Have you ever wanted a remote controlled tea kettle?  What about a gesture controlled salt shaker? Or a voice controlled toilet? 

When we were researching for our post last month about smart tech, we ran across several very strange items. All of them, naturally, claim to be ‘smart’ devices. They take the idea of “Internet of Things” a bit too far, though.  Because really, why would you need a gesture controlled salt shaker?

We thought to share 17 of the strangest and funniest devices that we came across in our hunt for information. Let us know below which one was your favorite! 

Egg Minder 

While the video is amusing, it doesn’t tell you much about Quirky’s Egg Minder. All you can gather from this video is that it keeps track for you on just how many eggs you have? Presumably this means you would have an app just for this. Which really, when it comes to space on our phones vs not having to  count how many eggs we have on hand, personally, we’re going for the phone space. 

Miliboo Smart Sofa 

Miliboo claims to be the world’s first smart sofa. With  connection to your smart assistants, a wireless charger built in, vibration and smart speakers built into it, and led under lighting. The question is: why? If you really love the IMAX experience we could maybe see it, but at the same time is it really necessary? 

Aevena Aire 

Our next strange product is Aire, a flying robot for your home. It’s meant to work indoors and move itself around people, while still being quiet. It’s one part security camera, one part NannyCam? Which just leads us to question “ if this got hacked, how hard are we going to get hit in the head by it?” 

Laurastar smart iron

Do you ever  question how to iron something? No? You look it up on youtube? So do we! Which is why we don’t get the point of this iron. It teaches you how to iron, beeps at you when it needs more water, and it adjusts temperatures to the fabric in question. “A system that thinks on your behalf and is thus a guarantee of the best possible ironing and effortless premium care.” Yeah we prefer thinking for ourselves, thanks? 

Hatch Baby Smart Changing Pad 

This one we’re torn on. On one hand, the app seems rather intelligent, if a bit much. You can track your baby’s weight, how much they’re eating, going to the bathroom, etc.  On the other hand, the changing pad doesn’t seem to be much more than a changing pad with a scale and a cushion. To top it all off, the app is free? So what’s really the point of the changing pad? 

Onvi Prophix 

You know that the obsession with cameras has gone too far when we’re putting cameras into our toothbrushes. It doesn’t take photos of your face mind, it takes photos of the inside of your mouth as you’re brushing.  

Kuvée Bottle 

Kuvee is one that while it didn’t meet its mark, it did have potential to grow into something great. They created a wi-fi connected wine bottle with a touchscreen that claimed to keep wine fresh for up to 30 days after being opened. Whether they managed that claim is up in the air as the company shut their doors in 2018.

Juicero  

Juicero had SO much potential. As a juice delivery service they could have been great. Instead they focused on a fancy, smart connected product that you didn’t actually need? It turns out that the packets (which were supposed to taste rather good) could be squeezed by hand and you would get the same amount of delicious juice. And you still didn’t have to clean anything other than the glass you drank it out of. 

Chip Smart Cookie Oven  

Ah.. The Chip Smart Cookie Oven. Let’s face facts, this is an Easy-Bake for adults. It came with single serve ‘dough packets’ (think Keurig but for cookies) but you could only make 4 at a time. They still took 10 minutes to cook properly and you didn’t even get to lick the spoon. For the same amount of time, and less money you can make at least 4 times that AND you get whatever dough is left in the bowl. ‘

HapiFork 

HapiFork is a haptic feedback fork that aims to, according to their website,  “ helps you monitor and track your eating habits. It also alerts you with the help of indicator lights and gentle vibrations when you are eating too fast.”  While we understand that their is a link between eating too fast and weight gain, we question why we need a fork that vibrates? 

Bruno 

The Bruno can is both a trashcan and a vacuum cleaner, although not in the usual sense. You simply sweep things in front of the inlet in the bottom of the can and it will suck up anything in front of it. It also bugs you to take out the trash and lets you know when you’re low on trash bags! 

Kérastase Hair Coach 

Have you ever wondered if you’re brushing your hair too hard? Or maybe if your hair is frizzy? No? Neither have we. And yet still this product from Keratase and Withings exists. The list of features includes a gyroscope, a microphone, an accelerometer and conductivity sensors. All of that, in your hair brush.  

Do you have any to add to the list? Or ones that you want to purchase or have purchased for yourself ( we don’t judge)? Let us know in the comments or over on Facebook. And if your appliances aren’t cooperating, reach out and we can schedule an appointment with one of our technicians to get you back on track.