Do you remember the television show Beyond 2000? It used to present all the weird little gadgets and innovations we could expect in the future.
The future is here and the gadgets haven’t stopped rolling along.
Here are some you may find useful, and others that strike us as a little over the top.
Heated coffee mugs
These heated coffee mugs could not get any fancier. Some come with a companion smartphone app that allow you to set the precise drinking temperature of your hot beverages, track caffeine consumption, save presets for your favourite drinks and customise the LED colour on the heating element.
These heated coffee mugs generally allow you to maintain your chosen drink temperature for about 1.5 hours, which means that your hot chocolate, coffee, tea or Bonox will stay at the perfect temperature for you from the first drop to the last.
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Holy smokers!
When I say smokers, is your first thought meat or Donald Draper from Mad Men? If it is the former, you obviously know that smoking your meat is the current big thing. If you have ever run into anyone who smokes their own meat, set aside most of your evening to hear about the process.
You don’t have to be an expert to join in, though, as some of the technology available makes the machine do all the work for you.
Modern digital smokers allow you to monitor your masterpiece using bluetooth smart technology, achieving perfect results with built-in meat probe thermometers.
Robot vacuums
Cleaning the house is hard work and there are few more labour-intensive jobs than lugging a heavy vacuum cleaner around the house. When robot vacuum cleaners first came on the market their price was inhibitive, but now the lower end of the market means you can pick one up for as little as $200. Consumer advocate CHOICE says some cheaper devices are still not at the level required to fully replace regular vacuum cleaning, but they do mean that you will have to do it less often, which is still a big bonus, if you ask me.
Automatic pot stirrer
Are you still standing over the stove and stirring your pots manually? Industrial designer Gavin Reay has created an automatic pot stirrer. All you do is place the utensil in your pot, hit the button and let the device do all the work. It features three stirring speeds and the motor has a five-year warranty.
Touchless soap dispensers
The pandemic has brought cleanliness into a focus in a way we never thought possible.
Having a soap dispenser in your bathroom was once thought good enough for guests, but COVID-19 has made the idea of touching any surfaces extremely unappealing, even ones that are eventually going to clean our hands. That has seen a surge in touchless soap dispensers for the home, resulting in them becoming much more affordable.
Heated butter knives
Maybe you can run your butter knife under hot water to try and spread your cold butter, or maybe you could invest in a heated butter knife.
The SpreadTHAT! serrated butter knife softens butter for quicker, easier spreading by carrying warmth from the palm of your hand to the edge of the blade.
You can use the serrated edge to shave off fine curls of butter straight onto your toast, and then gently draw the blade over them for a smoother, more even layer of butter right out of the fridge.
The innovative butter spreader works by using heat conducting technology that uses your body heat to carve and spread cold butter and requires no batteries or electricity.
Which of these gadgets would you want in your home? Do you have a kitchen gadget you can’t do without? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
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Gosh we are becoming lazy when we need an automatic pot stirrer. The heated mug would be handy but that price is over the top. I’ll continue to use my microwave to reheat my drink thanks.