6 incredibly fun, totally useless travel gadgets

There seems to be something about travel that pushes inventing minds to the far reaches of strange, silly or just plain indulgent. The following gizmos are some of the coolest—and weirdest—we’ve seen, though we have to wonder if they’d really change anything about the way we travel.

Photo courtesy of HAPILABS, Inc.

HAPIfork ($99.99)
Always finding yourself comingback from vacation five pounds overweight? Fork that. The HAPIfork monitors eating patterns by alerting you when you are chowing down too fast. Speedy eaters will find that every time food moves too quickly from plate to mouth, the HAPIfork will vibrate, light up, and otherwise guilt you into eating more slowly…until you decide to toss it and eat with a regular fork. Available at Hapi.com.

The Dental Hygiene Coaching Toothbrush ($199.95)
If you enjoy feedback from items you put in your mouth, there’s also the Dental Hygiene Coaching Toothbrush. This Hammacher Schlemmer contraption cleans and coaches, monitoring how well you are brushing. How does it do that? The electronic toothbrush has an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer that measure whether you are brushing at the correct angle, speed, and for the recommended duration. The companion app allows you to share these fascinating dental hygiene stats with your toothsome friends.

Women’s Disposable Briefs $10.50
TravelSmith poses this query in its catalog: “Why pack or wash dirty underwear?” Indeed, underwear is such a hassle to wash and it takes up so much space in your luggage. Enter throwaway panties. The disposable panties, which come in 5-packs of bikini or classic brief styles, are “lightweight and ultra-compact for easy packing, and the soft, breathable cotton is biodegradable for very low ecological impact.” You know what else is lightweight, ultra-compact and and reusable? Real underwear. Just sayin’. Available at TravelSmith.com.

4GB USB Cuff Links $39.99
What do you buy for the man who has everything? May we suggest stainless steel cuff links with an internal USB drive? Yes, according to Sharper Image, these “sleek and sophisticated” links will make your favorite geek like “a suave secret agent.” Not only are they stylish, but they can hold up to four gigabytes worth of files, photos, videos or music. They’re even compatible with both PCs and Macs. One caveat–only one cuff link contains a USB drive. The other one is a standard cuff link. So, if 8 GB of storage is required, buy two sets. Available at SharperImage.com.

Hypnap TruRest (coming soon)
The product’s website is www.why-hypnap.com. Why Hypnap, indeed? In the quest for a comfortable headrest for airline trips, Hypnap is developing one that requires a face-down, face plant. Set up the gizmo on your tray table and lean forward, putting your noggin in the middle of a padded face rest. The Hypnap TruRest renders seat reclining unnecessary. The person behind you on the plane will thank you (and Hypnap), while the folks sitting next to you will just think you’re nuts.

I’m Stuck, The App (free)
Picture this scenario: You are stuck in holiday traffic. You are frustrated. You wonder why no one is moving and what the heck is happening. If the first thought that comes to mind at this juncture is, “I need to contact a congressperson about this horrible traffic.” Well, hold the phones, because we have just the app for you. Building America’s Future, in conjunction with the U.S. Travel Association, has developed I’m Stuck for IOS and Android. The app allows users to immediately contact their representative or senator to express their annoyance about the traffic. Just one note of warning: Do not use the app while driving. Available via Building America’s Future‘s web site for iOS and Android.

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