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Top 10 Most Useless Items of Crapola

huffingtonpost.com — My point is that it never ends. As we're buying up all of this "stuff," we're wasting money, polluting the earth and adding another piece of junk to our already overcrowded lives. To offset the havoc we purchase yet another useless product and on and on it goes.

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  • Ecochick, on 03/24/2008, -9/+23Hilarious! Though I have to say, infomercials can convince me to buy ANYthing for some reason. I mean, I've never actually bought anything from the TV, but I'm always convinced that I really, really should.
    • Carmilla07, on 03/24/2008, -0/+7Me too. That's why I love those As Seen on TV stores in the mall so I can see all those products I've been convinced that I need. The only thing I've actually ever bought though was a Turbie Twist (which is awsome by the way). I'm still feel the need to get a powerjuicer every now and then.
      • yaddayaddayoda, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Baby wipe warmer? Why, when I was a kid, we used COLD baby wipes... waitaminute, what am I saying? WHen I was a kid, they used tree bark for baby wipes. COLD tree bark.
    • animeguru, on 03/24/2008, -0/+10Man, I used to watch that one for the dehydrator and just imagine all the jerky I could be eating.

      I wish I could say that common sense prevailed, but actually, my laziness paid off and I never shelled out the money for one..
      • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Dehydrators rock. It's not a bad investment, if you actually use it and don't just shove it on a shelf.

        Dried fruits and spices are awesome. I still prefer to do my jerky in the oven though.
    • sgtpppr, on 03/24/2008, -2/+5Ron Popeil is the lord and master of crap. He invented quite possibly the most retarded product ever: the pocket fisherman. I guess you never know when you're going to be by a lake teeming with fish and need a rod and reel at a moment's notice!
      • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Hehehe, that one was funny. But I still think my vote for his most useless product is the "spray on hair".

        Paint your head so people dont' realize you're losing your hair. Ever seen what happens when people sweat while using this stuff? Hilarity ensues.
        • sgtpppr, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Lol. What once was a white shirt now has black stripes running down the back. It's a feature.
    • ubuwalker31, on 03/24/2008, -0/+10@animeguru and sqtpppr:
      I think that most infomercial products are crap. But the problem isn't the idea behind the product (portable fishing rod or food dehydrator) but the crappy product being sold at an insane markup. If you visit one of those "As Seen on TV" stores at the mall, and actually look at the products in person, you can instantly see the shoddy construction and poor design of these supposedly useful gadgets. The huckster/shill factor here is that these TV products are just poor imitations of expensive products (knives, food processors, fishing lures, rotisseries) that a TV audience may have never heard of. For example, I own an inexpensive stick blender that I picked up for $30 to make creamy soups and sauces. Guaranteed that some TV shill will eventually try to sell a cheap version with a cheap motor to an uneducated TV audience for 4 easy payments of $10.
      I, for one, have a quality collapsible fishing rod and reel that I keep in my backpack in case I come across a stream or pond that looks worthwhile, and I also have a quality dehydrator to dry beef jerky and fruit at 1/100th of the cost of buying it in the store. The difference is that I bought my stuff after doing research and from a legitimate source.
      • sgtpppr, on 03/24/2008, -2/+2You totally own a pocket fisherman!
        • ubuwalker31, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1LOL...nope. The pocket fisherman is an embarrassment. I have a 5 piece fishing rod and a quantum spinning reel.
        • molochi, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1I will publicly admit I have owned (and have caught fish with) a "popeel" pocket fisherman. It's a pretty nice bit of design and functionality.
          • sgtpppr, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Awesome. I would buy one just for the campiness of it. I'd keep it next to my dvd copy of Beastmaster signed by Marc Singer.
    • HeDiggMe, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3This is totally a list for cracked.com. Huffington Post writers beat 'em to the punch!
  • RabbitAbout, on 03/24/2008, -4/+11Good Funny Article. Yep, we are all guilty of rubbish that sits in a cupboard until it's thrown away during the next big clean.
    Some of the stuff we buy isn't even rubbish, but things we would love to use, but never seem to have the time....
    • Asvetic, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Liked that, check out Unclutterer's Unitasker Wednesday section: http://unclutterer.com/category/unitasker-wednesda ... More useless crapola.
      • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1That website rocks! I'm still laughing about the cat wigs.

        Thanks for the laughs!
    • wphj, on 03/24/2008, -0/+8The products were pretty funny, but I could have gone without the preachy tone...
      I mean, Mechanized Egg Crackers and Melon Wedgers aren't what's squandering our resources.
  • sjohnson0881, on 03/24/2008, -3/+10I nominate the Jingle Cats as 'useless crap':
    http://www.bofads.com/stories/gifts.htm
    • Jeffler, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2I can haz jingle????
    • humperdeath, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2I would add Ronco's "Bag-o-Broken Glass and Rusty Nails". Great for the kids to play with on those rainy days.
      • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Oh c'mon, if you're going to reference something like that, get it right. It's Mainway.
        ------------------------------------
        We have with us tonight, Mr. Irwin Mainway, President of Mainway Toys. Uh, Mr. Mainway, your company manufactures the following so-called harmless playthings: Pretty Peggy Ear-Piercing Set, Mr. Skin-Grafter, General Tron's Secret Police Confession Kit, and Doggie Dentist. And what about this innocent rubber doll, which you market under the name Johnny Switchblade? [ holds up doll ] Press his head, and two sharp knives spring from his arms. [ demonstrates ] Mr. Mainway, I'm afraid this is, by no means, a very safe toy.

