Latest news with #Jetsons
Buzz Feed
15-05-2025
- General
- Buzz Feed
32 Productive Things To Help You Avoid Ever Working *Too* Hard
An undetectable mouse jiggler for anyone with a micromanager who's a little too invested in your online status. This will make it seem like you're active while you take a much-needed break. Zep foaming wall cleaner to tackle dirt, scuffs, and crayon masterpieces that are, unfortunately, on the wrong canvas. The foam clings to walls and works to break down fingerprints, grease, wax, makeup, and more without harming your paint or requiring much scrubbing. A jewelry cleaning pen you can count on to add new shine to your gems; no costly trip to the jeweler required. As someone who refuses to take off rings before washing dishes, showering, etc., I need this! A closet organizer *and* shirt folder that will finally address your — quite frankly — alarming dresser. Instead of balled-up tees crammed into drawers, you can enjoy neatly folded T-shirts that are easy to flip through. A pack of Spin Pins you can use to keep your hair firmly in place, saving you from constantly readjusting or fighting flyaways. A bagless, touchless stationary vacuum for anyone who wants to feel like a member of the Jetsons. While it won't clean your whole home like Rosey, it'll act as a super effective replacement for a dust pan. Just sweep dirt over to the machine, and it'll suck it right up. A Conair handheld steamer that I personally swear by for turning wrinkly balls of fabric back into the pristine garments they were before you left them in the bottom of your closet. It heats up quickly and removes wrinkles in minutes. And you really can't beat the price for how effective it is. Or if you wanna be really speedy, a bottle of Downy wrinkle release spray you can just spray on and watch the wrinkles magically vamoose. A game-changing veggie chopper that will make quick work of your prep. Just add your veggies, slam down the lid, enjoy freshly chopped produce, and then throw the device in the dishwasher when you're done. Now you'll be crying tears of joy instead of tears from onion cutting. A box of Color Catcher sheets to prevent the dreaded "all my clothes are now pink from this one stray red sock" debacle. These handy sheets are designed to grab any dye that leaks or bleeds so you can keep enjoying your white tees even if you're not sorting clothes into lights and darks. A beloved, Shark Tank-featured Click & Carry Grocery Bag Carrier made with special padding to help you comfortably lift up to 50 pounds worth of bags on each shoulder, so now you really can do it all in one trip. A garlic rocker that's faster and easier to use than a traditional garlic press. It's also waayy easier to clean — best not dwell on the trauma of trying to fit a sponge into one of those things. 😬 A pack of disposable shower hair catchers for people who often forget to clean the drain after a shower and too squeamish to maintain a device like the TubShroom. You can just close your eyes and throw these away when they're too hair-infested. A batter dispenser you can use to make perfect pancakes and cupcakes every 👏 single 👏 time 👏. Gone are the days of using a measuring cup and dripping batter all over your stovetop. Now you can focus on the fun part: decorating! Who wants a lopsided Mickey Mouse? A dog paw-cleaning device to keep Spot's feet squeaky clean, because you can't exactly put hand sanitizer on a dog. (Seriously, do not do that.) Fill the tube up with soapy water and let the soft bristles scrub away the day's walk. A WD-40 pen that provides all the same benefits as the spray can (quieting squeaks, lubricating hinges, preventing rust, etc.) but now with an easy-to-maneuver, precise pen tip. You could just walk around your home, touching up every hinge you see! A nonscratch dish wand with a hollow handle you can fill with dish soap and vinegar so you can tackle your dishes or surfaces without wasting even a millisecond to re-soap your sponge. Let's get this DONE! A no-rinse soap that removes an entire step from hand-washing your clothes, making the whole process easier and faster. Just soak, squeeze, and dry flat! Slow cooker liners so you don't have to yank the heavy pot out of the cooker to clean it. You can also use the heat-resistant liners to make two soups at once. Bags! Gotta love 'em. Or oil-proof paper air fryer liners because I know you've been ignoring those burnt crumbs and french fry grease, hoping some enterprising elves might take care of it. Sadly, they're all busy baking cookies and mending shoes, but you can at least avoid future cleaning with the magic of disposable liners. A self-cleaning litter box you can even control from your smartphone — sitting on the couch has never been so productive. It scoops the unmentionables into a separate compartment that you can throw away at your leisure. A silicone freezing tray that lets you section your leftover soups into perfect frozen portions so you don't have to defrost your entire vat of black beans every time you want a single serving. A sweet little fish who swims around in your humidifier tank, inhibiting the growth of buildup for up to 30 days. Now you can go longer between washes and maybe avoid the dreaded brown sludge that appears in some humidifiers. A set of drill brushes so effective, you'll be shocked how clean your bathroom used to be. Why spend the energy scrubbing when pressing a drill button will do the trick? It's so important to delegate. A SwitchBot Smart Switch Button Pusher that works with rocker switches and one-way buttons, meaning almost anything can be turned into a smart device. Once you set it up, you'll be able to use Google, Alexa, or