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The hardest we've ever felt the need to laugh at a gadget

The Fart Machine is a hand-powered fart machine that lets you create your own fart sounds.

By Aymeric DelaplacePublished 10 months ago 4 min read
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The hardest we've ever felt the need to laugh at a gadget
Photo by SCREEN POST on Unsplash

Did you know that not all of the gadgets sold on this planet are hard to use? Some of those things are actually well-designed, possibly even good ideas. Our shining example: The Cake Boss Anniversary Edition Stand Mixer. Oh, it is SO easy to use. (Also easy to clean.

Banana phone

I'm not sure why, but I've always found the Banana Phone to be a little bit terrifying. Maybe it's the fact that it's basically just a banana with a phone built into it. Or maybe its the fact that it looks like someone took an old phone and glued a banana on top of it.

Either way, this is one gadget that needs to be retired immediately. The Banana Phone is actually quite simple: It's just a banana with a phone built inside of it. No, really. There's nothing more to it than that. You put your SIM card inside the banana, put it in your ear and start talking into the mouthpiece — which is actually at the bottom of the banana (as seen in the image above).

If you're wondering how this could possibly be useful, well...I'm not really sure either! You would think that there would be some sort of advantage to having an actual piece of fruit attached to my head while I'm talking on my cell phone but I can't think of any right now.

Segway

When you think of Segway, you probably think of mall cops and mall security. But the company has been in business for over 15 years, and they've created some pretty cool products. They make electric scooters that are perfect for zipping through airports and city streets. They make a backpack that's like a mobile charging station for your gadgets.

And they even have a line of ruggedized tablets called Gorillapads that can survive drops from up to six feet. But despite all these products, Segway still has a reputation for making terrible gadgets.

Google glass

Google Glass was the first wearable computer that was supposed to change the world. It didn't, and now it's dead. Google is giving up on the unpopular face computer after two years of development, according to a report from The New York Times on Monday. Google Glass was supposed to be a revolution in how we interacted with technology — but it never took off.

The idea behind Google Glass was simple: Wearable computers were going to be the next big thing in mobile devices, so Google would get there first. The idea was so compelling that Google paid $1 billion for a startup called Nest that had built a smart thermostat and smoke detector — both of which have since been integrated into Google's ecosystem.

But instead of building its own hardware from scratch, Google decided to partner with existing companies like LG and Motorola who would build their own versions of Glass using Android as an operating system. That strategy didn't work out so well for Google or its partners.

3d printer food

The 3Doodler is a pen-like tool that allows you to "draw" in three dimensions. The device uses plastic — just like the filament used by most 3D printers — and works by extruding the material through a heated nozzle. The result is a line of plastic that can be used to create objects, which are built up layer by layer.

In order to test the 3Doodler, we printed out a few items from Thingiverse, an online repository of 3D models that can be downloaded and printed out using desktop 3D printers or other devices like this one. We started with a simple cube, then moved onto something more complex: an elephant model that was designed specifically for this test.

The results were impressive — but not quite perfect. There was some warping along the edges of our pieces, which meant they didn't sit flat on our desk when we tried to display them there.

Pet rock

The Pet Rock is a novelty toy that was introduced in 1975 by Gary Dahl. It is a small rock with no apparent purpose, packaged in a cardboard box, with an attached card that purports to have been written by the pet rock itself. A hole was drilled through the rock so that it could be hung from a string, as though it were a pendant or charm.

The packaging also included directions on how to care for the pet rock and "training" tips. The product was advertised as being "the first no-maintenance pet," and sold out within hours at retail outlets across the United States. The fad spawned dozens of imitators and led to an explosion of sales for similar novelty items in the following years.

The Pet Rock fad began in late 1974 when Gary Dahl wrote an article entitled "How to Start Your Very Own Pet Rock Business," which he sent to his friends as a Christmas card. The following year he made up and sold 1,000 rocks in his local area before sending them out by mail order nationwide; they sold out within hours of arriving at stores across America.

Remote control car keys

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About the Creator

Aymeric Delaplace

💬 Hello, I'm Aymeric 📱. 👋 I write about apps, software and businesses for kids for publications like TechCrunch 🌟. 🤔Have a question? DM me on Twitter or e-mail my email address. 👈❤️

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