Every so often, our eyes are blessed with spotting something we’ve never seen before, something that really inspires us and shows what innovation can look like when the right people work towards it.
This list is a celebration of those items and ideas that get our gears turning, some truly great designs that really get that lightbulb going off in our head.
“Every Vauxhall car built since 2004 have a hidden shark somewhere in the car. Found mine in the glove box.”
Little Easter eggs like this can take an otherwise normal object and make it truly memorable. Tons of people have cars, but only some of them include your very own scavenger hunt, and that’s what makes those ones unique!
“Roadside find: old coffee jar with a slot on the lid for knife-assisted opening.”
Why did we stop making jars like this, it’s so smart! Were people damaging too many knives? Was Big Knife profiting too much from people bending their otherwise perfect knives to open jars? I’d be willing to sacrifice one knife to effortlessly open all lids forever like this.
“This Volkswagen Golf ‘Harlequin’ I spotted today.”
I’ve always admired the Harlequin Golf. They’re gaudy in the best of ways, and the color combo is definitely bad, but not an offensive type of bad. Life would be a little more fun if there were more silly cars on the road that looked like this, that had this vibe.
“This McDonald’s has gondolas for tables.”
Talk about a unique dining experience, something that seems pretty hard to find with McDonald’s especially these days! For a major chain restaurant, this location has a nice, cozy vibe to it. It reads like a local restaurant near a ski resort.
“Loofah sponges start off as vegetables. The fully developed plant is peeled and the fibrous sponge is harvested.”
I remember when I first learned that loofahs come from a plant, my mind was blown. That same act of my mind being blown replays every time I see the process. How something that looks like a cucumber can turn into the perfect body-scrubbing apparatus is amazing!
“This paw print hand soap was way cuter than I was expecting.”
Aww, this is so cute! Sometimes, life really is about the little things. The tiniest features, like your soap dispensing in the shape of a paw, can really brighten your day. Stack a bunch of those tiny things on top of each other, and you always have a reason to smile!
“This book has an intermission.”
In case you’re wondering, the book is Arsene Schrauwen by Olivier Schrauwen. The reviews say it’s pretty dang good, although very goofy, made evident by this one page alone. It’s also out of print, so it’s hard to get, but apparently very worth it!
“House in my neighborhood that has black cat head fences.”
If I am ever to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a small town folktale-esque witch that lives in a cottage beyond the treeline, this is the fence I want to surround my property. No, actually, not want, but need. I need this fence.
“This bill in Turkey tells you how much each person would need to pay if you split it equally.”
Finally, something to spare the awkward 30 seconds where someone pulls out their phone and opens the calculator in order to see how much everyone’s paying, eliminating the chance of someone saying “Well I really didn’t eat much” while doing so.
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“This condiment dispenser at the Fall Festival.”
Pass. I’ll pass on this one. It’s objectively pretty fun and very well made, but something about getting my ketchup from a cow’s udder makes me deeply uncomfortable. Or any condiment, for that matter. Can’t I just get a packet somewhere?
“My McDonald’s poutine came with a wooden fork (which went in to the green bin afterwards instead of the garbage).”
Seeing restaurants make more and more efforts to produce recyclable packaging is great! Since many places have started using more eco-friendly straws, utensils are probably next, and McDondald’s is already setting a great standard with these! Here’s hoping more start popping up.
“The lid of this chopstick recycling box is made from recycled chopsticks.”
Speaking of recyclable, wooden utensils, restaurants that serve their dishes with chopsticks have been on top of this for decades now. It’s nice to see a receptacle specifically for them, though, so you know they’re getting recycled instead of mingled in with the plastics.
“This skull nestled in the corner of a building.”
This skull is actually one half of an art piece! It’s called ‘Cherub Skull’ by artist Kenny Hunter. The other half is a statue of a cherub on the other side of the building, the Tron Theater in Glasgow. Even if it wasn’t specifically an art piece, it still looks super cool!
“A hotel room with a swinging bed suspended from the ceiling.”
Whoa, what type of hotel room is this? What is the theme here? The swords, the torches, you’d think some sort of castle setting, but then the bed is way out of place! The way they just nailed a headboard to the wall is also very funny.
“This jar of mustard has a handle, so that after you finish the mustard, it becomes a glass mug with a handle.”
I like this a lot in theory, as I’m a mug lover at heart and appreciate good glassware, but something about the thought of drinking anything out of a mug that once held mustard really puts me off. No matter how well I clean it, I know I’d be able to taste the ghost of mustard.
“My order came in a padded mailer made of recycled newspaper pulp instead of bubble wrap.”
Packaging everywhere is starting to become greener! There are new alternatives fo bubblewrap being produced everywhere, mostly made of paper, meaning they’d be super easy to recycle.
The next step is stopping Amazon from using those huge plastic bubbles in their deliveries.
“This counter clockwise ticking clock.”
Why? Just…why? Why does this exist? Who would willingly hang this up in their home or their office? Why is this one not hung up correctly? Why couldn’t they move it to the right a little bit? Does this person enjoy causing pain to others?
“Harvey’s gives out little plant pots with their kids meals instead of plastic toys. My two year old loves her little sunflower.”
What a cute idea! It provides kids with an experience instead of a toy they might play with a few times before losing or moving on. Not to mention it’s something that both the kid and the parent can do together!
“Enormous DIY toilet plunger displaying toilet plungers.”
This is a lot of dedication someone put in to displaying plungers at their local hardware store. Was it made by the store, an avid fan of the store, or an avid fan of plungers who didn’t know what else to do with it?
“My desk has a button to keep your drinks cool.”
I’ve seen mug warmers, but as someone who drinks iced coffee over hot, this is a game-changer. I’m tired of all my cold drinks becoming room temperature if I don’t drink them fast enough, but this changes that. This changes everything.