an app on your phone to turn things on and off, meaning you'll be living in an IRL version of Smart House. A smart house that makes hanging out fun and doesn't imprison you, of course. A rust-removing gel spray – you may be tempted to say "abracadabra" as you use it. It's that magical! The powerful gel clings to rust on contact, so you can watch stains start melting off your tiles immediately; no scrubbing needed. Luigi's Sink and Drain Plunger that works as your personal plumber to pull up hair, food debris, and other gross stuff lurking in your pipes. The plunger works on any drain small enough to be fully covered, and the flexible bellow is as much as 10 times more effective than a regular rubber cup plunger. Mama mia! This thing is useful. A jalapeno corer so you can get rid of unwanted seeds in a flash and minimize the risk of slicing your hand open. Just insert, twist, scoop, and marvel at a bright future filled with endless jalapeno poppers. Garbage disposal cleaner that's not only easy to use, but also very entertaining. Run some hot water, pop one of the packets in your disposer, let it foam, then wait for the foam to fully disappear, and bam! You can admire your lemony fresh drain that was basically cleaned for you. A Roomba robot vacuum because if robots are going to take our jobs, it might as well be the worst ones. It'll clean your floors *and* it even works with Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can use voice control! You might as well call this device Rosey because this is Jetsons-level tech. A breakfast sandwich maker that cooks every part of the sandwich at once and then neatly stacks them together so you can skip the line at your local deli. Those $8 charges are starting to add up, after all. A set of paint touch-up pens for when you start to notice scuffs on your walls but don't want to commit to a full paint job. Just fill the pens up with paint, and you can forgo the whole roller brush entirely. This is also ideal for hiding any oopsies from your landlord when they do a walkthrough, looking for excuses to keep your security deposit.
Forbes
01-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The AI Robots Coming For Blue Collar Jobs
Robots have been used in manufacturing since the 1960s. What is new is the application of AI, which potentially gives robots much more powerful analytical, cognitive, and learning capabilities. AI is already seen as a threat to many white-collar jobs, but soon, AI may play a part in replacing some blue-collar jobs. How soon will an AI robot show up at your house to fix your plumbing? AI-enhanced robots are the next wave of AI on the technological horizon. Until now, AI has most often been associated with software, particularly computer-based chatbots that answer our questions. Agentic AI has also surfaced, in which AI applications—agents--make decisions and perform tasks with minimal human oversight. But more recently, some companies have been working toward mating AI technology with hardware. In January 2025, Jensen Huang, CEO of nVidia, announced a new technological platform called Cosmos at the Consumer Electronics Show. This platform is meant to promote 'physical AI,' which means robots. In March, Huang said widespread use of humanoid robots is only a few years away. And a new Chinese training facility for humanoid robots will open in July 2025; it will share AI data and technologies among many robot developers. Robots aren't new, of course; they've been used in manufacturing since the 1960s. What is new is the application of AI, which potentially gives robots much more powerful analytical, cognitive, and learning capabilities. Instead of simply following a script, AI-enabled robots will be able to access ever-growing data models to make decisions, act, and improve their capabilities, on the fly. Those capabilities will contribute to the humanoid robots market growing to at least $38 billion by 2035, though some predict that market to be $60 billion. Citigroup predicts that 1.3 billion physical AI robots will be in operation by 2035. However, 'humanoid' robots are ones that attempt to mimic human capabilities and perform tasks that humans can do, and more recent versions incorporate advanced AI capabilities. Many resemble humans, at least in shape and form. These robots run marathons and shoot film movies. Other humanoid robots include: But I don't want a robot that I can pack into a suitcase; I want a robot that carries my suitcase for me (but for which I don't have to buy a seat on the plane). And drives me to work (assuming that I still have a job in the age of robots), cooks my dinner, does the dishes, washes my laundry, and walks my dog. I want a robot that fixes my plumbing, my electricity, and my car. In short, I want a robot like Rosey the Robot from the Jetsons cartoon, but without all the lip. And I want just one robot to do everything, not 15 robots that work on different chores. For some jobs, if a robot does a job half as well as a human can, that's an achievement, and acceptable. I am more than willing to tolerate having a kitchen that's half as clean as if I did the work myself, as long as I don't have to do it; if it really bothers me, I'll perform the rest of the cleaning. But other jobs require at least an on-par level of work; no one wants a half-as-good appendectomy. But eventually, we should be able to expect that robots can perform at least some jobs better than humans, because they don't have human limitations. Robots are precise, and consistent; they don't perform a task one way and then a different way the next time, unless they've learned a better way to do things. They don't get tired; they are never late. They