Sometimes, there are just little things that you can add to your life to make it a bit better. These things are not necessities by a long shot, but maybe are a little quirky or make irksome tasks just a bit easier.
2011 has plenty of examples that fit into this category. Let’s take a look at some inventions that make life simpler, more fashionable or just plain cooler:
Keyboard Food Tray. This keyboard food tray allows you to put your toast and coffee on top of it so that the crumbs or spills don’t fall onto the keyboard itself. Your hands fit underneath it, so you can continue typing as you snack. This sounds pretty cool, actually. I don’t know how many keyboards I’ve made sticky by spilling coffee on the keys.
Rolling Book Chair. This roll-able, bookshelf chair is probably a must-have for everybody. It includes a wheel at the bottom of the chair so you can push it around, and also a lamp on the armrest so you can read your book wherever you are. Underneath the seat and on the two fronts of the armrests, you can store your books. The back legs allow for a comfortable seat, and it also has slots to store your notebooks and pencils. Can’t wait to see someone wheeling this thing around in Central Park.
Foldable umbrella. This umbrella certainly comes in handy when you don’t want to carry a giant bag, or if you do have a giant bag and don’t want to ruin it with a sopping umbrella. This invention is an umbrella that folds into a little bag, so you can carry it around as it dries off.
Arm slings that describe how you broke your arm. These hip casts feature warning sign characters tripping down stairs, falling in soccer matches or being chased by dogs so you can avoid telling one person after another how you broke arm. Seems like it would save a lot of time—and annoyance for the poor, injured person.
Under-the-stairs storage rack. This is a pretty convenient installation for people with too much stuff and not enough interest in those plastic storage containers. With this invention, a sliding door comes out from underneath a wooden stair, you can store things—like shoes, probably—underneath. No word on how many stairs can get the storage treatment.
Vision Toaster. This toaster has two glass panels on either side of your piece of toast, so you can watch as your toast browns. I like anything that turns bread into art. I would buy this in a heartbeat if it didn’t cost THREE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY DOLLARS!