Here’s another set of quirky ideas from Halfbakery.com, completing the last post of our Halfbakery series for 2009! With the holidays quickly approaching, I tried to mix in a few appropriate ideas to give you a laugh, along with the usual assortment of random-but-brilliant finds.

Recyclabow

“People frequently recycle (or try to recycle) gift bows. This is inhibited by the common self-adhesive bow, when the adhesive pad does its job and holds on tightly. One can get the bow, but is stuck taping it to the next present. The problem is exacerbated by more exotic bows that don’t have flat bottoms. The idea is to sell bow packages, where the bow has a Velcro base (hooks, say) that attaches to a self-adhesive Velcro pad (loops, say). The bow can be recycled by purchasing packages of just the self-adhesive pads (loops), and extant bows can be made compatible with similar kits of pads (with hooks) for the bows.”

I thought this was a pretty creative idea to encourage the reuse of gift wrap bows. Opening packages can sometimes be bittersweet because you hate to ruin the pretty paper (at least I do!). Opening packages knowing at least part of the wrapping could be saved would add to the happy festivities of the holidays, especially for your eco-friendly friends and relatives! Might be a pain to sort through all the wrapping paper to save the bows however…

Spraywrap

“For very odd shaped items that traditional wrapping paper has trouble covering. Or for those who are gift-wrap impaired. Comes in an can with a nozzle. Aim it at the item to be wrapped and spray away. Sort of like silly string. Rotate the gift to get even coverage. When it’s time to open the gift, the lucky recipient just tears it off. Comes in a variety of colors. Biodegradable, nontoxic, color safe.”

I have enough trouble wrapping a plain square package – let alone any type of irregularly shaped gift, so I would definitely make use of this idea. Although spray on wrapping paper might be a little big overkill for the “gift-wrap impaired”, (it’s what gift bags are for!), it’s still a fun idea to entertain.

Laundry Pager

“aaaaaaaaah – Apartment Life. Someone invariably goes to laundry room, cranks up washing machines and leaves – apparently forgetting about the laundry. The next individual in need of Fresh Laundry politely waits, then gives up and puts aforementioned laundry in dryer for fellow Apartment Building Dweller. By the time the ‘next individual’ comes down to put freshly washed laundry in dryer, the previous individuals laundry remains damp in the dryer. So the ‘next individual’ neatly arranges wet laundry on table and dries his/her own laundry. Later, when the ‘next individual’ goes to retrieve his/her laundry from dryer, he/she finds that his/her laundry is still somewhat damp and is now in a wrinkled ball and the previous individuals laundry is now gone. Back into the dryer goes the ‘next individuals’ laundry. This mental picture /scenario / reality could be altogether avoided by means of a pager device indicating laundry is done by current occupant of washer and/or dryer. ”

This is another gadget that I would use hands-down! It’s a huge pain to have to run up or down flights of stairs several times more than necessary to check on your laundry, only to find it’s been tossed into a wet pile by some impatient neighbor. A pager would eliminate these problems! There was a similar idea for setting up a system where you could actually check the status of the washer or dryer, but a google search showed it’s been “baked” already by MIT students.

Cat Puffer

“A small proximity detector with a compressed gas cartridge that blows a puff of air when something comes near it.It can be placed under the edge of a favorite chair or sofa so that the cat gets puffed when he tries to scratch the chair.It can also be equipped with an RFID detector so that it only puffs certain cats (those without a chip in their collar. This could be incorporated into a cat bowl that puffs anycat that tries to steal the owner’s food.”

I happened upon this idea via Halfbakery’s “random” generator, and it made me giggle so I thought I’d share. This idea also seems like it could be constructed somewhat easily, and could be a very effective little device! Similar products exist that act as a repellent using smell or sound, but as far as the air puff technique, I wasn’t able to find anything out there. It’d also make for some great home videos!