can be trained and remember 100 percent of their training. They don't take shortcuts, and they aren't sloppy. They don't argue, or try to upsell you, unless their programmers build that in; they don't try to cheat you (unless their programmers build that in). On the one hand, I love the idea or AI-enabled robots. But on the other, if robots take over the jobs that I now depend on people to perform, what do those people do for a living? The standard response is always, jobs will change, new jobs will emerge, and people will have to adapt. In the long term, that seems reasonable, but in the transition phase, many people are going to be out of work. And the truth is, nobody really knows what's going to happen. In any case, it's probably inevitable. On Bill Gates's podcast, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said of AI in general, 'It's going to happen; this is now an unstoppable technological course. The value is too great.' Altman also said that AI was originally expected to impact blue-collar jobs first, white-collar jobs second, and creativity 'maybe never,' but that that order has been reversed. Nevertheless, blue-collar jobs will eventually be affected. As of now, the blue-collar jobs that are most threatened are fixed-location ones—jobs in manufacturing or industrial locations. But eventually, with the advances being made by mobile, connected, humanoid robots with access to immense computing power, more jobs will be impacted. The idea was that robots would take over jobs that humans don't want to do, or jobs that are simple, and that humans would migrate to new types of jobs—jobs that robots can't do. But it seems like the kinds of jobs that robots can't do is shrinking quickly.
Buzz Feed
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
38 Revolutionary Products That Will Rocket You Into The Future
We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page. Shopping · Future you will be so grateful you invested in these clever inventions. 1. A mosquito repeller that works in 15 minutes to scare away buzzing pests in a 10- to 15-foot radius. It releases an odorless repellent into the air that's people- and pet-friendly. Just think: no sprays, no stinky bracelets, no gross candles — just good vibes. Amazon Promising review: "New Orleans is apparently in the top 10 of cities with biting bugs/insects; however, you wouldn't notice if you bought this Thermacell. Give it a good 15 minutes to start up, then hang out outside and give it a try. In the past month (summertime), I've seen one mosquito, and it quickly flew away. That's it. It claims a 15-foot area of protection, but I think that might be a bit optimistic. I set it between my family on our back porch, and we're protected, but if any of us veer much beyond about 10 feet, the bugs will find you. It's still a testament to Thermacell's effectiveness. It works." — X8842 Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in 10 colors and packs of two). 2. A Roborock robotic vacuum, because if robots are going to take our jobs, it might as well be the worst ones. It'll clean your floors *and* empty itself when it's done! BuzzFeed editor Daniel Boan has and loves this robot vac: "I've always wanted a robotic vacuum, and after getting a chance to try the Roborock Q5+, I can't believe I waited so long. I absolutely hate vacuuming, so the ability to have a magical little robot clean my entire apartment at the touch of a button is an absolute lifesaver. The accompanying app is very easy to use — I typically use it to set up custom cleaning schedules — and the smart mapping feature was extremely accurate on the very first try. There are definitely cheaper options on the market, but what makes this worth the extra splurge is the self-emptying feature. Once the robotic vacuum is done cleaning, it finds its way back to the charging base and empties itself into a dust bag that lasts for up to seven weeks. My apartment has never been cleaner!" Promising review: "This thing runs without a hiccup every time. With kids and dogs in the house, things get messy. This vacuum handles it all with grace, my floors end up always clean and grit-free. I love that it doesn't bang into furniture either. The sensors do a great job with identifying obstacles, walls, furniture, people, dogs, etc. so it doesn't actually bump into stuff to identify its surroundings." — Kaeli Get it from Amazon for $239.99+ (available in three models). 3. Or a bagless, touchless stationary vacuum for anyone who wants to feel like a member of the Jetsons. While it won't clean your whole home like Rosey, it'll act as a super effective replacement for a dust pan. Just sweep dirt over to the machine, and it'll suck it right up. EyeVac is a small business that specializes in vacuums for home and commercial use. Promising reviews:"I love the way it just sucks up the dog hair, crumbs, etc. The auto mode is great, but I had to place mine under a table because every time the dog walked by, it would go off and scare the heck out of her. I think it's a great product and value." — Deb "I bought this to keep next to my toddler's high chair because I was sick and tired of bending over to clean up all her insane amounts of food and debris that she drops on the floor with every meal. This thing works so great! All I do is sweep it all in, and it sucks everything right up. It sucks up tiny little crumbs and really big chunks of wet food like macaroni alike. It has made my life so much easier, and my floor is so much cleaner. So easy to use!" — Patti Get it from Amazon for $149+ (available in three colors). 