I’m in love with crazy, vaguely acupressure-related gadgets, so this Christmas I might actually drop some cash for the “Head Refresher.” Much like the Head Kanzen, this insane-looking device lets you massage your own scalp, allegedly increasing blood circulation throughout your body, while making it look like an inverted sea urchin is trying to swallow your skull.
Looking for a stress ball that’s sure to anger the hordes of PETA? Here’s one shaped like a chicken that crows in pain when you squeeze, hit or shake it. Let the chicken have it whenever work’s got you down and it’ll be sure to make you feel all plucky again. This fun little toy even comes in three sizes, priced $US13.90 for a large, $US9.90 for a medium and $US6.90 for a small, so that you can choke different sizes of chicken depending on where you are and how much stress you need to release. [Brando]
Somehow, I don’t think the world is ready for a charger that powers up an iPhone when you flex a hand grip. I mean, a firm handshake commands respect, but we are still talking about exercise here. So, I think that a solar powered charging case is probably about as eco-friendly as most of us are willing to get. On the other hand, you could view it like a stress reliever—a means of squeezing away your frustrations. Based on the time displayed on the iPhone in the image, my guess is that the designer also had stress relief in mind with this concept as well. [petitinvention via Ecofriend via Gearfuse]
Feeling a little stressed out? Good thing it’s Friday–the weekend should offer ample opportunity to unwind. Unfortunately, some of you may be have so much going on that a couple of days off may not do the job. Not to worry, there are plenty of gadgets out there that can help you recover from the stress that a long week at work, a pile of unpaid bills, constant nagging about your “drinking problem” and a mysterious rash can cause.
Designer Haishu Zhang has created the Sweety concept gadget to help soothe away people’s stresses. Apparently he’s designed to be your 24-hour listener, so I guess you just sound-off in his direction rather than at a real person. And Sweety reacts with graphic patterns and colour changes that, um, help you somehow. I’m a little confused how that bit’s supposed to work, but I do understand it’s interactive mode: when the rage hits you, you can just wrestle and pound the little bugger’s soft body. And that’s therapy. [Yanko design]
Have you ever felt the need to let rip with a stream of expletives, yells and screams, but not been able to as you’d piss-off your noise-sensitive neighbours? Well, with a little help from the Sakebi no Tsufu “Shouting Vase” you’d be able to make as much noise as you like—get it all out, dump all your stress—and still be pretty much inaudible to everyone else. The plastic device is basically a muffler for your yells, with internal baffles that suppress the sound you make. It’s available in Japan for around US$48, and I wish it was buyable here: it would’ve been perfect when I jammed my thumb in a door yesterday and my wife was snoozing nearby. [Crunchgear]
Squeezing a stress ball may have been enough for the 1990s, but it’s the 2000s now and we need to take it up a notch. Enter the Optimal Office Mouse, which not only has a spot for you to stick your thumb on to gauge stress, there’s even a software package that lets you perform stress-relieving exercises to alleviate your tenseness.
If you’re picturing a boob when you’re squeezing a regular squishy stress reliever anyway, why not just cut out the illusion and make one actually shaped like a boob? This Instructables post shows you how in 12 easy steps, provided you have the prerequisites first (a woman that will let you use her boob as a mold). The creator says this: More »
