Doo-hickey bobs

I've been wanting to devote a post to this subject for quite some time, and last week's post got me thinking about it.

For those of you who are not "Great Brain" aficionados, the first chapter of the first book in the series introduces us to one of the main characters, Mr. Fitzgerald, who is a consummate collector of gadgets and devices and all kinds of crazy inventions that never worked. In fact, the opening chapter also introduces us to the most recent, new-fangled contraption of the time -- the water closet, or as we more lovingly call it, the Toilet. The whole community didn't believe it would work, but of course it did, and we are now the lucky benefactors of this wonderful, hygienic and probably one of the most convenient inventions the world has ever appreciated. As much as I hate cleaning it, I certainly would not prefer the alternative.

The book was set at the turn of the nineteenth century when the age of invention was at it's peak, supposedly. We recently watched "Around the World in Eighty Days" with Jackie Chan, which we loved, but we couldn't help thinking how sad it would have been if people stopped inventing stuff after all the 'worthwhile' inventions were complete.

We wouldn't have this little gadget, for example:
What the heck? You may well ask. This delightful little tool has saved my sanity over the past two months. You may have to zoom in to read the words on the handle, but for those of you don't read pidgin english, you are looking at a bona-fide Fly Swatter of the highest magnitude. I swear, this gimmicky tourist souvenir (given to me by a very dear friend who had the wonderful fortune of spending her fiftieth birthday in the islands) has completely renovated the fine art of swatting flies. My old, boring fly swatter is absolutely useless -- flies would see it coming a mile away and buzz off. This little baby, however, is such a novelty that my swatting success rate has improved to a 100% success rate. I'm sure the flies see this coming and think, "Ooo! Yummy, smelly feet! BRING IT ON!!" My swattah is a black one, but as you can see, they come in a range of tropical colors and styles. Shop now for a fantastic stocking stuffer for your fly-hating loved ones!

One more doo-hickey bob for today:

I have to say, with all the knick knacks and paddy whacks and whozits and whatzits all over our house, this one has proven to be the most useful. Roy discovered it one day at the hardware store -- incidentally, I can't help but chuckle when I go to the hardware store with Roy. Instead of racks of candy bars at the check-out counter, they have shelves of little gadgets like this one, ready to be picked up on the spur of the moment by Mr. Fitzgerald wannabes. Needless to say, when Roy first brought this home, I thought it would break the first time we used it. It looked so flimsy and silly, and I thought, when am I ever going to use a thing like this? Not to mention, what the heck IS it?

O, ME OF LITTLE FAITH.

There has not been one week in the eight years that we have owned this $1.99 wonder that we have not used it. It is fabulous for reaching for socks that fall down behind the washer. You can pull anything out of the garbage disposal, or even down the drain. It is ridiculously simple to use... just push the plunger at the end, and out pops the little claws on the other end.

Every household in America--nay, the world --should not be without one. But don't ask me what it's called, because I can't remember, and as far as I can tell, the only tool remotely like this online is about ten times its size, and is good for reaching things off a high shelf, but not small enough to reach into hard-to-reach places. It was a limited time offer kind of promotional thing at the hardware store that day,but we have kept our eyes peeled so that if it ever resurfaces, we're going to buy them out and give them to every one we know for Christmas.