        Irwin Mainway: Okay, Miss, I wanna correct you, alright. The full name of this product, as it appears in stores all over the county, is Johnny Switchblade: Adventure Punk. I mean, nothing goes wrong.. little girls buy 'em, you know, they play games, they make up stories, nobody gets hurt. I mean, so Barbie takes a knife once in a while, or Ken gets cut. You know, there's no harm in that. I mean, as far as I can see, you know?

        Consumer Reporter: Alright. Fine. Fine. Well, we'd like to show you another one of Mr. Mainway's products. It retails for $1.98, and it's called Bag O' Glass. [ holds up bag of glass ] Mr. Mainway, this is simply a bag of jagged, dangerous, glass bits.

        Irwin Mainway: Yeah, right, it's you know, it's glass, it's broken glass, you know? It sells very well, as a matter of fact, you know? It's just broken glass, you know?

        Consumer Reporter: [ laughs ] I don't understand. I mean, children could seriously cut themselves on any one of these pieces!

        Irwin Mainway: Yeah, well, look - you know, the average kid, he picks up, you know, broken glass anywhere, you know? The beach, the street, garbage cans, parking lots, all over the place in any big city. We're just packaging what the kids want! I mean, it's a creative toy, you know? If you hold this up, you know, you see colors, every color of the rainbow! I mean, it teaches him about light refraction, you know? Prisms, and that stuff! You know what I mean?

        Consumer Reporter: So, you don't feel that this product is dangerous?

        Irwin Mainway: No! Look, we put a label on every bag that says, "Kid! Be careful - broken glass!" I mean, we sell a lot of products in the "Bag O'" line.. like Bag O' Glass, Bag O' Nails, Bag O' Bugs, Bag O' Vipers, Bag O' Sulfuric Acid. They're decent toys, you know what I mean?

        http://snltranscripts.jt.org/76/76jconsumerprobe.p ...
        -----------------------------
        I still dugg you up for the reference though.
        • humperdeath, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Hey thanks, I new it was probably wrong, but didnt have time to look it up. Thanks!
  • kinseyincanada, on 03/24/2008, -4/+6one of my good friends gave me a banana guard as a joke gift and yes its completely useless, but apparently the guy who invented it has sold over a million of e.
    • danitygo, on 03/24/2008, -1/+1there's no way . . . seriously? they must have all been bought as gag gifts.
    • jonlarge, on 03/24/2008, -2/+4well, I suppose women may find other uses for it...
    • Scrappy1850, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2have you tred Spoon Guard? http://www.rathergood.com/spoonguard/
    • Duositex, on 03/24/2008, -1/+8Don't they sell those with jump-to-conclusions mats?
    • BillyTIdaho, on 03/24/2008, -0/+8Now, I don't actually own a Banana Guard, but it seems that if a banana enthusiast was frequently taking bananas in his sack lunch, then a Banana Guard would come in very useful. No more smushed bananas in your bag?
      • ahoyhoy, on 03/24/2008, -3/+1Do you sit on your lunch bag on the way to work? A little bruising isn't going to hurt the banana, just soften it a little (which most people prefer).
        • publiclurker, on 03/24/2008, -0/+4Try putting a banana in a backpack along with a full load of textbooks. Some of my reference texts still have sticky pages.

          Still, I'd never go for a guard. Showing that thing at a university would probably lead to a harassment charge.
      • TimDigg, on 03/24/2008, -2/+1lunch box?
        tupperware?
    • Niightwitch, on 03/24/2008, -1/+4We can sleep well though knowing that millions of bananas are being protected tonight.
    • Awap, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1I don't have a banana guard, but that banana hanger is useful. I made fun of my fiancee when she insisted we buy them. Lo and behold, you can keep bananas for a long time without them bruising. The banana guard seems useless though, I've never had any trouble hanging a single banana on the hanger, usually the tab has a bit of a hook shape to it.
    • SiliconRain, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3I have a banana guard and it's the most probably the item with the best cost-to-usefulness ratio that I own.

      The amount of times I took a banana in my bag to work only to find it had exploded all over my notes... but no more!