4. A glow-in-the-dark protective Fire TV Stick case so you can actually find that sneaky device, even in the dark during movie night. I know you yearn for a future where you don't have to upturn all your furniture every time you need to pause your show. This is compatible with the Fire TV Stick 4K, Alexa-voice Remote (3rd Generation), and the Fire TV Stick (3rd Generation 2021). Check out a TikTok of the glow-in-the-dark case in action. Promising review: "It's a thin silicone case that slips right on and has holes for all buttons and the microphone in the right places. It also has raised dots on the back to make it easy to grip. With the easy-to-see color, I no longer lose my remote in the couch cushions. Highly recommend." — S. Mizrahi Get it from Amazon for $6.99+ (available in five colors). 5. Listerine Cool Mint pocket sprays with an elevated, ergonomic design that makes it easier to carry around than mints or gum. The non-aerosol mister has about 140 refreshing sprays and has a convenient shape that lets you add it to a carabiner or key ring. Coffee breath will be but a distant memory. Promising review: "I love these. I put them on my keychain. They're small enough to fit in a small purse/clutch. Although it's small, you get a good amount of sprays out of them. Perfect for when you are on the go or need a quick pick-me-up." — Janay B. Get a pair from Amazon for $5.72 (also available in other pack sizes). 6. A set of special stickers that tell you when it's time to reapply sunscreen. Cover it (and your skin, of course) with sunscreen, and the sticker will turn clear. When it turns purple, you know it's time for another generous coating of sun protection. Take that, sun! We will not be burning this summer. Promising review:"Just used this product on a recent trip to Florida. I made sure to wash my skin before application, and it lasted about two days on my skin without coming off. When out of the sun or behind UV glass, like in a car, the spot turns clear. As soon as you step into the sun, it turns purple. If you use sunblock, it starts to become clear or semi-clear. After being on the beach and having gone into the water a few times, the spot started seeing purple, and I applied sunblock again. In a minute, the spot was clear again. So this is very effective In alerting me when to reapply." — RGTorque Get a pack of 16 from Amazon for $15.99. 7. A birdfeeder with a built-in camera so you can spy on your feathered friends and make notes on the avian goings-on. The camera has an AI system that can identify over 6,000 bird species, so you'll never have to argue whether the bird that visited was a goldfinch or an Eastern meadowlark. They can opt for notifications when birds come to visit (reviewers note that can be overwhelming if they have a lot of birds in the area) and save videos for later. The videos are high-def and have night vision so they can see every feather on that cardinal's head. Promising review: "Got this for my 95-year-old dad. He loves watching the feed of the birds come to visit, and I get to watch his feed from my home, too. I recommend this for any bird lover." — Cathy W Get it from Amazon for $139.99 (available in two colors and a solar AI feature). 8. A fancy automatic spice grinder that'll make quick work of peppercorns, sea salt, dried garlic, sesame seeds, and other seasonings. It comes with interchangeable pods that click in and out, so you can swap out spices as needed. Every dish moving forward is going to be soooo perfectly peppery. It comes with a grinder and two interchangeable pods. Former BuzzFeed editor Kayla Suazo has this grinder and has this to say about it: "I just got one of these snazzy kitchen gadgets, and now every time I use it, I think to myself, "How was I living life before this thing?!" It finely grinds salt down to that nice flaky texture, and then easy pops out the pod if I want to use pepper. I even got a different type of pod ideal for more oily spices (think mustard or flax seed). Now I am looking for reasons to use this thing... Salt on cake???" Promising review: "Product is out of this world good. Easy to use and makes seasoning food a joy. Each pod can be kept filled with one spice. I keep multicolored peppercorns in one, chunky Himalayan salt crystals in another, and small dried hot peppers in a third. Would definitely buy again. Highly recommended." — A.J. Vera Get it from Amazon for $39.99 (available in seven colors). 9. A smokeless tabletop firepit if you love a nice bonfire in the spring but hate the smoke burning your eyes and stinking up your clothing. The dual-wall design pulls air out of the exterior holes and then pushes it back into the stove through the interior holes to create a secondary burn, which results in considerably less smoke. Bonus: Add a color-changing packet for rainbow flames. Amazon This is a great option for smaller areas like balconies and gardens. It provides warmth, cozy vibes, and, of course, a place to cook s'mores (just don't do that if you're using color-changing packets). Promising review: "As a piece to provide some warmth and entertainment to friends or guests outdoors, this is a great product. As someone who once owned a Biolite camp stove, I was a believer that the only way to efficiently and completely burn wood to fine ash was by using the airflow fan of the Biolite camp stove. Well, by golly, Solo Stove has proven me wrong. Fans and electricity have been proven to not be necessary. The Solo Stove Mesa is able to burn wood incredibly efficiently. A very solid product overall. I look forward to buying a wood-burning cooking stove from Solo Stove sometime in the future." — William J Blackburn Get it from Amazon for $69.94+ (available in three sizes and nine colors). 