Combination Products II

A case in point in regard to the previous blog entry. Picture this: You're lying in the dark, reading in bed. The house is quiet and your spouse is snoring softly (or not so softly) next to you. You inhale, and your nose wrinkles. Suddenly, you realize, "Oh, my gosh...We have got to buy cat litter!" You look over at the nightstand, then remember you have no writing implement within easy reach, nor any paper! You would have to actually get out of bed to go jot down this important news bulletin.

What to do?

Oh, wait...That's right! You are the happy owner of a Book Light and A Recorder! No problem! You push the red button and, ever considerate, whisper "get caaaat liiiiiiter".

Recording Book Light goes wherever you need to read! On trains, planes, at the library, in school or in bed, lightweight, clip-on lamp gives you the extra light you want, and has a built-in 10 second recorder for voice memos. Unit adjusts to any angle, and folds to compact 5-1/2" x 1-1/2" size. Uses 2 AAA batteries (not incl.) and 1 included button cell battery.

Was $14.98 Now$8.50
C2204 - Recording Book Light

Now, you see the brilliance in this?

Combination Products

This site must be where Harriett Carter and her ilk get some of their product ideas. You can randomly generate product ideas there, odd ideas such as these:

Design #1462391020
It's a burger carton that spins about its axis!
It makes virtually no noise whatsoever and can emulate a ZX Spectrum.

Design #344517412
It's an MP3 player that's made of solid gold, removes stubborn stains and is monogrammed (up to three letters).

It brought to mind an excerpt from Paul Reiser's book Couplehood. So intent was I to share this tidbit, I searched for a good five minutes and found the book so I could type this for you all:

At some point, my wife and I got ourselves on every mailing list in the free world. All you have to do is buy one distinctly dumb product you don't need, and everyone wtih a catalogue hears about it. "Hi! We understand you don't care what you spend money on anymore. We have just the catalogue for you." I like the Combination Products. Things that you probably already have, but not in this particular combination.

"It's a sweater vest and a bottle opener."
"It's a hot beverage thermos and a snorkeling mask!"

And of course, if you look at the pictures long enough, you start thinking, "Well, you know, we could use that. With a thermos/snorkel mask we wouldn't have to come up for coffee anymore. We could snorkel all day and never come up!"

Then they combine things that not only shouldn't be together, there's no way they could be. "It's a cassette rack and a doberman pinscher!" How could that be?

"It's a rain bonnet, but it's also your parents."

How could that be?! I just saw my parents. They weren't a rain bonnet.

If you're a fan like me, you heard Paul Reiser's voice as you read that. This book makes me giggle. As a matter of fact, when I left it in the bathroom one time, one of our favorite houseguests was heard giggling behind the bathroom door. I know it isn't just me.