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2016's weirdest gadgets
One day, every piece of clothing you own will tell you how many steps you walked that day, your dog will play video games, and your umbrella will remind you to bring it with you. Oh, and everything has clean lines and some sleek combo of white, metal, and wood used in it's construction – or at least, that’s what some of 2016’s gadgets want us to think. Here are some of the most unique (read: weird and useless) inventions of this year…
CleverPet
You may not get to spend all day lounging around at home eating and playing video games, but now your dog can! In case you were afraid your dog was getting tired of all that ear scratching and butt licking, instead they can play brain games, solve puzzles, and be rewarded with treats. It even has an app so you can track their progress like an anxious parent of a prep school kid. Who’s a smart boy? Source -
Parrot Pot
If your superpower could be killing every single plant you purchase, maybe you’d be willing to throw down $149 to change that. This pot literally takes care of every facet of plant-care for you – it monitors light, temperature soil moisture, and even fertilizer levels. Go on vacation and it’s got you covered for a month. Get it and fool your friends into thinking you can keep things alive all by yourself! Source -
Crazybaby Speakers
No, speakers aren’t weird. Speakers that look like the lovechild of BB8 and a garbage can are pretty weird though. The name Mars is pretty well-suited to it, since it looks like it was salvaged from an alien spaceship. The site claims the floating head “provides nearly loss-free sound of pure music,” – but who are we kidding, we just want to buy stuff that floats because it looks cool. Source -
Foodini
Because cooking things by hand is for cavepeople in the ancient past (AKA 2015), Natural Machines has provided us with a new way: Foodini! You can now 3D print your food, if you don’t mind it taking. . .well, a really long time. It’s kinda slow. But that’s okay, because it’s better than having to do anything myself (as long as we don’t have a real-life Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 3 happen). Get one so your friends don’t laugh at you for using your stove like a plebian. Source -
Sensorwake
Instead of BEEPBEEPBEEP shocking you awake every morning, why not... croissants? Yep, you read that right. This alarm clock will wake you up with smells like grass, coffee, chocolate, and yes, croissants. Is there a way we can combine this with the Foodini and actually wake up to a fresh croissant? Source -
Xcooter
Solving the pressing problem of getting tired of standing while scootering, the rechargeable battery-powered Xcooter will take you up to 17 miles on a single charge without you having to any work. Despite looking kind of like a weird exercise contraption sold on infomercials, it’s kind of a nice cross between a motorized bicycle and a Vespa. Also, the clearly-not-focus-group-tested-name is pronounced “x-cooter.” Source -
Ehang 184
Solving the pressing problem of getting tired of standing while scootering, the rechargeable battery-powered Xcooter will take you up to 17 miles on a single charge without you having to any work. Despite looking kind of like a weird exercise contraption sold on infomercials, it’s kind of a nice cross between a motorized bicycle and a Vespa. Also, the clearly-not-focus-group-tested-name is pronounced “x-cooter”. Source -
WELT
If you’re into the wearable fitness trend but not a fan of the bracelets, enter the stylish and attractively-named: WELT (for wellness-belt, apparently). Simply slide it into the belt loops of your... exercise shorts... and it will track your weight, the size of your waistline, and the amount of steps you take. Source -
Segway Robot
It’s here. The beginning of I, Robot, Bicentennial Man, Wall-E – apparently they all began in 2016. This Segway-with-eyes will follow you around, carry your groceries, and even carry you if you get tired. Billed as “your personal robotic companion”, it can see you, hear you, and not bump into things. Quick, someone call Will Smith. Source -
Yum and Done
In the, “Why?” category, this is a spoon that communicates with a felt sleeve that looks like an animal that goes over your phone and says certain things when you pretend to feed it... or something. To be honest, we’re still not exactly sure what this thing does, and its commercial doesn’t do anything but creep us out. We’ll stick with the “vroom vroom here comes the airplane” method. Source -
Thermo
Did we miss something? What’s wrong with a traditional stick-it-under-the-tongue thermometer? If you need temperatures that are extremely accurate, it might be worth the $100 investment, but the “16 infrared sensors that take over 4,000 measurements” seem a bit...unnecessary. Source -
CHiP
No, you have not time-traveled back to the early 2000s – someone is trying to make robot dogs a thing again. He’s always ready to play, responds to you, and charges himself. He also “feels” you touch him with “capacitive sensor technology.” Source -
Smartshoe 001
Because you need to dress yourself from head to toe in clothing and accessories that will tell you just how much weight you need to lose, here’s Smartshoe 001! Not only does it look weird and cost a lot, it does vaguely creepy things like tighten itself and warm up your feet if it senses that they’re cold. And, of course, fitness tracking stuff. Source -
Credit: Dreamstime
PitPat
Tired of obsessing over your own fitness goals? Now you can obsess over your dog’s too! This collar tracks your dog’s fitness activity while you’re not there, and makes recommendations based on the dog’s age and breed. Source -
Oombrella
Because remembering to check the weather forecast is just too hard, here’s an iridescent umbrella that will do it for you! It senses when it’s going to rain and you’re about to walk out without it, so it sends you a text to let you know. It’s about $70 on Kickstarter and it’s alien-80s chic – what a deal. Source
15 Weirdest Gadgets of the Year
15 Photos
Unique and useless gadgets from all walks of life
