The ten worst inventions of the century

[mugs]

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: irishScott

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: coldmeat
What's wrong with the battery charger?

A Battery to charge a Battery. Umm, just get a Battery to go into the device? Bueller.....Beuller....

But then you have to worry about keeping an extra battery charged, as opposed to just slapping a couple of AAs in.

:laugh:

You have to worry about that either way.

1. Alkaline batteries will last a lot longer when unused than a cell phone's rechargeable battery. You can put a couple of alkaline AAs in the charger, leave it in your car, and if you need it a year later it'll work. If you bought a second cell phone battery, you'd have to keep recharging it. Not sure what kind of batteries cell phones use, but regular NiMh rechargeables will discharge themselves in a month.
2. A battery-powered charger that uses a common interface like USB can be used to recharge a variety of different devices. You can probably also use it with your next cell phone, unlike the device-specific battery.
3. Device-specific batteries are usually much more expensive than a general purpose battery. I bought a battery-powered charger for my Creative Zen Vision. The device's battery lasts 6 hours, but I need it to last 12+ hours for long plane flights. An additional battery was ~$50 when I bought the device. A battery-powered charger was only $20, and I could pack as many AAs as I want to make my video player last as long as I want. Since this particular charger is one that I only use when I'm planning ahead, I can use NiMh cells and not spend any money on batteries.

 

[lightstar]

snuggie?

 

[FDF12389]

Shoe umbrellas didnt make the list?

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: lightstar
snuggie?

Great invention

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: irishScott

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: coldmeat
What's wrong with the battery charger?

A Battery to charge a Battery. Umm, just get a Battery to go into the device? Bueller.....Beuller....

But then you have to worry about keeping an extra battery charged, as opposed to just slapping a couple of AAs in.

:laugh:

You have to worry about that either way.

1. Alkaline batteries will last a lot longer when unused than a cell phone's rechargeable battery. You can put a couple of alkaline AAs in the charger, leave it in your car, and if you need it a year later it'll work. If you bought a second cell phone battery, you'd have to keep recharging it. Not sure what kind of batteries cell phones use, but regular NiMh rechargeables will discharge themselves in a month.
2. A battery-powered charger that uses a common interface like USB can be used to recharge a variety of different devices. You can probably also use it with your next cell phone, unlike the device-specific battery.
3. Device-specific batteries are usually much more expensive than a general purpose battery. I bought a battery-powered charger for my Creative Zen Vision. The device's battery lasts 6 hours, but I need it to last 12+ hours for long plane flights. An additional battery was ~$50 when I bought the device. A battery-powered charger was only $20, and I could pack as many AAs as I want to make my video player last as long as I want. Since this particular charger is one that I only use when I'm planning ahead, I can use NiMh cells and not spend any money on batteries.

As far as I can tell, the Charger doesn't take AA batteries. It is a Rechargeable Battery, not your off the shelf Alkaline battery.

 

[Agentbolt]

It might not work in the "stowed" position (when you're not allowed to be using electronic devices anyway) but for Iphone holding, I can't recommend a simple 3x5 business card holder enough. It sounds stupidly simple, but try it before you knock it.

 

[ChaoZ]

What's so bad about #7?

 

[LS21]

Originally posted by: FDF12389
Shoe umbrellas didnt make the list?

i could have used these recently

 

[KevinCU]

Originally posted by: NFS4
Crocs

Motherfucking THIS!

 

[yhelothar]

I have something like #7.
It's an extra battery for any of my portable devices. It's pretty nifty for those longer trips.

 

[BW86]

lol @ #10

the prankster-proof fire alarm traps the hand of any offender in a metal handcuff until the fire brigade arrives to release him.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: BW86
lol @ #10

the prankster-proof fire alarm traps the hand of any offender in a metal handcuff until the fire brigade arrives to release him.

Prank Fire Alarms must have been a big deal. I suppose losing 1 in 10 people was acceptable risk.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: astroidea
I have something like #7.
It's an extra battery for any of my portable devices. It's pretty nifty for those longer trips.

I have #7, it's not AA powered at all, it's just a spare cellphone battery in a box, but it works for anything with a usb plug. We use them at work, too - there's three or four different styles of phones around, and none use the same battery, but all work with this.

It's a great device and doesn't really belong on a worst-of list.

 

[nutxo]

Does anyone in the worls remember fast freddies foot suckers?

They were like flip flops without straps. They stuck to the bottoms of your feet. They were made from wall crawler type rubber.

 

[BoomerD]

Hands down, the single worst invention of the 20th century is the cell phone.

Originally posted by: JS80
I nominate Credit Default Swap

Ok, maybe the cell phone is 2nd worst...

 

[IGBT]

..speaker phones.

 

[Ruptga]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..speaker phones.

Those are occasionally handy, but what I don't get is when people try to play music through them. If you've never witnessed it, it sounds kinda like a bag of cats thrown against a wall, only in musical form.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: KevinCU

Originally posted by: NFS4
Crocs

Motherfucking THIS!

Crocs for adults = bad
Crocs for kids = awesome (if you are a parent)

MotionMan