      Plus it looks awesome. It's genius, really. I'm surprised it's getting such a knocking here.
  • danitygo, on 03/24/2008, -5/+36another question . . . how does every banana fit into the guard. It is a very specific shape.
    • UberNick, on 03/24/2008, -2/+24Well, you see, that's the genius of God's design. It fits perfectly into the human hand, right down to the number of folds corresponding to banana sides. Surely, surely this greatness can only be encapsulated into an intelligently-designed banana guard!
    • SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/24/2008, -5/+3it FLEXES FTW!
    • studdenfadden, on 03/24/2008, -1/+6My wife bought me one of these, I think she thought it was a chastity guard or something; anyhow, I have never had a banana not fit in it. I think all bananas are of similar shape just like all apples, oranges, etc.
      • nomadxx7, on 03/24/2008, -2/+3They may be similar shape but they are not all the same size. Look at those little tiny baby bananas (plantains i think). It just seems that guard would protect the commercialized bananas that make the Chiquita lady famous :)
        • mahdaeng, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Plantains are the exact opposite of small bananas.
    • matthewf01, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2that's what she said
  • HiKevinRose, on 03/24/2008, -2/+43While I admit that most of these are impractical, the first two have very good uses in certain situations. The auto-adjusting wrench is useful when the bolt you seek is in a tight location and you can't fit your thumb between an obstacle and the wrench in order to tighten it. Banana hangers are actually quite practical because they prevent bruising of the fruit. Bruised bananas draw fruit flies which only further decompose your food.
    • MattB123, on 03/24/2008, -0/+10I have a friend who skis and cycles a lot. He swears by the banana protector because it allows him to stuff the fruit into his pack without squashing it. I usually just bring an orange instead.
      • matthewf01, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3i frequently squash my fruit in my pack when im cycling... such a pain
    • andycr512, on 03/24/2008, -0/+7They also ripen more slowly when hung up (they aren't perfect one day and far too ripe the next). I do not know why, but from experience I can say that it is definitely the case (though I just use a regular hook in the side of a cabinet).
      • tomgsmyth, on 03/24/2008, -4/+3actually smarty pants, hanging up bananas has nothign to do with how RIPE they are and i doubt you have done a scientific experiment on the ripening of personal banana stash. Ethylene is actually the "ripening agent" of most fruit, so, how fast your naners ripened probably depends on the amout of "ripening agent" the store used on their shipment of green bananas; which would never have tasted ripe, only rotten if not for the ethylene. so, eat that! ...the banana that is.
        • tomgsmyth, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3I apologize to all who read this comment and thought that I'm a ***** wiener for using the term smarty pants. please replace that with, " you useless piece of *****" it provides you with a sense of annoyance rather than prudishness. And i also apologize to andycr512 for calling him a useless piece of ***** in this comment
          • andycr512, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1I am well aware of the effects of ethylene gas on fruits such as bananas, but had heard that elsewhere and it seemed to work. I assumed that pressure on the peel of the banana caused it to produce more gas. This would make sense theoretically, since once a fruit is on the ground the goal is to rot as quickly as possible to disperse the seeds, but not to rot while on the tree. Is it the case? I'm not sure. Is there a need for ad hominem attacks over fruit ripening advice? No.
          • lotsa1s, on 03/25/2008, -1/+0***** YOUR FRUIT.
    • headzoo, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2I agree about the wrench. As long as it can also work like a normal wrench, then adding a motor to it doesn't hurt. It can only help in the type of situation you described.
      Everything else on the list is junk.
    • nitrojunky24, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2only problem with the auto wrench is that its bigger then a normal wrench and probably won't fit where a normal wrench would. good idea but needs to be slimmed down a bit.
  • dtfinch, on 03/24/2008, -3/+67Leaf blowers are good for chasing cats around the house.
    • DeskFlyer, on 03/24/2008, -4/+11Carbon monoxide poisoning FTW! ;P
    • nomadxx7, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3What ever happened to just using a $5 laser pointer. I get my cat hopped up on catnip and pull that thing out. With the cat tweaking out on the nip the laser just send her over the edge
      • BRODEL, on 03/24/2008, -0/+5Then how are you supposed to get the leaves up?
        • doctechnical, on 03/24/2008, -0/+4With proper practice (and some quality catnip, not that Hartz ditch-weed crap) you can work Kitteh into a spot-chasing frenzy that will create a vortex to gently lift your leaves off the ground in one place, and set them down in another.
    • rolf, on 03/24/2008, -1/+6I don't think they are a waste if you have a big big patio and driveway. Electric Leafblowers are especially good, dependable, maintenance free, and cheap.
      • ahoyhoy, on 03/24/2008, -2/+3The leaves have to go somewhere. Your just pushing them either onto the street or someone else's lawn.
        • camelboy86, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Or into the bushes where they can rot and they are off your driveway. Sounds like you would say the same thing about dusting, raking, sweeping, garbage collection and almost any other type of cleaning.
        • molochi, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1You blow them into a pile, then scoop them into a bag. It saves hours.
    • ApokalypseNow, on 03/24/2008, -0/+7Also, nothing like a leaf blower to push a large volume of air through the coals of a home-made forge.
      • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3What kind of metalwork do you do?

