves on that. Ever since the new pogo stick was launched, many companies are bringing out their own updated versions of it.
We all have those days when we are working relentlessly and just crave a few minutes of rest where we can catch a shut-eye to escape the world. In times like those, the Ostrich Pillow will really help. It has been specifically designed for those shorter periods of rest. The "pillow" is basically a fluffy, padded tube in which you can bury your entire head to take a nap. The creators actually call it a microenvironment, and claim that their invention allows you to sleep anytime, anywhere by creating a “little private space within a public one, to relax and unwind.”
Toddlers tend to crawl around the entire house and leave a trail of mess with them. Wouldn’t it be great if they also mopped the floor as they went about exploring the house on all fours? The Baby Mop is essentially a onesie with mop pieces attached to its arms and legs to help crawling babies clean and polish floors. The 2012 invention was inspired by a Japanese ad spoof, but there’s nothing fake about this invention.
Made from 100% cotton and “ultra-absorbent materials,” the Baby Mop is “engineered to clean and shine your floor”, according to the company, and has apparently made the lives of many parents much easier. Moreover, it can be easily slipped off and washed when your baby is done “cleaning”.
See Also: 18 Inventions That Will Make Parenting Babies Much Easier
Many of us need that extra bit of motivation to stick to a diet. BitBite can certainly be a great help in that regard. This weird wearable device monitors how much you eat as well as the type of food you consume. So, if you are having a large cheesy pizza for lunch, the BitBite can tell you to be a little cautious and not go overboard.
Launched in 2014, BitBite has a small, contoured design that is built to perfectly fit your ear for maximum comfort. Just put the earpiece-like gadget in your ear at mealtime and its built-in microphone and sensors will automatically track the necessary information and send it via Bluetooth to an app that reviews the data.
You love chocolate but you know it's high in sugar and saturated fat and won’t be great for your health if you have it every day. Well, how about inhaling chocolate instead? Le Whif, a lipstick-size inhaler, was introduced in 2007, which deposits a one-calorie chocolate taste on your tongue. The inhaler is filled with a few hundred milligrams of cocoa particles that can be moved by your breath. However, the particles are made just big enough so that they won’t enter your lungs. So, as you take a whiff from the device, the chocolate powder travels through a mouthpiece that guides the cocoa to your tongue rather than the back of your throat.
Every dog owner knows that during the rainy season, it can be quite tough to take your lovable pooch out on a walk. While we can keep ourselves safe from the rain by carrying an umbrella, our dog’s precious fur gets all damp after they are drenched from a shower. Thankfully, the Dogbrella has come to your rescue. Invented by LesyPet in 2017, this is an umbrella designed to protect your small pooch from the rain. The umbrella mounts to a dog’s collar thanks to a hook and keeps your dog nice and dry on those rainy walks.
We can all agree that folding clothes can be one of the most annoying household chores. This can be particularly true if you have a large family. But what if there was a machine that would just accept clothes and deliver them all nicely folded? That’s exactly what the FoldiMate does. Invented in 2019, the device folds about 25 pieces of laundry, like collared shirts, towels, pillowcases, and adult-size shirts in just about 5 minutes. The FoldiMate’s only downside is that it doesn’t fold small items like socks or big sheets. But it would be still pretty handy to have in the house, wouldn’t it?
See Also: 13 Quirky Vintage Inventions That Should Be Brought Back
Nothing is more irritating than to see the roof of your car covered in bird poop just as you are about to head out. What’s worse is that bird droppings can damage the paint of your car. This is the reason Drop Wipes have been invented. It’s the first sanitary wipe developed to get rid of damaging bird droppings from the exterior of your car or any other vehicle. The makers claim that the wipes can remove the toughest of bird droppings safely "by neutralizing acid, which destabilizes it to clean easily". These wipes will certainly be pretty useful for every car owner.
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