World's most pointless inventions

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AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around the perceived futility of certain inventions, sparked by the observation that leaf blowers merely relocate debris rather than eliminate it. Participants share various examples of what they consider wasteful inventions, including exercise equipment like aerobics steppers and treadmill bikes, which they argue could be replaced by simpler alternatives. Other inventions mentioned include battery-operated air fresheners, ink erasers, and even chopsticks, which some find impractical. The conversation also touches on the humorous side of useless inventions, such as a death clock and a wind-powered bicycle. Overall, the thread highlights a mix of frustration and humor regarding inventions that seem to complicate rather than simplify tasks.
  • #51
Cyclovenom said:
Check the picture...

I actually have something similar to that. The panel charges the battery during the day, and it has a small hand powered dynamo too. It's quite useful for camping trips etc. It also has a radio built in. Saves carrying a lot of batteries.
 
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  • #52
In theory this is great: Treadmill bike.

I know I like to work out, but just hate being cramped up in a gym.

Why is it pointless? It sure goes down stairs a lot easier than it goes up stairs! And, it sure goes down stairs a lot easier than it stops going down stairs!
 
  • #53
Parachutes that open on impact.
Screen doors for submarines.
Fox News
 
  • #54
For someone who said treadmills is forgetting how useful it is in the winter time. Unless that person enjoys getting frost bite.
 
  • #55
This thread is not complete without...

http://www.dvdrewinder.com/images/rew2001.png

:P
 
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  • #56
That's awesome, Proggle! :smile:
 
  • #57
A new winner in the pointless inventions: http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/9c89/.

It doesn't have much memory capacity - in fact it has 0 memory capacity - but it never stops.
 
  • #58
BobG said:
A new winner in the pointless inventions: http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/9c89/.
:eek:
I
want
one
 
  • #59
Ooh. I just noticed something embarrassing about this thread. I was supposed to wait another 15 months. :redface:
 
  • #60
ooo i know, how about that electro-magnet flashlite. where u have to shake it for the battery to recharge. my friend's dad got one and it only turns on for like a few seconds after shaking it like crazy LOL what a rip-off...
 
  • #61
rock as a paper weight (way back then)

people had functional fixation problems or what
 
  • #62
BryanP said:
rock as a paper weight (way back then)

people had functional fixation problems or what

Or no air conditioning and had to worry about the breeze through the window blowing all their important papers across the room. Paperweights weren't a pointless invention - just one that outlived its purpose.
 
  • #63
BobG said:
Or no air conditioning and had to worry about the breeze through the window blowing all their important papers across the room. Paperweights weren't a pointless invention - just one that outlived its purpose.

im not talking about an actual paper weight, I am talking about the pet rock.
 
  • #64
Ivan Seeking said:
Parachutes that open on impact.

That's a smart invention. It's for insurance purposes. :smile:
 
  • #65
jaredmt said:
ooo i know, how about that electro-magnet flashlite. where u have to shake it for the battery to recharge. my friend's dad got one and it only turns on for like a few seconds after shaking it like crazy LOL what a rip-off...

Maybe he just got a defective unit? Mine works quite well.
 
  • #66
Danger said:
Maybe he just got a defective unit? Mine works quite well.

same here

the "faraday flashlight"

it actually helped so much when we had a black-out a few months back lol

stays on for a LONG time and its very bright
 
  • #67
The US has fallen hopelessly behind Canadians in cereal technology. How in the world do they do that?!

Diamond Shreddies
 
  • #68
BobG said:
The US has fallen hopelessly behind Canadians in cereal technology. How in the world do they do that?!

Diamond Shreddies

That's brilliant! :smile:
 
  • #69
More serials are produced in Canada due to the stage union.
 
  • #71
BryanP said:
same here

the "faraday flashlight"

it actually helped so much when we had a black-out a few months back lol

stays on for a LONG time and its very bright

o ok then i guess either his was defective or he bought some other BS brand. after seeing this guy's flashlite i thought the whole thing was a scam lol. but if it works then it definitely is a good invention
 
  • #72
Those $40 "Pushup Handles". What ever happened to just doing push-ups off the floor? And if it hurts your wrists, flip over on to your back and use dumbbells...

300.jpg
 
  • #73
jaredmt said:
if it works then it definitely is a good invention

My mother had this weird thing about using a flashlight when she went to bed, rather than turning the stairwell or room lights on (and she wasn't even an X-Files or CSI fan :rolleyes:). Unfortunately, she kept falling asleep without turning the thing off (which is somewhat understandable since she was 93), so she couldn't keep up with batteries. My boss found out about those Faraday flashlights and bought her one. Now that she's in a nursing home and doesn't need it, it's mine. On the other hand, since I'm smart enough to know what a light switch is for, I haven't needed to use it yet.
 
  • #74
BobG said:
The US has fallen hopelessly behind Canadians in cereal technology. How in the world do they do that?!

Diamond Shreddies

:smile: "On a rainbow scale, from yellow to violet, where would you rate them?"
 
  • #75
BobG said:
The US has fallen hopelessly behind Canadians in cereal technology. How in the world do they do that?!

Diamond Shreddies

I think that beats the DVD rewinder.
 
  • #76
head-on---- for headachs just buy tylonal its cheaper and they don't have a annoying commerical
 
  • #77
rootX said:
High tech Japanese toilets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKetwsrl9hk&NR=1

and they cost more than 2000$

I'm a big fan of sushi. If you've ever had a high-rice diet, you'd understand why a toilet/entertainment-system is a necessity :biggrin:
 
  • #78
BobG said:
A new winner in the pointless inventions: http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/9c89/.

It doesn't have much memory capacity - in fact it has 0 memory capacity - but it never stops.



