Have you ever sat on your sofa and thought, this is comfortable, but it could really use an engine? Or secretly wished your rugs had holes in them, so you could walk through the house without getting them dirty? Us neither. Enter the world of unnecessary inventions, from the brilliant to the bizarre, the weird to the wonderful, these products aim to solve the problems none of us are facing. They may not be all that helpful, but they are hilarious.
Holy moly
Fed up with vacuuming the rugs in your home? Matt Benedetto from Unnecessary Inventions claims to have swept that issue under the carpet. Thanks to his ridiculous ‘watch your step’ rug, muddy boots needn’t spoil your décor ever again. You’ll still need to mop the floor, though.
You’ll see through this one
In a world of endless scrolling, sharing and liking, one team decided enough was enough. Introducing the NoPhone – the least advanced mobile phone on the planet. Swap apps, camera capabilities and social media for a simple plastic rectangle. Some say it’s a completely useless invention, others feel it makes an important point about smartphone addiction. Watch the promotional video for the NoPhone Air and decide for yourself.
What do you think about the invention of funny socks?
ChattyFeet brings fun moments into the day with whimsical socks, enamel pins, mugs and paper toys.
Sofa so good
Former Wheeler Dealers mechanic Edd China must love spending his days on the sofa, because he’s fitted four wheels, an engine and two flowerpot indicators to his. Taking couch surfing to new extremes, Edd’s sofa car can apparently reach speeds of 90mph – and thanks to its seatbelts, he claims it’s completely legal. That’s one way to do your ‘couch to 5k’.
Pedal power
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – not a phrase you hear often amongst inventors of the unnecessary. When the creators of ‘The Fliz’ decided to give the bicycle an upgrade, they added a new framework, so that cyclists could hang out rather than sit, and removed the pedals (you just need to scoot along a bit like Fred Flintstone). Despite being a truly unnecessary invention, we do think it looks like fun.
Kidding around
What could make jumping into a sandpit more fun? If your trainers left behind exciting footprints. Littleinventors.org is a place where children’s imaginative ideas are made real by expert inventors. Our favourite has to be the shape shoe, the brainchild of actual five-year-old child Alex, which was brought to life by inventor Dominic Wilcox. We love how they shaped up.
Just avocadon’t
If you’ve ever been disappointed with an under-ripe avocado or managed to get your knife stuck in the stone, you’ll enjoy this next idea. The ‘avocado on a stick’ from Unnecessary Inventions is pitched as the easiest way to make avocado on toast. You just need to get past the fact it looks a bit like a deodorant.
We hope you enjoyed our guide to the hilarious world of useless inventions. We’d like to leave you with this final thought – is an invention ever truly useless if it makes you smile?
