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.

Hello Kitty Fire Extinguisher

We'll say this, someone back at the Sanrio headquarters in Japan (with a lot of time on his hands) is probably paid to churn out product ideas for the lipless one. We won't be surprised if the cat got its own pink lightsaber next. In case you didn't know, Hello Kitty owns this planet and we just live in it.

Click to see bigger image

More cat in the bag: Hello Kitty flower arrangement | Singapore Airlines and Hello Kitty | Hello Kitty toaster | Hello Kitty XBox console

Via Akihabara

Price: N.A.
Availability: Japan
Device: Home fire extinguisher
Basic specs: N.A.

Smart Goggles

Talk about your power goggles. Apparently one Katie Williams, a Welsh design student at London's Brunel University, has developed a pair of goggles that do more than just protect your eyes from the chlorine in pools. In a Minority Report takeoff, the lenses reflect information off tiny mirrors that allow the swimmer to read data like number of laps completed, speed clocked and total time taken. The power pack, which also houses a compass, sits at the back of the headstrap. A tap of a button sets up the mechanism, while the compass takes note of when the swimmer changes directions. Now all that's needed is to fabricate bifocals into the lens so some of us can see the display and watch our lanes.

See other eyewear with a twist: Motorola-Oakley RAZRWire | Oakley Thump | Finis SwiMP3

Via CNN.com

Price: N.A.
Availability: Concept
Device: Swimming goggles
Basic specs: N.A.

Fun Ironing Board Covers

Depending on your point of view, these naughty ironing board covers certainly show plenty of cheek. Literally. Just iron the towel or bikini on the picture, and now you don't see it, now you do. All thanks to a special heat-sensitive ink utilized for the image. Still, it's more flash than flesh, and ought to liven up what's typically a boring chore. Should go matchingly well with bikini idol Misako Yasuda's bedsheet prints, though there won't be any peekaboos in her case.

Take a peek at: Richard | Mark | Jordan | Kelly

Price: 14.95 pounds (US$27)
Availability: Prezzybox
Device: Ironing board covers
Basic specs: Fits all boards up to 1,200 x 370mm, actual cover size 1,320 x 480mm, felt backed, 100 percent cotton, elasticated for a quick and easy fit

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