Excess-Baggage Charges are a Thing of the Past This is another great example of original and out-of-the box thinking. In the past we’ve covered several solutions to traveling light and compact. This article, however, is about traveling heavy – but without paying excess-baggage charges. Read on...

Hold a Door Open a Crack – the Easy Way, with Door Monkey We all know how difficult it is to make a door stay open a crack to let some fresh air circulate or to reassure kids who refuse to sleep with the door closed. Sure, you can put something between the door and the door frame to keep it from...

Tools to Work on Ladders and in Other Difficult Places When you’ve been working on a ladder, flat on your back underneath a car, or in any other difficult spot, you know how much difference it makes when you have your tools at hand. The MagnoGrip and the Autoloader screwdriver are two original p...

Don’t hide your cables – show them off A product that certainly merits the clever & easy label and that’s a great example of out-of-the-box thinking is this cable-decorating solution from PA Design. While everyone else focuses on hiding cables, their approach is to show off your cables. ...

Recycle your hand-basin water to flush your toilet – SinkPositive Some time ago, we wrote an article on the Caroma toilet, which is a space- and water-saving combination of a toilet and a hand basin. Apparently, this kind of solution has been popular in Japan for a long time. It’s a great solu...

Taga Stroller and Bike Combo Takes your Child Anywhere Once people have kids, the bike often ends up in the garage, collecting dust until the kids are old enough to ride a bike themselves. You can equip your bike with a children’s seat, of course. But what to do when you arrive at your destinati...

Versatile Battery Charger – Eneloop USB Booster Stick This device seems the best of both worlds. It combines the mobile charging abilities of the unique USB cell with the improved chemicals of the rechargeable Sanyo Eneloop NiMH batteries. On top of this, you don’t have to just use it to charg...

CompoSphere Composting Tumbler Makes Composting Easier Last year I was enthusiastic about the EarthMaker rapid no-turn composter because you don’t need to turn the compost on a regular basis in order to aerate it. This CompoSphere compost bin is another alternative that not only makes turning ea...

Your Travel Stroller is Your Luggage Too – The Ride-on Carry-on Plane or train travel with little children is tough. Carrying one bag on your back, pulling a suitcase behind you and trying to steer a stroller with your one free hand takes more coordination than most people can handle. Not to men...

Easy-threading Needle – Spiral Eye Needle Cancel that order for your new prescription glasses! Here’s a needle that you can thread with your eyes closed. Even a mild manifestation of Parkinson’s disease won’t stop you from threading this within seconds – and I’m not kidding. Now you kn...

Teach Kids How to Ride a Bike – Gyrobike Gyroscopic Wheels Improve Balance Unless your children are really brave kids, it’s not always obvious how to teach them to ride a bike without the safe feeling of bicycle training wheels to help them stay upright. Most parents need to do a lot of runnin...

LightSpeakers from Klipsch Use Your Light-Bulb Sockets Wireless cameras, wireless controls, wireless networks, wireless speakers ... Many of these products claim to be wireless, but the manufacturers “forget” to mention that, although the signal is transmitted wirelessly, they still require a ...

Compact Folding Table Hides Behind a Picture When you’re tight on space, but you don’t want to take it as far as the ultra-compact Matroshka furniture set, other great solutions can be found. This folding picture table from Ivydesign is very elegant and original, yet remains a real-life solution...

Fish Training Kit – Train your goldfish with the R2 Fish School Ahum … didn’t this blog promise to bring you useful products, not gadgets? Indeed, I meant to remember something like that. But in my defense, I want to say that this product is both completely silly and brilliant at the same ti...

USB Charger Integrated in Outlet – TruePower We’ve been writing a lot about the ideal multi-charger solution to get rid of cable clutter. But most of those devices don’t come cheap, and they still need to be stored somewhere when not in use. The TruePower outlet, however, has integrated USB ...

Affordable Stairlift Alternative – StairSteady Throughout the western world, the tendency is to provide the necessary means to enable elderly people or people with disabilities to remain self-sufficient, allowing them to live at home longer. One problem that many of those people face, however, a...

This Tripod is also a Protective Case for Your Point-and-Shoot Camera It’s only a small step for mankind but, since I’m a photo enthusiast, I can’t resist bringing you this wrap-up protective case that’s a tripod at the same time. It also looks like the perfect companion for the Nikon C...

Telescoping Ladder now Extends to 15.5 Feet I love telescoping ladders. They’re extremely compact and easy to stow compared to the classical alternatives that always get in the way in your basement or garage. Those are really difficult to handle when you need them around the house – or worse, ...

iPod Dock and Universal Remote – Philips SJM3151 Recently, we posted an article on the Bexy iMirror iPod docking station and remote control. We liked it from the start because, contrary to most iPod docks, you can even see and select the tracks on your iPod on the iMirror’s screen. One comment...

Extra Trunk Space or Bike Carrier – Westfalia Portilo A bike carrier is commonplace nowadays, and so is the car rooftop box. But what if your needs vary and you don’t have a station wagon that can easily accommodate your rooftop box? The Portilo from Westfalia is an original new approach that ca...