In my strolls around the internet, I have found a few things that are so awesome, they're not.
The Sharky Tea Infuser
Duh-nuh. Duh-nuh. Duh-nuh Duh-nuh DUH-NUH - it's the Sharky Tea Infuser! Designer Pablo Matteoda from Argentina created the ocean-inspired infuser for a contest through Designboom.Com. The idea is that you add loose lead tea to the uber-cool-looking infuser, set in it hot water, and watch it bleed brew. The air chamber created by the fin keeps the infuser on the surface, so once your tea is brewed you can easily pull it out.
While totally neat looking, it's not quite genius for two reasons. One, it reinforces the stereotype of the ever hungry, man-eater shark leaving a trail of blood in its wake (I am a marine biologist! I get upset by these things). But really, the design flaw is much less philosophical: who the hell owns clear, large mugs to drink tea out of?
The Dunk Mug
I think the idea behind this one is pretty straightforward. The Dunk Mug, sold by Mocha, allows you to have your cookies handy when you need them most. And who doesn't want their cookies on hand at all times when drinking? It's the pinnacle of cookie-milk convenience technology.
While awesome in concept, there are a few flaws that keep this from sheer genius. First off, who drinks their milk out of a mug? Sure, you can dunk cookies in hot chocolate, but it's just not the same. Also, you'd have to be careful which side you drink out of. It seems to me that the unobservant might start to drink only to pour their cookies on their lap. But most importantly, everyone knows that the best cookies are the large, gooey ones that are way too big to fit in the base of a mug.
And last but not least... the most almost genius of them all:
The Universal Packaging System
Meet the only box you'll ever need. Designed by Partrick Sung, the Universal Packaging System is ideal for... well, everything. The individual cardboard sheets are scored and can be folded into a regular box or into almost any shape imaginable, to suit the oddest of odd shaped objects. The idea is that by saving space, people could save money on shipping by packing more items into the same box, trucks, etc.
Unfortunately, the Universal Packaging System is a little too smart for its own good. After all, who wants to mess with custom-fitting boxes when you can just throw in some cheap peanuts around an object? Especially when odd-shaped objects are much harder to neatly stack...
- Log in to post comments
I think the mug is brilliant, and here is why:
(1) I totally dunk cookies in coffee;
(2) You can put your hand in there to keep it warm;
(3) You can hide other things in there to amuse you while sitting in seminar, or brownbag, or colloquium.
Not bad!
Have a look here:
http://www.worldwidefred.com/home.htm
This is a shelter of... well, funius (part fun part genius) things (and strange and funky of course)
Not to mention that cardboard box would totally ruin the fun of trying to guess what's inside your birthday presents.
I look at the cardboard and think "Pre-folded origami! I wonder what I could make with it?"
Presumably you're not British for then you'd know that in the UK (which seems to be the primary market) people like to dunk biscuits in their *tea* - which they drink in copious amounts from mugs. The same is also true for Ireland, fwiw.
Speaking of which, off for a cuppa meself.
Spoken as both a tea addict and a shark enthusiast, I want one of those tea infusers.
Also, what tea are they steeping that bleeds red? Even red teas are way more pinky-yellow than red.