        /serious question, I know a sword-maker. Sells them for like $500-$1500 each at Renaissance Festivals. They're beautiful
        • ApokalypseNow, on 03/24/2008, -0/+4I'm not the one who did the metal work, it was my brother and a housemate from college. They like to make knives, and did a little blacksmith nail-twisting too.
        • Mnementh2230, on 03/25/2008, -0/+2I'm his brother - we did some basic knife making using high-carbon steel (usually old leaf-springs or tool-steel files bought from garage sales). Once the blade was in place, we used a belt-sander to put an edge on the blade, bored a hole in the handle material (after we'd prepared it by polishing, etc), put on our crossguard (if we were using one, usually cut in brass) and poured moten lead into the tang-hole we'd bored into the handle. Then a quick thrust of the tang into the hole before the lead solidifies, and boom - knife.

          We were mostly making revolutionary-war style knives, but the same principles besides the lead-tang could be used for lots of applications.
    • woohhaa, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Leaf blowers are also good for getting your charcoal to the right color quicker. Chasing my rottweiler around the back yard with it is also great.
    • linuxrocks2007, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2NEDM
  • Shaving, on 03/24/2008, -8/+53Leaf blowers are much faster than rakes and often run on electricity, not just gas.
    • arcooke, on 03/24/2008, -11/+5It's the laziness factor.. you should rake up your leaves and bag them, not blow them around into the neighbor's yard / street.
      • candafilm, on 03/24/2008, -3/+15I'd much rather spend an hour getting the leaves off my lawn (and yes I do bag them) rather than spending a whole day on it. It's not laziness it's time saving. You don't mow your lawn with scissors do you?
      • Nerfdude, on 03/24/2008, -1/+5unless you live on a decent sized chunk of land. i blow them off my driveway/deck into the yard and then mow the yard with a bagger to pick up all the leaves.
      • jbmcb, on 03/24/2008, -0/+9I have almost an acre of land and a few dozen trees. If I raked my leaves by hand, I'd spend pretty much all of my spare time in the spring and summer on the project, and have no time for the garden, or pretty much anything else. I blow them into big piles and bag them up as the city requires. If I left the leaves down the mosquitoes get so bad I can't bare to be outside for more than a few minutes at a time.

        Also, the little two cycle engine on leaf blowers are very efficient, it only takes a quarter gallon or so to do most of my yard.

        Whenever I read someone railing against powered lawn equipment, I get the feeling they live in an apartment, or have a postage-stamp sized lawn. If you do everything by hand, more power to you, but the 40-odd trees on my property more than offset my leaf blower's puny carbon footprint.
      • weister42, on 03/24/2008, -0/+5We have two BIG pine trees in front of my parent's house...have you ever tried to rake up pine needles and cones AND haul it off, in hot humid weather? It will ***** a guy with no beer off. Raking on concrete surface ruins your rake and makes an awful noise...especially if you have a bamboo rake. A blower can clear a concrete driveway and sidewalk free of debris much faster than any other means, convert it to leaf sucker and you can save some plastic bags(we can dump them by the road and our city comes with their giant leaf sucking truck to clean it off).

        I'm from Wisconsin and I support Leaf Blower.
    • pdevries, on 03/24/2008, -1/+12And the one shown also sucks the leaves and puts them in a bag. Much quicker than raking them. I agreed with the list up until that point.
    • SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/24/2008, -1/+13My Electric leaf blower has a SUCK function that allows me to chop up a large pile of leaves into mulch for my compost pile. Chopped up leaves decompose nicer than a plain old pile of leaves.
    • johnn11238, on 03/24/2008, -16/+4electricity. Most likely generated by burning coal, the most evil fossil fuel around. Get a RAKE.
      • revjustin2, on 03/24/2008, -2/+8I would like to use my new rake to rake your head.
      • SkippyDoorknob, on 03/24/2008, -1/+11Rakes are powered by humans which require food. Food that takes the form of plants brutally ripped from poor earth or from animals savagely butchered into chunks.

        /sarcasm
        • andycr512, on 03/24/2008, -1/+6And cooked/shipped with fossil fuel.
    • ghank, on 03/24/2008, -3/+4And we burn ridiculous amounts of coal to provide electricity, so just because it "doesn't run on gas" doesn't make it ok.
      • MetaMars, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Excuse me sir, but you're using the internet; which operates on electricity, if memory serves correct. I could be wrong about this one though.
        • ComradeGoby, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3He has a slave from Haiti running on one of those hamster wheels powering his house.

      • molochi, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2I appreciate this correspondence handwritten as it is, instead of typed on one of those horrible computer conpraptions which also waste so much electricity. I send this reply to you via runner because that newfangled horse and coach wastes grain that could feed Jim for a month. I await your reply before the newyear.

