here is a list of 30 dumb inventions as photographed by life magazine. an appropriate alternate title could be “30 more things i’ll never need to buy.” the list includes a motorized surfboard, a cigarette umbrella for rainy days, and illuminated tires for your vehicle.

life magazine’s list of 30 dumb inventions.

i know some of you have taken on the 100-thing challenge to limit your number of personal possessions to 100 items or less.  these may help:

israel’s foot soldiers are getting new odour-free socks that can be worn for two weeks straight without smelling or stinking up the feet, the maariv daily reported on thursday.

one good thing about becoming minimalist is that i don’t have to save up my money for this:

the goldstriker iphone 3gs supreme sells for $3.2 million (mostly because of the gold, diamonds, and granite case).  i was going to include a link to amazon just in case you wanted to purchase one, but i couldn’t seem to locate it.

in case you were thinking about going traditional in your gift-giving this year, the 12 gifts of christmas will cost you $21,465.56 this year.

1 partridge in a pear tree          $159.99
2 turtle doves                              $55.98
3 french hens                               $45.00
4 calling birds                             $599.96
5 golden rings                            $499.95
6 geese a-laying                         $150.00
7 swans a-swimming                $5250.00
8 maids a-milking                          $58.00
9 ladies dancing                        $5473.07
10 lords a-leaping                     $4413.61
11 pipers piping                        $2284.80
12 drummers drumming            $2475.20

source: pnc.

just in case some of you were planning to get me something for the holidays, here are a few combination items that i do not need:

the taser/music player holster:

the car rear-view mirror/monitor display with up to 3 inputs:

the mp3 player/toilet paper dispenser:

although if somebody were to invent an mp3 player/toilet paper dispenser with a built-in monitor/taser, i would be interested in receiving that this christmas.

photo courtesy of peopleofwalmart.com.

another good thing about becoming minimalist is that i don’t have to buy any of these: naughty christmas pornaments are not nice, say florida protestors.

related posts:

• we wish you a plastic free christmas
• this christmas – give more presence

i saw this the other day.  i thought it was cute, clever, and minimalist.  and i thought you might get a kick out of it too.

i do, however, apologize if you waited two weeks for this post…

this is not so much for you.  it is really more for that one guy at work, that one friend of yours, or your teenage son or daughter.  but, most certainly, it isn’t for you.  it’s for the other guy, really…

in an attempt to do my part in minimalizing annoying words, here is a list of some recently released polls ranking the most annoying phrases in the english language:

marist poll, 2009

1. whatever
2. you know
3. it is what it is
4. anyway
5. at the end of the day

oxford, 2008

1. at the end of the day
2. fairly unique
3. i personally
4. at this moment in time
5. with all due respect
6. absolutely
7. it’s a nightmare
8. shouldn’t of
9. 24/7
10. it’s not rocket science

lake superior state university, 2008

1. green
2. carbon footprint
3. first dude
4. bailout
5. wall street, in comparison with main street
6. <3 (yes, the emoticon meaning “heart”)
7. iconic
8. game-changer
9. desperate search
10. not so much
11. staycation
12. it’s that time of year again

i would like to add, “i have a headache.”

which word/phrases would you like to add to the list?

related posts:

• d is for dark knight?
• thsrs: the shorter thesaurus