Octodog

This goes right up there with the Voodoo Knife Holder in terms of weird culinary aids that's a hoot to have in your kitchen. What's even more priceless is the look on your guests' faces when you whip out the Octodog, insert a hot dog, and voila, one tentacled hot dog for the BBQ pit or grill. Great fun, even for adults.

Click to see Octo hot dogs | how it's done

Via Designboom

Price: 199 kronos (US$25)
Availability: Check it out at the Swedish barndesign.se
Device: Frankfurter converter
Basic specs: N.A.

Self-playing digital audio book

It's taken long enough for someone to cobble the player and audio book together into one device. But better late than never, with FindawayWorld aiming to roll out Playaway--the first-ever self-playing digital audio book. No need to download anything or plonk the cassette or CD into an audio player. Like the instructions simply say, "just play". Hopefully, all that lovely convenience doesn't come at too high a price.

Click to see play buttons | size

Via gizmag

Price: N.A.
Availability: Year-end, check it out at Playaway.com
Device: Digital audio book
Basic specs: AAA battery inserted at base, universal headphone jack

Residential Pneumatic Vacuum Elevators

The Jetsons have one. Furama Hotel in Chinatown has one. Now apparently so can you in your split-level home. We're talking bubble lifts, which Florida-based Daytona Elevators has developed for home users. The new vacuum elevator installs in just a few hours, thanks to a self-supporting, lightweight structure which doesn't require any cables, excavating pit or hacking. The catch? There's room for just one, and the elevator cab zips up and down using pressurization to ride on a cushion of air. The good news? Safety features are built in. Though if you're home alone, it's a good idea to set up a fixed line inside the elevator. Just so you don't spend the next few claustrophobic hours feeling like a test tube specimen while screaming for help.

Click to see bigger image

Price: N.A.
Availability: Daytona Elevators
Device: Home Elevator
Basic specs: 660lbs for two stops, 990lbs for 3 stops, lift capacity of 450lbs, halogen lighting inside cab, 24-volt electrical circuits, polycarbonate cylinder, safety pressure switch on free fall elevator brakes within 2 inches, alarm system in cabin, emergency ventilation

Tag Heuer Diamond Fiction

Here's a watch Uma Thurman would kill Bill for. Tag Heuer's Diamond Fiction watch bracelet is so blinged out, it's dripping with 879 Top Wesselton diamonds, set against a velvet-red satin strap. And lucky Thurman has been picked as the new Ambassador for Tag's latest masterpiece. Diamond connoisseurs, take note that these are 3.8- to 5.8-carat, full cut, VS/SI (1.1mm) sparklies. What's a single stone engagement ring after that? But what's the real showstopper here are the 54 tiny red LEDs hidden beneath the diamonds. Pressing a side button turns some of the diamonds red to give the time. Just the kind of swanky digital timepiece that gadget-packing 007 would give his leading ladies.

See the full watch here

Price: Only 100,000 euros (US$121,050) for all that ice
Availability: Tag Heuer New Women Collection, under Tag's 2005/2006 Year of Diamonds theme
Device: Wristwatch
Basic specs: N.A.

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