thing one and thing two

Cue Cat, One of The 50 Worst Inventions

“Released at the height of the tech boom in the late 1990s, the CueCat was a massively expensive failure. Millions of the cat-shaped bar-code scanners were produced and shipped for free across the U.S., in hopes that people would use them to scan specially marked bar codes to visit Internet sites. (How this was easier than a typing a link, the company never did answer.) Despite a much ballyhooed launch, with CueCat codes printed in Wired and BusinessWeek, consumers never got into the idea of reading their magazines next to a wired cat-shaped scanner, and the CueCat became little more than a high-tech paperweight.”

via Time

Credit Card Calculator, from 12 Cool and Unusual Calculators

“This is on sale from the regular price of around $17.00…not bad for such a slim, stylish calculator.Perfect for pocket or purse the Credit Card Solar Powered Calculator designed by Sam Hecht is always ready to go. The slim form factor mimics the size and shape of a standard credit card and the raised numeric keys allow for a tactile feel during operation.”

via Toxel

Finbar O’Reilly/Reuters, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, from One of the Most Surprising Pictures of 2010

“Graffiti left behind by Taliban fighters remains on the walls of a compound now used as a command center for the U.S Marine Corps’s First Battalion, Eighth Marines at Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province November 10, 2010. An important battleground in the war against Taliban insurgents and the narcotics industry, Musa Qala has changed hands several times, most recently in December 2007 when Afghan and international forces retook the town from the Taliban. Artwork by British and American troops stationed at the command center now sits alongside that of their Taliban foes”

via Time

Smell-o-Vision, One of The 50 Worst Inventions

“Forget 3-D — what audiences really want is to smell a movie. So went the thinking of Mike Todd Jr., who in 1960 funded the ill-fated Smell-o-Vision gimmick, an elaborate system that allowed a film reel to trigger the release of bottled scents that were piped to the audience in sync with pivotal moments in the movie. The only film to make use of Smell-o-Vision was 1960’s Scent of Mystery, written specifically with the gimmick in mind. The results, predictably, stunk, and Smell-o-Vision was never used again.”

via Time

Virtual Boy, One of The 50 Worst Inventions

Microsoft Word Paper Clip, One of The 50 Worst Inventions

“It looks like you’re writing a letter. Would you like help?” No question drew more ire from Microsoft Office users than Clippy’s snappy opener. The assumption-prone office assistant made its debut in Microsoft Office 97 as an acrobatic virtual paper clip ready to help complete any task. The only problem was that Clippy had trouble holding its tongue. As soon as the word Dear hit the page, it burst into letter-writing mode, ready to help structure a person’s most private thoughts. Clippy no longer stars in a lead role for the word-processing program, mainly because of its obsession with bouncing on users’ documents and the fact that, well, nobody seems to write letters anymore.”

via Time