Since the turn of the millennium some inventions have revolutionised the way we live.
Social media, The iPhone, Bitcoin and self-driving cars have all enriched the existence of people in a manner far beyond what they experienced before.
These major success stories will go down in the annals of history as truly life-changing. But since 2000 there have been a number of other inventions which haven’t quite caught on as much.
This list of the 10 weirdest inventions of this millennium showcases some of the more whackier of them.
The Uro Club
Needing to pee, whilst on the golf course, is every golfer’s worst nightmare. Especially if they are stuck around the 9th hole, which is usually the one furthest away from the clubhouse.
But fear not because a solution to this problem was invented by a urologist called Lloyd Seskin in 2010, who introduced the Uro Club to the world.
This clever device takes the form of a hollow golf club, which provides you with a discreet apparatus to urinate into, once you have found a quiet spot in the rough.
For extra concealment, it even comes with a fabric privacy shield, which will fool most observers into believing you are merely practicing your swing.
Foldimate
Got an aversion to folding clothes? Then the FoldiMate could have revolutionised your life.
Launched in Silicon Valley in 2019, FoldiMate was the brainchild of an Israeli software engineer called Gal Rozov.
Believing that folding laundry was very much a chore, he invented a machine that accepted clothes, which it presented back to you neatly folded.
Sadly the product was not a success, with the company itself, ironically, folding in 2021.
Slugbot
The charmingly named Slugbot aimed to eradicate that pesky issue of slugs destroying your garden.
Created by the California Institute of Technology back in 2001, the product took the form of a machine the size of a lawn mower, that used artificial intelligence to crawl over soil in an attempt to located slugs, using a red light source.
After it found one, it would lift the Mollusca via a long arm mechanism into the device, whereupon bacteria contained inside it would ‘digest’ the slug.
This was then, rather ingenuously, used as an organic source to further power the machine. So remarkably it was a very sustainable invention, assuming you had plenty of slugs in your garden in the first place.
The Selfie Toaster
Yes you read that right. The Selfie Toaster!
If you love taking selfies how would you go eating a piece of toast with an image of yourself on it?
Introduced to the world by the Vermont Novelty Toaster Corporation in 2014 the machine allows you to customise a piece of toast with a depiction of your face.
Created via a special metal plate, it presents a perfectly cooked piece of toast that features your portrayal.
So even if the rest of your household has woken up in a bad mood, you can at least get a smile from yourself.
Fish Skin Bikini
There are many different styles of bikinis including the flounce, string and a trikini. But would you ever consider wearing one made of fish skin?
That is exactly what The Skini company of London introduced to the market in 2003.
Designed using salmon skin that had been tanned, dried and would have just been used as chicken feed otherwise; these soft, smooth and lightweight bikinis were first priced around $335 when they initially came out.
Thankfully they are cheaper now, and you will be pleased to know do not smell of fish.
The Ostrich Pillow
Heavily backed on Kickstarter with $130,000 of funding in 2012, the Ostrich Pillow is a pillow which acts a bit like a cocoon.
Enabling you to block out light and noise, it creates an immersive and meditative type of experience, that allows you to focus only on yourself.
Essentially, just like an ostrich, it allows you to bury your head in a hole and forget about the world. Which considering the way it is going at the moment, doesn’t seem like that bad an idea at all.
The Baby Mop
Are you a busy parent who is struggling to stay on top of the housework?
Then the Baby Mop is a labour saving device you might very much get on board with!
Launched in 2012, and inspired by a satirical television advert in Japan, this product takes the form of a onesie designed for your little one.
Featuring soft mop heads all over the onesie, which creates a scrubbing action every time your child crawls along the floor, this enterprising invention certainly leaves it shining like its brand new.
Ping-Pong Door
Do you love table tennis but don’t have enough space to accommodate a table? Then the Ping-Pong Door might be just what you are looking for.
Essentially it’s a door, just like a regular bedroom or study door, that converts into a ping pong table with an easy slick of the wrist.
It was an innovation dreamed up by an inventor called Tobias Fränzel, who with the help of a German company FINKELDEI, brought it to the market in 2018.
Entirely custom-built, they are not cheap. As a door/table will set you back around $12,000.
The Dogbrella
Arguably the most successful of all the new products on this list The Dogbrella quickly took Amazon by storm when it was introduced in 2017.
Created by LesyPet this product takes the form of an upside down umbrella for small dogs that fits on their collar and thus keeps them dry for walks. It also has a handle that is inverted, so a person can keep hold of it from above.
The beauty of this product is that it ensures your pooch won’t traipse in puddles of water around the house when you get back there. Which as everyone who has a dog knows cane be a huge issue.
The Whif Inhalable Chocolate
Love chocolate but also watching your weight? Then The Whif Inhalable Chocolate could be the perfect compromise for you.
Invented by a Harvard biomedical engineer called David Edwards in 2007, along with some help from his students, this gizmo was considered a major food innovation when it first came out.
Instead of wolfing down a whole bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk as an alternative, it deposited on your tongue a few hundred milligrams of cocoa, every time you felt like some chocolate.
While it will never replace the experience of biting into a delicious bar of your favourite brand, if you have the willpower, it should help you keep off a kilo or two.