        Your friend,
        Lud
    • hotpuck6, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1the list lost me at that one too.
      does this guy live in an apartment or have a lawn the size of broom closet?
      Gee, 5 hours raking and bagging leaves or 1 hour blowing them onto a tarp or sucking them into a bag. I mean unless you are doing this for a living and getting paid by the hour... but you're still lugging around a somewhat heavy machine, so it doesn't make you a total lazy turd.
    • PhoenixAvatar2, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1Good alternative to the leaf blower: A lawn mower with a mulch bag attachment. Sucks up and shreds the leaves and mows the lawn at once, though you'll have to empty it fairly often, depending on the size of the bag.
  • mentallyinhell, on 03/24/2008, -11/+7If people are dumb enough to buy this stuff, they deserve to have the money taken.
  • DeskFlyer, on 03/24/2008, -3/+5What's with the banana holder? One size fits all?
    • technogenius, on 03/24/2008, -2/+4I like the banana holder--It prevents the bananas from getting bruised under their own weight.
    • tomgsmyth, on 03/24/2008, -1/+1Are you ***** crazy..okay that was a bit much, but it seems to be that laying in the banana holder protects it from the weight of OTHER things pressing on the banana, by your logic all you would have to do is hang the bananas. My point is, if you pack your lunch in a paper bag and go to junior high then the holder would protect it from bruising when that douche in your class picks it up and says " a ha you fag, your mommy packed your lunch" and then proceeds the flick it at the ground or punt it. lcuky for you, your mommy is smarter than that asshole and packd you banana in a "banana holder and you dont starve to death come recess and not because the banana was protected from the immense weight of itself, (Which is what you were saying) but from that kid with no mom.
  • doctechnical, on 03/24/2008, -2/+11I think this article is self-referential, and borderline recursive.
  • InfamousAtheist, on 03/24/2008, -1/+24Isn't that a leaf vacuum in the picture? Sure looks like it with that bag attached...
  • serif69, on 03/24/2008, -1/+15Christ, HuffPo manages to politicize every useless piece of crap.
  • johnn11238, on 03/24/2008, -6/+8Dugg, immediately, for "crapola".
  • slapded, on 03/24/2008, -6/+62i think that entire article is crapola. dugg down for leaf blower. if they want to use a rake, have fun at my 2 acre front lawn. ill give you $10 bucks and you can buy some penny candy and moon pies when you are done
    • Tokyosexwhale, on 03/24/2008, -2/+18No joke. Leaf blowers are a godsend and I'll be damned if I'm gonna spend my whole weekend raking.
      • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+4That's why people have kids.

        /well, it's what my dad told me when me made me go mow the lawn.....
        • molochi, on 03/25/2008, -0/+2I'll bet my leafblower has a lower carbon footprint than you kids do.

          Get off my lawn.
          • bjornski, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Don't have 'em, won't have 'em. But you're 100% right. :)
    • xevidentx, on 03/24/2008, -1/+20agreed, wtf were they thinking when they said leaf blower. the writer must live in the city
      • Nerfdude, on 03/24/2008, -1/+11that was my first thought, after seeing both a wrench and leaf blower. she probably lives in an apartment, so who is she to comment on tools for physical labor?
        • danitygo, on 03/24/2008, -3/+1F that! I live in an apartment in city, but used to live in the country--on a farm actually--where I had to heave-ho all day long. I've done my fair share of manual labor. Raking is back breaking, but leaf blowers are terrible for the environment. That's why I wrote that they are crapola. Sweet, add endless carbon emissions to the planet and mess up other people's well being just so you can have a leaf free lawn. Nice!
          • Nerfdude, on 03/24/2008, -2/+7at least i don't emit endless crybaby emissions.
          • molochi, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1wrong reply. ignore or digg down.
        • xevidentx, on 03/24/2008, -0/+5on the grand scheme of things, i don't thing we should be worrying about leaf blower emissions... might as well go back to manual lawn mowers too
    • fahrvergnuugen, on 03/24/2008, -1/+21Raking leaves is for suckers. Setting the lawn on fire FTW.
      • noahhoward, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3I'm this close, nothing but marsh grasses growing on half my land anyway. It gets too boggy to mow.
    • ghank, on 03/24/2008, -6/+3Maybe if more people would get off their obese asses and rake a few leaves every now and then, North America (notice I'm not just pointing the finger at the US, we're getting fatter in Canada too) might look a little healthier compared to the rest of the world.
    • Malovech, on 03/24/2008, -5/+2Leaf blowers are for retarded people. Blow the leaves across the lawn, then blow them onto the street, then watch as the wind blows them right back 5 min later.
      • noahhoward, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1You just showed how retard you are by showing that you can't come up with the concept of blowing leaves OFF of the street or your driveway or your porch and into a nice neat pile to collect.
      • bearcat8543, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0oorrrr, bag them up to be collected, or blow to the street to be picked up. n00b.
    • ahoyhoy, on 03/24/2008, -2/+2Moon... Pies? What an age to be alive.
    • BossKey, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2I have nothing against the concept of powered garden tools, but I heard that since small gasoline motors don't have emission controls, gasoline-powered leaf blowers, lawn mowers, powered skateboards, small motorbikes, etc actually pump out a lot more pollution than larger engines (cars, trucks) with catalytic converters.