:eek:
thats uhhhh..
:rolleyes:


awesome! that made my day!
:smile::smile::smile:
 
  • #79
I’ve seen a good one recently – it’s a business card with absolutely no contact details on it, just the instruction “please ignore this card”

As business cards go, that pretty much takes the cake for pointless.

It gets strange here though - I found mine in a seat-back pocket on the Edinburgh to Iceland leg of a transatlantic flight – when I got back to the UK I did a bit of research – turns out they’ve been turning up in odd locations all over Europe (nuclear submarines, the outside of tall buildings, one guy in London even found one baked into a loaf of bread!)

I’d be fascinated to know if anyone else has encountered one of these enigmatic cards – I have no idea what they’re meant to be for, but I like a bit of pointless fun as much as the next bored commuter.

There’s a site about it here: https://sites.google.com/site/pleaseignorethiscard/"
 
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  • #80
I have never found a use for the hole in polo mints.
 
  • #81
In the UK recently they were advertising a high tech soap dispenser that uses a sensor to detect your hands so that you don't have to push down on a "bacteria contaminated handle"; you're just about to wash your hands for gods sake, you're going to clean them, you don't need to worry about germs you're about to wash them all off.
 
  • #82
Brassieres.

Seriously, what's the point? :-p
 
  • #83
I thought the paper shredder was a really unnecessary invention. You can shred the papers yourself.
But it helps to shred large amounts of papers faster and more cleanly. And other people to piece together parts of the papers you've shredded more easily.
 
  • #84
Mathnomalous said:
Brassieres.

Seriously, what's the point? :-p

Anti-Gravity.
 
  • #86
Ivan Seeking said:
Anti-Gravity.

Plastic surgery! :biggrin:
 
  • #87
[URL]http://www.gifbin.com/bin/012010/1262868901_useless-machine.gif[/URL]

Do I win?

Also: leaf blowers are easier to use than a rake for gathering leaves into a pile, particularly those on porches/decks/carports/curbs/sidewalks/etc.
 
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  • #88
Max™ said:
[URL]http://www.gifbin.com/bin/012010/1262868901_useless-machine.gif[/URL]

Do I win?

:smile: :smile: :smile: YES!
 
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  • #89
max™ said:
[URL]http://www.gifbin.com/bin/012010/1262868901_useless-machine.gif[/URL]

do i win?

Also: Leaf blowers are easier to use than a rake for gathering leaves into a pile, particularly those on porches/decks/carports/curbs/sidewalks/etc.


hahaha!
 
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  • #90
I think my cat might like that little box contraption.
 
  • #91
Ivan Seeking said:
Ties.

xunxine said:
I thought the paper shredder was a really unnecessary invention. You can shred the papers yourself.
But it helps to shred large amounts of papers faster and more cleanly. And other people to piece together parts of the papers you've shredded more easily.

Shredders are good for shortening your tie.
 
  • #92
:rolleyes: The "Stepper" exercise thingy...


[PLAIN]http://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/Unit/How/FunctionalTeams/pictures/StepTest.jpg


God I hate that thing. Usually when I get one of these sorts of useless thingamabobs, I try to justify its existence (just not to throw it out and hurt somebody's feelings) by making it into a Christmas ornament or something like that. Hard to do though--I mean basically with what might have been a staircase; now missing 10 or 12 of its buddies.
 
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  • #93
...
the "snuggie", which is simply a bath robe worn backwards
the shake weight...
and
jersey shore, (the show)
 
  • #94
Mathnomalous said:
Brassieres.

Seriously, what's the point? :-p

Isn't that two points?
 
  • #95
Max™ said:
[URL]http://www.gifbin.com/bin/012010/1262868901_useless-machine.gif[/URL]

Do I win?

Also: leaf blowers are easier to use than a rake for gathering leaves into a pile, particularly those on porches/decks/carports/curbs/sidewalks/etc.

OMG, I have to build one of those! :smile:

Ooh, http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Most-Useless-Machine/"!
 
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  • #96
Borg said:
OMG, I have to build one of those! :smile:

Ooh, http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Most-Useless-Machine/"!

Starting work right away! :smile:
 
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  • #97
[URL]http://www.gifbin.com/bin/012010/1262868901_useless-machine.gif[/URL]
Borg said:
OMG, I have to build one of those! :smile:

Ooh, http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Most-Useless-Machine/"!
Everything is harder than it looks. I haven't experimented with anything like this in years and anything that can go wrong does. Destroyed a DPDT switch while trying to unsolder a dumb wiring arrangement, struggled with the arrangement of the arm, and then when I finally had something that I could test, the motor wasn't strong enough to flip the switch or even lift the lid. I think that I know how to finally get it to work but, I guess that I'll have to actually buy the correct motor rather than use the ones that I pulled out of VCRs and DVD drives.
 
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  • #98
Lightning Bug gummy candy that glows when you pick it up with the magic tongs



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjDFmCRQP5g

Pointless or not, they're fun, taste great, and make you feel better about yourself for having eaten glowing gummy candy.
 
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  • #99
Artman said:
I was going to lunch and saw a guy using a leaf blower. Think about it, the entire purpose of a leaf blower is to move a mess from one place to another, without really getting rid of it.


What are some other wasteful or pointless inventions?

10. The trouser-cushion
UK patent application No GB2267208, 1993

You may need to sit down for this one. British inventor Michael Bayley decided to put an end to standing nightmares by creating portable seat that you wear on a waist-belt. OK, it’s a somewhat convoluted version of having a cushion with a loop that goes through your belt. “The seat cushion is pivotable between a stowed position and a seating position in which it hangs down so that you can sit on it,” says the patent application. I can see one possible practical use: musical chairs, though you may get beaten to death by indignant toddlers.
 
  • #100
How to eat ice cream the easy way:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX1IDMKMocQ
 
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