Osmooze

Having attempted once to burn aromatherapy sticks at the cubicle and ending up with smoke inhalation instead of a calming balm, here's a doo-dad that sounds like a safer bet. Just plug the scent diffuser into the nearest PC USB port, and you're ready to smooze. Developed in France (the real thang), there's a choice of 20 gel cartridges containing 100 percent natural essential oils, with lovely names like Eden's Garden and Lavender. What'll make this nifty is if it could release visible puffs of fragrance, like New Glade's Wisp Home Fragrancer.

Price: €39.90 (US$48)
Availability: osmooze
Device: Fragrance dispenser
Basic specs: N.A.

Purrfect Mood Detector

Cat lovers will tell you they know when their pet's in a good or foul mood. However, as a gimmick, the Purrfect Mood Detector will do the job for US$14.95. Less brainy than Takara's Meowlingual translater, this mood-o-meter wears like a chunky collar charm which, if your cat hasn't already pawed off, sports an onboard microphone. This picks up your feline's purrs and illuminates an LED light to let you know your purdy's content. Though it's not terribly hard to pull your little kitty out of a blue funk. A dish of tuna treat always does the trick.

Via The Red Ferret

Price: US$14.95
Availability: Advanced Pet Products
Device: Pet product
Basic specs: Choice of pink or white, included CR2032 battery

Ougontou Kenzan

Excite's translation engine just can't get past reading this as Gold Tou. Taken literally, the Japanese characters are equally hilarious--Golden Head Sword Mountain. It's actually a lot less painful (in name and usage) than it appears. Think of this as a flexible brush with 93 pointy bits on one side which you saw across your scalp to massage it. Osama No Idea (don't we just love the site) says it's oh so good for your blood circulation. Go ahead, we dare you.

See: How it's used | alternative

Price: 2,940 yen (US$26.25)
Availability: osamanoidea.com
Device: Head massager
Basic specs: Made of polyethylene and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin

Algrea Electronic Wine Chiller & Warmer

If you loved the movie Sideways, you'd probably want to rush out for a bottle of vintage. Nothing, of course, beats the old ice bucket and water for that special occasion. But let's get real. There's not just the hassle of getting the ice, you also have to watch out that you don't end up with a frozen white. Which is where a wine chiller makes practical sense. All that's needed is to insert a bottle of white ambrosia or even sake, hit the switch, and the LED light will illuminate when the right temperature setting is reached. If you're wondering what the warmer is for, it's to bring chilled red wines down to serving temperature. Bottoms up to that.

Price: S$168 (US$100.70)
Availability: Spotted at CK Tang
Device: Wine chiller
Basic specs: 21.4 x 15.3 x 20.9cm, 10 temperature selections (min, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 50°C), CPU-controlled constant temperature, suitable for wine bottles with diameter up to 90mm, AC 120V or 240V, 3m cord and plug, silver color

Pee-powered battery

Doc Brown from Back to the Future would probably love to add this to his garbage-powered time-traveling DeLorean. Incredibly, scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore have produced what could be the first paper battery to be powered by biofluids. Yes, we're talking urine and blood. For now, it's unlikely to power a DeLorean or even an iPod, but as Marty would know, the future could bring anything. Meanwhile, the credit card-sized unit is good enough as an emergency power source to juice up cheap healthcare test kits and even your cell phone. One drop of pee (about 0.2ml) is said to generate about 1.5 volts with a corresponding power of 1.5 micro-watts. A second droplet added after 15 hours will replenish the charge. Talk about an unlimited supply here, though hopefully someone's thought to build in an odor eliminator.

Via New Scientist; unfortunately no images were available of the prototype cell

Price: N.A.
Availability: In development
Device: Battery
Basic specs: N.A.

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