      Is this still true with today's products?
      • molochi, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1It's a criticism of 2 stroke motors in general. They tend to get great efficiency at producucing power while consuming little fuel, but their emmisions are more in line with 1968 than 2008. "They" aren't required to add 10lbs of catalytic converters to a 30lbs 4stroke leaf blower so "they" make the 10lbs one that "we" will buy. But it pollutes... pretty heinously. So you get the electric one instead, but the motor design is made for production cost, not energy efficiency. Upside is pollution is centralised and managed by your electric company. Downside is a 2 pole electric motor might be worse for the environment than just hiring a guy to rake the lawn while you work the extra hours to pay for it.
        • lotsa1s, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0I suppose you could alternatively spend the hours you spent working to pay for it to... rake your lawn?
    • Ryman21, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1Very nice Simpsons reference.
  • nemofish704, on 03/24/2008, -3/+25this article was crapola,
    • bumb1ebee, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Like most articles on the huffingtion post.
  • Danikar, on 03/24/2008, -0/+17I think there are far more than 10 items more useless than an auto adjusting wrench and a leaf blower.
    Perhaps instead of "Top 10 Most Useless Items" the title should say "10 Random Items That Are Sort Of Useless"
  • beanage, on 03/24/2008, -6/+4Seems to me like this guy has nothing better to do than write a useless article.
  • broevol, on 03/24/2008, -8/+2wow..i own 4 of these.....wrench,banana hanger, wipes warmer, and leave blower(sucker)....if feel like such a useless idiot now.
    • peaceninja, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2you're still a good man, charlie brown
  • PoopOnPaul, on 03/24/2008, -1/+27***** you, I like banana holders.
    • MisterEX, on 03/24/2008, -1/+5Definitely. I would also argue that it makes your counter tops more aesthetically appealing.
    • unreg, on 03/24/2008, -0/+6The Banana Guard is actually a fairly practical piece of kit. Don't know how many of you have ever found that smashed banana in the bottom of your backpack or as a kid, bounced around and bruised up in the lunch pail. I use one nowdays when out on long hikes or bike rides.
    • LLLSecretChimp, on 03/24/2008, -0/+6If you leave bananas sitting on the counter, the bottom ones get bruised when they're really ripe. Unless you eat all the bananas when they're practically green, banana hangers prevent waste.
    • cprnow, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Agree- I'm pretty sure that bananas lasted longer and didn't turn brown as fast when I used one of these. I felt better about the $$ I saved not throwing away spoiled bananas all the time. And NO, I didn't have time to make banana bread out of them.
    • TheUngod, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1...thats what SHE said
  • dgulbran, on 03/24/2008, -2/+25#11 - Top 10 Lists
    • Duositex, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2Sadly.. I own a book of David Letterman's top 10 lists...
  • SNIPE07, on 03/24/2008, -1/+15I have to disagree with the leaf blowers, as many of the have the ability to suck up leaves, since when can a ***** rake do that?
    • unreg, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Mankind has been raking and picking up leaves since the dawn of lawn keeping. Myself, I just mow em into mulch.
      • ahoyhoy, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Really helps keep your lawn clear weekly during October when the leaves start falling but the lawn keeps growing. Better than raking every week.
    • opmike, on 03/24/2008, -0/+4They are also great at blowing out all the sediment that cakes every paved portion of my property after it rains. My grass does a ***** poor job of holding the soil in place.
    • xXTurboXx, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0obviously she doesn't do yard work
  • MrRabbit, on 03/24/2008, -5/+0While this article is mostly true and pretty funny, for some reason all I wanna do now is go out and buy myself a personalized set of banana holders... must.. resist.....

    Screw it I'm going to ebay. SHOW ME THE BANANAS!
  • kingbrasso, on 03/24/2008, -4/+18#11 - Dumb broads who write dumb articles for dumb internet newspapers.
    • danitygo, on 03/24/2008, -3/+2#12 - Dumb diggers who don't put any info up on their bios so to avoid comebacks.
      Nice Kingbrasso
  • animeguru, on 03/24/2008, -0/+12Yeah, I've got a leaf blower... I'll admit it. But, my leaf blower (and sucker) chops the leaves as I suck them up making for some nice compost. I watch the rest of the neighbors with rakes shoving those leaves into plastic bags and putting them out for garbage.