10. A wireless transmitter that'll connect your AirPods (or any other wireless headphones) to the headphone jack on the flight so you can get access to the free entertainment without having to use those tinny-sounding earbuds they offer during flights. The standard edition allows you to connect one pair of headphones and lasts for 20+ hours on a single charge. It also comes with a USB-C charging cable, travel pouch, keychain holder, quick-start guide, and a manual. Promising review:"This product worked flawlessly! I travel often for work, and hated that I couldn't use my Apple AirPods on the airplane to watch in-screen entertainment movies, until I discovered the AirFly Pro. I paired these with a dummy device before traveling in order to create the initial connection. Once I got on the airplane, I plugged the AirFly Pro transmitter into the headphone jack, turned on my AirPods, and it instantly connected. I would happily recommend these again. Thanks again!" — Bill Get the standard model from Amazon for $29.99+ (available in two colors and also a Pro version that allows you to connect two headphones and has longer battery life, and a Pro Deluxe version that adds a receive mode and comes with extra accessories). 11. A wireless scanning pen perfect for the pro notetaker. This futuristic device scans 3,000 characters per minute — basically a line of text in a second — so you can transfer text straight from your books to your computer faster than you can say, "Will there be extra credit?" It can also translate 40 languages and even read text back to you as it scans. What an A+ shopper you are! The scanner works with any device that can connect to Bluetooth 4.0 or higher. See a TikTok of the scanning pen in action. Promising review: "This is quite possibly the best product I have ever bought. It has cut my flashcard-making time down by at least half. I ordered it thinking it might be okay, but it worked way better than I ever expected it to. Once you learn how to use it (which doesn't take that much time) and scan at the right speed and angle, the mistakes will be minimal. There are still far fewer mistakes than when I just type it myself, and it is way faster than typing. This has completely changed my entire school experience. On top of that, the customer service is great. I got a new computer and couldn't find the product key to reinstall it. I sent them an email, and I got a new product key in a few hours. Anyone who makes flashcards on a computer needs to buy this product." — Josh Get it from Amazon for $149 (available in five colors). 12. A can of fire extinguishing spray way easier to use when you're busy freaking out like a Sim because your eggs caught on fire. This thing takes up less room and requires no complicated pin removal, so you can extinguish flames as fast as they appear. Hopefully you won't need this in the future, but the peace of mind will be quite nice! Promising review:"I bought one for beside the grill, one for beside the stove, one for the laundry room, and one for the car. I think the intuitive, easy to use design is fantastic. We already have the muscle memory for using a spray can. In an emergency, it's so much easier to grab this and use it, and turn a small fire into a non-fire. I don't have time to remember a three step method of fire control when my bacon has gotten out of control on the stove. I'm not a firefighter! I'd really like to have one in every room. Think about it. Isn't it better to immediately contain a small fire than deal with a big one? This could save your life, and your house." — K. Zander Get it from Amazon for $11.99. 13. A smudge-correcting clear nail polish for the next time you do your nails and then realize you have to pee right away. Now you can risk a couple of crinkled nails and be rest assured that a solution is one swipe away. Amazon Londontown is a small business that sells creative nail products. Promising review:"Londontown has become my new favorite brand. Their products really work and my nails are much better for it. After spending all the time doing a manicure, occasionally you get a smudge. NOW you can easily fix that little area, NO PROBLEM. I'm going to always buy their products, I'm hooked." — Jolie Get it from Amazon for $20. 14. A pack of Miracle-Gro water storing crystals that'll prevent both under- *and* over-watering, which I believe are the top two killers of plants. When you water your houseplants, the crystals retain the moisture and release it as the soil dries. Crystals — what can't they do? In the future, nothing. This works for both indoor and outdoor plants. Promising review: "I have deck rail flower boxes and they get full sun most of the day. I filled in the drain holes to hold more water and added these to the soil. Both made a huge difference in the quality of life for the plants. They were and still are gorgeous even if I couldn't water every day. I do have to admit I used more per planter than the recommended amount." — Pattijwr Get it from Amazon for $11.42 (also available in multipacks). 15. A power strip with an ultra-thin outlet cover so you can enjoy all your ports without dealing with bulky cords getting in the way of keeping your furniture flush to the wall. Promising review:"The design of this is great. I always hated putting plugs behind furniture and either not using the plug, or the furniture being inches away from the wall. This is the perfect solution. I have a few of these now behind couches and dressers in the house and they are great. This is more expensive than some other flat extension cords but I think the look and quality of these is worth it." — Adam C. Get it from Amazon for $24.95+ (available in four sizes and two styles). 