Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re an obsessive-compulsive type when it comes to organizing cables (guilty) then this retractable extension cord should bring some peace of mind. (I’m not the only one who loses sleep over messy cables right?) With only 5 feet of cord it’s pretty limited as to where you can use it, but the cable winds back into the base so you can keep things looking neat and tidy. It also features 2 ungrounded outlets on the base, which is unfortunately another limit when it comes to how and where you can use it. But with a price tag of $12.98 from FullOfLife.com, I guess you get what you pay for.

[ Retractable Extension Cord ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There’s been countless inventions over the years that have made our lives easier, but at some point we have to draw the line. And I think a motorized spray bottle is as good a place as any to start. This 48oz model from Cepia can be filled with any liquid whether it be water, soap, herbicides or even pesticides, and pushing the small trigger button will cause the electric motor to automatically pump and spray for as long as you keep it pressed. Now I realize that if your home is filled with plants, watering them on a daily basis can get to be a bit tedious. But if you actually find the act of squeezing the trigger on a spray bottle to be too arduous a task, then I’d seriously suggest getting rid of some of your indoor foliage before resorting to a motorized spray bottle. But if you must have one, you can find it online for about $8-10.

[ Cepia Motorized Sprayer ]

By Evan Ackerman

As if I don’t already feel bad enough when my houseplants that I pay so much attention to up and die on me, designer Junyi Heo has created a USB planter with an LED display that makes faces to convey the current emotional state of your leafy pal. The planter has sensors that measure soil conditions, temperature, humidity, and water, and based on the type of plant in the planter, some software will calculate how the plant is most likely, uh, feeling. There are a bunch of different facial expressions, including male and female ones, along with some simpler pictures that tell you if the plant is too hot, too cold, or thirsty. Seems like it could also use something to tell you if it’s getting the proper amount of light, which I think is how I manage to kill most of my foliage. Speaking of, you know what else it could use? A little tombstone icon a la Oregon Trail: “Here lies Wilt. He died from lack of sun.” Rest in peace, my chlorophyllic friend… Rest in peace.

VIA [ Yanko Design ]

By Andrew Liszewski

They say if you build a better mousetrap the world will beat a path to your door. But given the variety of alarm clocks available on the market, I think the real money is in finding new and unique ways to wake people up in the morning. Like this hanging alarm clock for example. You attach the clock to your ceiling with the supplied cable so that it hangs just above your bed. Not so close that you’re going to hit it every time you roll over, but close enough to hit the buttons without having to reach too far.

When the alarm goes off in the morning (playing the theme from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind) you can simply reach up and hit the snooze button for some more shut eye. But that will also cause the alarm to climb up the cable 30cm every minute. So every time you hit the snooze button, that’s 30cm farther you’ll have to reach. Eventually the alarm will be so far that you have no choice but to physically get up to reach it, and at that point you’ll probably be wide awake.

You can find the Hanging Alarm Clock at Crazy About Gadgets for about $40.

[ Hanging Alarm Clock ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

By Evan Ackerman

Generally, I’m not much for baths. They take a while to get ready, it gets boring to just lie there, the water inevitably cools off, and when I get out I don’t feel especially clean. If I had a Red Diamond Bathtub, though, all of my problems would be solved and showers would be a thing of the past and it would take me about 2 hours to get ready for work in the morning. This is a serious, serious bathtub. The first thing you’ll notice are the two waterproof HDTVs that pop up out of concealed side panels. There’s also an integrated Champagne holder, fully electronic controls (including automatic temperature hold), solid gold highlighting, and a whole bunch of Swarovski crystals leaded amorphous solids.

Want more? Okay, how about comfortable seating for two, four color LED mood lighting, an “electric self extracting hand-held shower unit,” variable intensity whirlpool and airpool jets, a continuous automatic water disinfection system, and a GSM module that lets you call the bathtub (!) and order up a bath with the temperature and water level of your choice from anywhere in the world.

For the ultimate in bathtub luxury, expect to pay somewhere around $47,000.

[ WGT ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If someone had come to me and said, “Hey Andrew, I’m thinking about designing a bathroom sink that can also connect to your MP3 player and double as an amplified speaker” I would have told them it was a stupid idea. But now that I see pictures of one that really exists, I realize how wise I am because it’s still a stupid idea. From WET Studio comes the X-Light Surround Basin which is made from transparent PMMA (or para-methoxy-methamphetamine poly-methyl-methacrylate) acrylic. It would be kind of cool if the entire basin functioned as the speaker when an MP3 player was connected, but it looks like it actually uses two dedicated speaker units located on the underside of the sink. Now I can’t deny that Jan Puylaert’s design looks slick and modern, but I like to keep my electronics away from running water, toothpaste, soap and everything else you put into the bathroom sink.

[ WET X-Light Surround Basin ] VIA [ Trendir ]

By Luke Anderson

I don’t know about the other guys out there, but I hate shaving. I have a goatee, but you’ll notice that I don’t generally keep the rest shaved smooth all the time. Usually I’ll wait until I need to go somewhere semi-important (or until my wife starts nagging about it) to shave. Even then I take the lazy route and use and electric shaver. Since I don’t want to deal with dead batteries, I have a corded shaver to make my life easier. If I were to decide to get one that didn’t have to be attached to the wall, I might think about getting this Wind ‘N Go Freedom Shaver.

This is your basic shaver, with nothing really fancy going for it. Well, except for the fact that is is hand-powered. Just crank this baby for 1 minute and you’ll get 2 minutes of shaving. Of course I’d recommend winding it for more than just one minute at a time. If you’re obsessed with keeping a smooth shave, you might get one of these to take with you on those long trips. Just $46 will net you one of these eco-friendly shavers.

[ AthenaBrands ] VIA [ GearLog ]

By Luke Anderson

When you’re young, your parents always try to drill the importance of eating fruits and vegetables into your head. Of course when you grow up and move out you realize just how great your life is without needed to worry about those strange foods. Sure, sometimes you’ll buy a few apples and bananas with the intention of eating them, but lets face it, they just end up rotting away in the fridge. Well if you really do want to eat them, why not make them last a little longer?

The BLUE aims to be the device that actually gets you to eat your fruit. No, it’s not going to make you desire fruit more, but will make your fruit stay fresh longer. Maybe then you’ll actually get around to eating some.

The BLUE manages to keep your fruit from rotting by emitting a special light which kills off the harmful bacteria that loves to live on your food. You’ll simply see a soft blue light over your fruit, which will help preserve it. Unfortunately they don’t specify just how much extra life you’ll get out of your fruit.

VIA [ GearFuse ]

By Luke Anderson

I’m not good with plants and never have. When I was young my mom used to ask me to help her with her garden, however, she quickly figured out that I was the reason she couldn’t keep anything alive. Needless to say, I don’t even bother these days. However, those of you that enjoy growing your own fresh herbs, check out this cool indoor herb garden.

This discreet piece of furniture will easily store away your garden whilst making sure your plants are fresh and healthy. Of course we all know that if this does get put into production, potheads everywhere will be rushing down to their local stores and grabbing one.

VIA [ Yanko Design ]