Merch Report aka Weird New Stuff

Science fiction has always predicted cool medical innovations. On Star Trek, McCoy just carried around that remote control looking thing, pointed it at people and fixed them. In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker is suspended in some bubbling medicinal liquid after his arm is ripped off in a fight with Darth Vader. In the Alien movies there are scanners that look like tanning beds that are just right for revealing slumbering parasitic monsters in chest cavities. It looks like the real world might finally be catching up. A company called EJK has unveiled the No-Contact Thermometer for $200. Just point and read. Predictably pen-shaped, the thermometer uses laser technology to read body temperature without the perils of germy tubes of glass filled with poisonous mercury.

The benefits of nuclear power shrink in the shadowy nightmare of a radioactive cloud. Electric cars seem better suited to the golf course. And gas, well gasoline carries a lot of baggage as well. But what if we could harness the wind? Windmills can power farms and small towns but can they be built to do more? SkyWindPower Corporation is developing Floating Electric Generators in the hopes of providing safe, effective alternative energy. These flying windmills with 35 foot rotors hover 35,000 feet above ground and feed off of the jet stream. Many of man’s greatest inspirations have come from the sky, why not better, cleaner energy. I’m just not sure how I can plug in my hairdryer.

Though I’ve always found a hot water bottle tucked in a cashmere cozy quite comforting, the new MegaChi Pendant might offer me a good boost. This powerful piece of jewelry emits 7.83 Hertz and apparently provides a “powerful healing affect”. Feeling, anxious, sad and lonely? A cranky co-worker getting you down? Buy the MegaChi for $250 and ward off those dark thoughts. Or maybe just take a vacation.

The German art of napping has finally reached our shores. Two products in particular caught my eye, the Napmospere (great name) and the Schlafgras (even better name). The Napmosphere is a layered cocoon that fits in a duffle bag so you can take it to work and nap when you’re feeling sleepy in the afternoons. Designed to create the illusion of an open space for the sleeper, you can tuck it under your desk and feel like you’re in a cloud. The Schlafgras or Sleep Grass is what I’d like to get for the office. Made of giant foam tubes, the Schlafgrass provides the sleeper with a “personalized nap landscape”. The photo of a guy in a shirt and tie draped over some Pool Noodles didn’t epitomize my idea of relaxation but maybe the Germans think differently.