    You tell me which one of us is more wasteful?
  • CYG101, on 03/24/2008, -1/+8I actually use the banana guard everyday, it was impossible to pack a banana with my lunch before. Just try putting a banana in your backpack. BTW its one size fits all.
  • steebs, on 03/24/2008, -2/+5hey, i like my banana hanger!
  • sLydE, on 03/24/2008, -2/+2dugg for 'dingleberry garden'
  • tamareesoeres, on 03/24/2008, -1/+3Tom: What ya got there bill?
    Bill: A banana guard.
    Tom:[insert sexist/funny/stupid comment here]
    • unreg, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2They got their own website. I think the majority of us would ***** our pants if we find out what kind of income these generate.

      http://www.bananaguard.com/

      From the site:

      Imagine the guy who invented this telling his wife... “Honey, we’re going to invest our life savings in breathable banana luggage!” These ingenious crushproof holders are the perfect packing solution for banana lovers everywhere. Made of hard plastic, the Banana Guard features a nifty snap lock so your banana won’t fall out and mingle with the rest of your belongings. It’s even equipped with ventilation holes. Sure, you might get a laugh or two when you pull this thing out of your tank bag, we had a laugh or two discovering it. Fully patented, natch... Assorted Colors.

    • mailclient, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1so u wanted to comment but could not come up withe the sexist/funny/stupid comment ?
  • paintpro, on 03/24/2008, -2/+6All I heard was, "There is nothing more satisfying than blowing."
  • Nerfdude, on 03/24/2008, -1/+34half of these items are useful. this is a stupid submission.

    1. leaf blower: i have two electric leaf blowers. i live on an acre of land with plenty of trees. i use the leaf blowers to shoot leaves off of the deck, porch, driveway, walkway, stairs, etc into the yard. then i use a riding mower with the bagger on to pick them all up while i mow. i also use the leaf blower to dry my car after i wash it.
    seriously, rake an acre some time, olivia zaleski.
    2. auto adjusting wrench: i have one of these as well. i work on my own cars, and if you've ever used a monkey wrench, you know how adjusting from nut to nut can take FOREVER to get just right. not any more. although i'd rather just use a vice grips and get it over with, sometimes it makes more sense to use this.
    3. banana stand/banana case: keeps bananas from bruising before you eat them. what's wrong with that?
    4. paper weight: was invented hundreds of years ago. who cares.
    5. melon wedger: i guess if you eat a lot of melon, this would be nice, wouldn't it?

    seriously, just because you've never used something doesn't make it useless. what a ridiculous article.

    • delmar14, on 03/24/2008, -0/+8I completely agree. This would be top of my "most useless lists" list.
    • hellawaitsyou, on 03/24/2008, -1/+5i totally agree with you, this article was pretty much useless.
    • sirbeta, on 03/24/2008, -1/+7This article was garbage, really. The leaf blower, the auto adjusting wrench, the banana stand, etc are all useful. Article author didn't have a use for them so suddenly they're the most useless items for everyone.
    • girlpirate, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3The paperweight is damn useful! its stupid to spend money on one though when there are billions of rocks right outside your door.
  • gutterboy, on 03/24/2008, -1/+8As a student in Product Design, I cringe at ***** like this. This list could have easily been 300+ pages long. Time and time again I find myself with assignments that just feel like I will be adding more useless ***** to peoples lives with a new spin. Great, I can make something new with sustainable materials, but it would be even more eco-friendly if you didn't have to buy anything new to begin with. If I become a professional product designer (I sure hope to) I promise I will not make pointless ***** like this.
    • lalop, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1You'll starve and die
      Current capitalist economy is based on people buying crap they don't need
  • noahhoward, on 03/24/2008, -1/+5"The Paper Weight
    If by divine intervention a gust of wind blazeth through your windowless cubicle, be sure to protect thy papers with a 4 ounce paperweight."

    Spoken like someone who's never been in the pilot house of a ship in the summer.
    • opmike, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Or done any paperwork outside period for that matter.
      • TimDigg, on 03/24/2008, -1/+1luckily my laptop doesn't blow away


        might have to buy a macbook air weight
      • girlpirate, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1Or done paperwork/homework with cats around. ***** cats.
    • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1Ever heard of a rock?
      • noahhoward, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1Not the point.
      • cyb3rdemon, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1It's called style. The same reason that people buy fancy cars.
        • noahhoward, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1That and the fact that finding rocks of a consistent size that are smooth enough to not damage a chart is a pain in the ass.
  • tankster522, on 03/24/2008, -1/+15My wife has a banana guard I was going to use it one day, but she uses it to hold batteries.
  • krahzee, on 03/24/2008, -2/+4What's so wrong with the paper weight while we are at it?
    The same people who would think that was useless and environmentally harmful as a result, would encourage you to use less AC in the summer. Maybe in a climate controlled office building it's pointless, but what about a home office?
    Which is more environmentally harmful: a fist sized paper weight you use for years, or all of the those days you run your AC in your home office to avoid ***** flying all over?
    • ClevelandBrown, on 03/24/2008, -1/+3I don't know a single person who owns a paperweight. For that matter, why would anyone even buy one? Why not just use something you already have in the office, like a tape dispenser, or stapler. Shockingly, if you use something as a paperweight, you can still utilize their primary functions! There's no way you can defend the paperweight as a useful invention. It's a waste of resources
    • animeguru, on 03/24/2008, -0/+4If there were no paper weights, what would be the ***** gift given out to employee's when they hit their 5 year anniversary!?
  • saikyan, on 03/24/2008, -0/+12Useless? NONE of these items are useless. All have a specific purpose... some are actually extremely useful (leaf blower, auto-adjusting wrench) products which the author has just obviously never used. Want to see a bunch of useless crap? Go into a Hallmark store, or one of those home decor outlets... most of those are loaded with hideous decorations made in foreign countries that literally do nothing but collect dust.

