By 
The world does not fall short of crazy things and this remains true even for the gadgets world. There are literally hundreds of gadgets that have been made that left us scratching our heads trying to understand why exactly they exist. As much as we could not exhaust this list, here are five gadgets that we think rank highly on the crazy list:
Selfie Toaster
Selfies were so huge in 2014 that “selfie” became the word of the year. At the height of humanity’s narcissism, Burnt Impressions started manufacturing this weird gadget. If the selfie toaster is something that would make your bucket list, you can still get yours custom made.
Start off your week with tech news recap and trending conversations in your inbox
Selfie Arm
If you’re scared people think you have no life and no one to take photos with, you could fool them into thinking that you always have a companion in the form of this weird gadget. The Selfie Arm makes it seem like there is someone always holding your hand.
Headphones That Electrocute You
US company Halo Neuroscience has designed headphones that have spikes in the band that sits on your head and shoots electric impulses into your brain.
Once the spikes are doused with water – so they can transmit electric current, they work by applying small jolts to the area of the brain that controls movement — putting it into a state of “hyperlearning”, or so the theory goes.
There is certainly legitimate science behind this sort of thing. The company says users should wear the headphones when doing things like learning new exercises, practising their jump shot or even playing the piano.
“We recommend using them for just 20 minutes, but that will give you benefits for about an hour,” said Halo’s Danny Holzman. The company launched its second generation version a while ago and they’ll set you back a few hundred bucks if you want to buy them online.
Oakley Thump MP3 Sunglasses
The world’s first (and last?) “digital music eyewear,” Oakley Thump was originally released at the height of MP3-mania in 2004, starting at $395 for a 128MB model. (Perspective: Apple was selling 40GB iPods for $399 at that time.) In fairness to Oakley, which makes extremely high-quality lenses, introducing eyesores that also plugged into your ears was surprisingly successful. The original Thumps gave way to the more comfortable Thump 2 model in 2005, the higher-capacity Thump Pro in 2006, and the more subtle Split Thump in 2007.
But subtlety was never a hallmark of Oakley, which giddily branded everything that came with this device, right down to the USB-cable. Given that today Apple is poised to kill the headphone jack on its iPhones, Oakley’s claim that these goggles meant the end of wires was actually ahead of its time. But it also offered models in white camo, and there’s likely no age when that colour scheme will be in style.
MindWave EEG Headset
Who needs a mouse and keyboard when you can control computer software with your thoughts? That’s the premise behind NeuroSky’s MindWave Mobile EEG headset, a brainwave-reading wearable that comes bundled with games and other apps designed to be controlled by a wearer’s mental states. (The company also says the headset can help you track your brain’s “performance.”)
Other headsets, like the Emotiv EPOC, have been used for similar purposes. Still, early reviews indicate we’re a long way from true mind-powered computers.
These weird gadgets prove that you don’t always have to need the stuff you buy. Are there any gadgets you’ve bought in the past that you regret having now? Drop us a comment below and let us know which weird gadgets have managed to lure you into buying them.
Comments