16. A clever 2-in-1 knife and cutting board for when you want to quickly cut like, one thing. The scissor-like device offers a built-in surface for your food to rest on, so you can slice things directly over a bowl and *without* having to wash a cutting board. Slice scallions over your salad, snip up some steak for your sandwich, or just cut a single lemon for squeezing. Amazon YES, that is a picture of the tool cutting through an avocado pit. No reviewers mention trying this feat, so recreate at your own risk. Ronan is a small business that specializes in multipurpose tools for home use. Promising review:"This is a kitchen must-have. We use it all the time — it's so easy to use that even our kids use it. Very durable blade that continues to perform and get value for your money." — Dawn R. Get it from Amazon for $15.99. 17. A Revlon hot air brush over 400,000 5-star raters (!!!) love for its ability to create blowout-level looks right at home. Once you see how easy it is to get glossy, effortless waves without the spendy salon visit, you'll never go back. Promising reviews:"I am a licensed cosmetologist of 30+ years, and I couldn't be more pleased! Salon-perfect, shiny, bouncy blowouts! Dries and styles in one or two easy passes ( on damp hair) and provides maximum lift if I style it that way. Easily dries and styles large sections of hair, making this THE BEST hairstyling tool! Highly recommend! I use the low setting and cool blast. Surprised and very happy that I don't need med/high settings. The only caveat I have come across so far is that the temp/speed setting is in an awkward place to be able to change it while using it. Learning curve, I suppose. Otherwise, another GREAT styling tool from Revlon! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" — ERJ "This review is for all the Black women looking for a good blow-dryer for their hair. I have 4c (mainly) natural hair and got tired of using the regular dryers because they made my arms tired. I have thick, long hair, so blow-drying takes forever for me. This blow dryer was wonderful. I didn't even have to detangle before using it, and it dried my hair very nicely. I love it so much. My only complaint is it is bigger than I expected it to be. A little bulky, but I will get used to it. Overall, I am loving this hair dryer so far and am glad I made the investment." — Johniece Elbert Get it from Amazon for $32.99 (available in 11 styles). 18. A rechargeable lighter with an extra long neck so you can light candles that are getting a little long in the teeth (jar). It doesn't need lighter fluid or a flame, making it a safe and mess-free option when you're trying to set the mood. This butane-free lighter charges with a USB cord, and the igniting spark shuts off automatically in seven seconds. Promising review:"This is seriously the coolest device of my winter holiday. It makes lighting candles a breeze. Yes, there is a weird crackling noise, but that's a super minor annoyance. It's a super intuitive device. Plus, the lighter with the USB (included), charge for a bit, then pop it open and light ALL THE THINGS; well, candles. I don't know how well it lights cigarettes or whatever. However, for my personal intended use, it's awesome!" — Jee W Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in 10 colors). 19. A moving bird toy complete with a catnip pouch to preoccupy your feline friend with their own version of Flappy Bird. The USB-charged gizmo has three flapping settings so your cat can work on their hunting skills and have a lot more fun than we had playing that infuriating game. Amazon Grab some extra catnip here. Promising reviews: "My cat is OBSESSED with this bird!! Just buy it. I left it in the box and plugged in the charger. I walked away. My cat found it in the box and hasn't stopped playing with it since! He chases it, wrestles with it, bites, and licks it." — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $14.98. 20. Medicube Deep Vitamin C Golden Capsule Face Moisturizer made up of tiny liposome capsules that pop and spread a vitamin C and niacinamide-boosted formula that works to brighten and smooth your complexion. Reviewers said they saw the brightening effects after just a few uses! For once, popping is a *good* thing in the context of beauty routines. (Leave that pimple alone!) Promising review: "This moisturizer is one of the nicest feeling moisturizers ever. The appearance of the vitamin C capsules inside the gel goop on TikTok enticed me to purchase it for myself. This moisturizer has a gel-like consistency and comes with a scooper, making it very easy to apply. You get a decent-sized jar of moisturizer for the price, and the moisturizer is pretty thick. Although it is sticky, I would say it absorbs into your skin pretty quickly. It may leave a slight sticky residue behind, but I think overall it is amazing for all skin types. After using this in the a.m. before sunscreen, I noticed my skin really glow and feel smooth! I had gifted a jar to my 60-year-old mother and she had told me how her skin felt like a baby's bum the next morning!" — tracey + kiwi Get it from Amazon for $19.90 (also available in two other styles). 21. An affordable sunrise alarm clock you'll really appreciate when you have to wake up before the sun. The device has seven natural sounds and will gradually brighten to simulate a sunrise so you can pretend you're not waking up at an ungodly hour. This can be programmed with seven different light settings, seven different calming "wake up" noises, and to start gradually lighting up at 30, 20, or 10 minutes before they wake. Promising review:"I got this recommendation from TikTok and it really has helped, especially with Oregon winters where the sun is not out by the time the alarm rings. It has several peaceful alarm settings and even has night music to put you to sleep. The sunrise with the alarm piano is what I play to wake me up every morning, and it is a way better way than to wake up to an annoying phone alarm." — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $31.92+ (available in three styles). 