    And hey, who couldn't use a melon wedger?!
  • santaliqueur, on 03/24/2008, -2/+3I wonder how much of that ***** is made in China.
  • hammerpants, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Sorry...you're wrong about the wrench. I've got one of these. It's a little heavier, but it adjusts fast, and it's reliable. Takes a lot of the frustration out of working around the house.
    • andydumi, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2I agree. Plus when working in a tight spot around the car, the last thing you want to do is pull out the wrench because you are off by a tiny bit.
  • moletimer, on 03/24/2008, -0/+7There are lots more useless stuff than this. Most of these don't deserve to be in this list.
  • maskedm564, on 03/24/2008, -2/+1Am I the only one who sees a second use for the Plastic Banana Guard?
    • bearcat8543, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0i was suprised at how long it took someone to bring this up.
  • dyltronic, on 03/24/2008, -2/+1top ten that.
  • omjeremy, on 03/24/2008, -1/+7BURIED... what a useless "article"
  • hillkiwi, on 03/24/2008, -1/+6I'd buy a mechanized egg cracker.
    • SpaceMonkeyZero, on 03/24/2008, -0/+4Old people with arthritis and people with OCD about their dirty hands would love that contraption!
    • peaceninja, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3i always somehow get eggshell into my eggs and have to furiously fish it out, i wouldnt mind an egg cracker either
      • bjornski, on 03/24/2008, -0/+5It's just a little extra calcium, you'll get over it.

        /grew up with "mom's crunchy eggs"
  • jessestorm, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2I sell Banana Guards at the store that I work at, and they've sold like crazy. We went through one box of like 200 and we're halfway through another in just a few months. They're a great gag gift, but they actually do have potential. To answer the question "how does it fit?," the guard is actually a lot bigger than an actual banana, so curvier bananas fit at one end, straighter ones at the other. You should also remember that bananas do bend slightly.
    • ClevelandBrown, on 03/24/2008, -3/+0Bananas have a bend in them?? No...
  • stinkybrinker, on 03/24/2008, -2/+8Leaf blower - exceedingly useful, saves on manpower hours. Baby warmer - why not make my kid more comfortable? Banana holder - banana's stay fresh a full week+. Buried for inaccuracy, plenty of truly useless junk out there to make this list from.
    • WoollyMittens, on 03/24/2008, -3/+2You watch all those infomercials don't you?
  • laserblazer, on 03/24/2008, -2/+3No mention of those accursed ribbon magnets?
  • DeFex, on 03/24/2008, -0/+3Lawn flamingos.
    • dngbauer, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1lawn flamingos do have a point - they make sure that you know who the trailer park trash are
      • RedNeckerson, on 03/24/2008, -0/+1excerpt from:
        "Uncle Red's Gardening Handbook"

        ...of course flamingos just scattered around with no thought to placement, is indicative of the cultural coarseness of the homeowner.

        If sparingly placed around tires made into flower beds, the effect is quite striking. My favorite arrangement is to use a flower pot made out of an old toilet with two flamingos positioned as if they've spied a fish in it. I find it whimsical and it draws one's eye towards the center of the yard and away from the drab wheels on the trailer.

        Flamingos, like a border made of old tires, requires good planning so as not to look tacky.
  • Gendolookin, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2see, i don't understand this demonation of new technologies, yes i understand some of them aren't "needed" but if we use that logic, i guess the cotton gin was a useless invention
    • serif69, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2Printing press too. God, look at all that metal and paper it wasted!
    • lotsa1s, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Of course it was useless, we had niggers to do that work for us.
  • helster83, on 03/24/2008, -1/+2My dad won't be too happy when I break the news that his leaf blower is useless crappolla.
    • molochi, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Rake his lawn for him and he won't care. If you use the leaf blower I won't tell.
      • AdamMPkins, on 03/25/2008, -0/+1Dad? When did you get a digg account?
        • helster83, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0at the age of 23..

          sadly, he prefers using the leaf blower during all seasons, including winter snow storms. the loud sound may be theraputic.
        • nominalgeek, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0That sounds like one crazy SOB
  • WoollyMittens, on 03/24/2008, -0/+2What strikes me about fruit and vegetable tools in general is that in the advertisements they always fit the fruit in question perfectly. In reality fruit and vegetables can grow to a variety of sizes. Just like all biological creations.

    There is a good chance that your banana will not fit in that fancy banana holding ... thingy.
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