Feature Articles

The Top Bizarre Items Of 2007

By Aloysius Low - 31 Jan 2008

Down the Rabbit Hole

The 'Other' Top List of 2007

By now, you would have probably have seen our Top 100 Products of 2007 and in the spirit of good fun, we bring you this article of what we think are the Top Bizarre Items of 2007. As you enjoy our take on the weirdest items we could find and are wondering about the ratings, don't bother. But if you really must know, we will be following our standard 1 - 5 rating system, except that the categories are well, not the usual ones.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride...


The Towel (Xbox 360)

What's a towel to do with the Xbox 360 game console you ask, or for that matter, it being tech-related? After all, a towel's nothing but fluffy absorbent cotton that you dry yourself with, yes? Well, in early January last year, the humble towel started becoming the savior of Xbox 360 users everywhere.

As you know by now, Xbox 360 users were granted a lease of life when Microsoft announced that they would be extending the warranty period for the 360 due to the frequent Red Rings of Death, Doom and all that jazz, which made the systems unplayable (and broken). Someone out there found a solution to fix the whole problem by, get this, completely wrapping a towel around the system for 10 minutes while leaving it on every time the RRoDs appeared. Then turning it off for 30 minutes, and like magic, the 360 would start to work again. As crazy as this sounds, it has actually worked for legions of owners out there; it was like a million voices crying out in unison, suddenly gleeful at their working Xboxes. The underlying principle was said to be a bad solder joint that gave rise to the problem and with the towel on, its trapped heat was hot enough to melt the solder a tad and get that kink sorted. Neat!

This picture is for illustration purposes only. On the right shows our Xbox covered in what appears to be a blanket as our towel (on the left) was too small.

While we personally have not tested out this trick (thank heaven our own Xbox is still fine) and have not heard of any fires or explosions caused by overheated wrapped up Xbox 360 consoles, the humble towel (and blanket) has found new respect for its unique and awesome capabilities in RRoD removal. It's probably the coolest non-tech tech-related gadget for 2007 which makes it hot stuff in our book.

Awesomeness Factor: 5


Das Keyboard

You know, they don't make keyboards like they used to these days. Back then, the keyboard had letters so well, you could see every letter you typed with two fingers. Nowadays, you're expected to type with all ten fingers while simultaneously looking outside the windows of your office (or lack thereof) picturing things you will do after work and making sure everything you typed was error free.

Because you're so good at it, hey, you don't need anymore letterings on your keyboard and that's why the Das Keyboard is for you. Featuring a grand total of zero lettering on the keyboard, the Das Keyboard is strictly for hardcore users and extremely proficient touch typists; which you will be after two weeks of using this keyboard or the chances are you would have given up and used a normal keyboard.

The Das Keyboard will either make you or be broken by you.

Frustration Level: 3 (Because we are awesome touch typists)


"Gundam"

Otaku fans would probably know what's a Gundam, but for those non-anime geeks out there (are there even any?), the Gundam is a highly advanced 18-meter tall robot normally piloted by a teenager that (usually) has a convoluted plot of saving the world by slicing and dicing other robots to bits.

When the Japanese Ministry of Defense was discovered to have a segment called "Towards the realization of Gundam (Advanced Personal Equipment System)" as part of their Defense Technology Symposium, fans everywhere started expecting gigantic robots piloted by cocky teenagers guarding the Japanese shores. Alas, it was not to be, despite the rumors going around, what was unveiled was but a ground combat system for its soldiers.

This is a Gundam. This is not a Gundam.

 Build them giant robots already!

Disappointment Factor: 5


USB Humping Dog

Possibly the most useless invention ever known to mankind (and some say the universe), the USB Humping Dog serves absolutely no purpose but to hump your laptop or any convenient USB slot. Neither a flash drive nor anything remotely useful, we hope that the USB Humping Dog will be but a passing phase in the grand scheme of useless objects to waste your time with.

Let this be the last we'll ever see of these.

Absolutely-Positively-Useless Factor: 5

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.