22. A charging station with six USB ports so everyone's device can have a place to park and charge without being disrupted. The tangle of cords, piles of phones, and vicious fights over the outlet are a thing of the past. Promising review: "Love this charging station. We had so many cords everywhere, and it just looked terrible. Now everything has its place, and the short cords look so much better! Charges well, maybe slower than my longer cord, but it's worth the aesthetic. I love the blue light that turns off when your device is fully charged; it's nice to know at a glance. Love it, would buy again, would buy for others as gifts." — Jen Get it from Amazon for $29.49. 23. Garbage disposal cleaner that's not only easy to use, but also very entertaining. Run some hot water, pop one of the packets in your disposer, let it foam, then wait for the foam to fully disappear, and bam! You can admire your lemony fresh drain that was basically cleaned for you. No one likes sticking their hands near sharp blades, and now you don't have to! Amazon Promising review:"WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE???! Holy cow, I didn't realize how easy and quick it was to clean a garbage disposal until I bought this product! Typically, I'd just use vinegar and baking soda down the drain and call it good. I didn't know that there was an actual disposal cleaning product available until I stumbled across it through a BuzzFeed article. I had to try it. The instructions are very simple. It literally takes five minutes and some hot water and VOILA! you have a clean, no-longer-stinky garbage disposal. Any time I got a whiff of an odor, all I did was drop one of these packs in the disposal and the smell was GONE! Plus, the blue foam bubbling in the sink was amusing to watch. Worth every penny!!" — VadersGirl Get a pack of 12 from Amazon for $15.75. 24. A compact label maker so charming, you'll find yourself labeling everything, down to individual Diet Coke cans. It connects to your phone through Bluetooth and lets you print out your own designs so your labels will look super cute even if they're possibly a bit passive aggressive. Your old label maker could never. There are predesigned templates you can choose from or you can create your own all in the app with different symbols, frames, and font varieties. Promising review: "I love how easy it is to use! You can customize your labels how you please on their app, or you can use their lite mode, and with those you can do simple labels. I really like how easy a quick it is. I think I'm going to label EVERYTHING in my house! LOL." — Stephanie Lopez Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in five colors). 25. A rolling egg dispenser that'll save room in your fridge *and* alert you when it's time to re-up your supply. It's also just super entertaining to watch the eggs roll down the chute. Your fridge is about to become an amusement park! YouCopia is a woman-owned small business that specializes in home storage solutions. Promising review: " Here it is! The best egg container on Amazon! How can I say that? Easy! Engineering! The slight tilt angle on the bottom of the container that the egg drawer sits on forces eggs to lightly roll forward, keeping all your eggs in the front, and never in the back, where you don't need them. It's super easy to use, so easy to clean, comes apart and can hold a full can organizer on top without issue, so no issues with sturdiness. It can easily hold 14 large size eggs. Easily one of my favorite purchases." — Karingen Get it from Amazon for $16.99 (also available in a double or can style). 26. A touchless paper towel dispenser for people who want to bring cutting-edge public bathroom technology to their home. Jokes aside, this thing is super useful when your hands are too messy to handle a roll of paper towels. The mounted automatic dispenser works with most roll sizes, is easy to load, and can be set to spit out whole or half sheets. Check out a TikTok of the touchless paper towel dispenser in action. Bonus: if you don't grab the paper towel, it sucks it back up for safekeeping! Promising review: "Do we need it? No. But it might be my favorite unnecessary gadget purchase of all time. It leaves our counter tops uncluttered, the no touch sensor lets me grab a paper towel with dirty hands, and I feel like we use less paper towels overall. It's easy to install, easy to program, and easy to replace the roll." — Mlc Get it from Amazon for $82.99 (available in three colors). 27. A TikTok-beloved Bio-Collagen Real Deep mask that lets you literally get some "beauty sleep." The sleep mask's oligo-hyaluronic acid works to leave your face feeling refreshed and glowy, even if you didn't get your full nine hours. The mask turns transparent after three-ish hours as it's absorbed into the skin, and loads of reviewers mention visible results after just one treatment. Most reviewers recommend doing this treatment once per week. Promising review: "Yes!!! Finally a mask that I can feel and see working, and with results that last. I have sensitive dry skin, live in a very dry climate, and even with drinking insane amounts of water and using a humidifier — my skin never feels hydrated. I used ONE of these masks so far four days ago and my skin still feels hydrated and soft. Initially, I thought I'd have to use another one right away to give myself a hydrating boost, but I truly think one a week will be enough." — A. Myers Get a set of four from Amazon for $19 (also available in two other styles). 28. A wall-mounted, fog-resistant shower mirror so you can shave, examine zits, or just check yourself out. ;) It has three different light settings, a little shelf with razor hooks, and a squeegee when the fog resistance crumbles to your love for steamy showers. Showers are about to become either really productive or really unproductive, depending on how much you love to look at yourself. 🤪 Promising review: "I ran across this mirror on another person's TikTok. Once I received this and mounted it in my shower, it was amazing! It feels like a fancy hotel feature that was placed within my shower. I love the different light settings. On the downside, the mirror does fog up frequently due to the steam. Since the mirror comes with a wiper, that helps as a slight fix to that problem. Overall, I highly recommend this as a purchase for an elevated feature to your bathroom" — Shanel Mitchell Get it from Amazon for $26.09+ (available in three colors). 29. A 360-degree spill-proof cup for toddlers (and other messy drinkers) who usually end up with more juice on their shirt than in their mouth. The silicone top is spillproof (liquid only comes out when sucked) and can be sipped from any spot. Does this mean you don't have to break out the stain spray every day? Probably not, but at least it won't be from drinking-related accidents. BuzzFeed writer Mallory Mower has this and says: "Finding this cup makes me feel *very in* the know, and I can't believe it's not yet a classic infant cup. Because it's absolute Glinda the Good Witch witchcraft. We originally got our baby an infant cup with a straw, but she was more interested in playing with the lid and would rarely drink from it. The day we got this she caught on instantly — her bottles were gone the same week with no tears and a healthily hydrated baby! I love that it gives her the confidence to drink from regular cups and water bottles because she now knows how to gulp. Plus, I can just throw this in a bag and go — no drips, ever! This has made our life SO easy." Promising review:"I have several colors of this cup, and they are the best sippy cups for toddlers. I love that they don't spill, and they come in fun colors and designs. They're also easy to wash. I'll definitely be buying more colors!" — Liane Get two from Amazon for $14.01. 30. A wireless thermal printer perfect for shooting out custom stickers and shipping labels in record time. Like store receipts, the ink is inside the *paper* so you don't have to worry about wasting money on pricey cartridges. Once you see how fast this thing whips out stickers, you'll wonder why you ever bothered with traditional printers (and scissors and tape). I loooove this little printer. You can connect via Bluetooth or app, but I connect with the USB cord to my laptop (it's as easy as downloading the printer software, plugging in the printer, and hitting print). It prints lightning fast and without smudging. I mostly use it for shipping labels, but if you want stickers, the app lets you design and print in one place. Promising review: "I have a small business, so I purchased this to expedite my shipping time frame. It's amazing how much time I've wasted printing, cutting, and taping on a paper label. It's so quick and easy to print my 4 x 6 shipping labels and stick them on, along with printing various thermal stickers and labels of different sizes. This printer is extremely customizable and very easy to use, whether I'm printing wirelessly from the phone app, or plugged in to my laptop to print. I've had a few issues with this printer, but Munbyn customer service is top notch and quick to help resolve my issues! I would definitely buy this printer again and other products from this company!!" — BH Get it from Amazon for $89.99 (available in four colors). 31. Mosquito Dunks to kill mosquitoes before they're even big enough to bite you. They're made with a bacteria that's only toxic to mosquito larvae, so you don't have to worry about pets or wildlife. Amazon You can throw these in your watering can or any standing water in your backyard. They contain BTI, a bacteria toxic to mosquito larvae. The treatment lasts up to a month and treats 100 square feet of surface water. Promising review:"So far, this is the best method I have found to rid your houseplants of pesky flies, gnats, and other unwelcome guests. I keep half a dunk in my watering can at all times. When it dissolves (usually after a couple of months), I replace it with another. Works great on the houseplants. I tried a lot of other stuff first, and nothing compared." — Joshua J. Homemaker Get a six-pack from Amazon for $7.05. 32. And a reusable plug-in fly trap that goes the extra mile with a built-in light, working like a siren song to lure hapless flying insects to their demise. It calls out to fruit flies and gnats up to 400 feet away so you can finally reclaim your home. The plug-in comes with two glue traps, but you can buy refills here. Promising review:"Sorcery. We travel in an RV full-time, and with camping comes bugs. I don't see bugs flying around, but they do seem to be appearing at alarming rates on the sticky pad. Either they're teleporting from outside directly onto the sticky pad, or this thing attracts them and catches them so fast that they didn't have a chance to annoy me. After trying nearly every bug-catching product on the market over the past two years, I can confirm that this might be magic." — Justin Erny Get it from Amazon for $14.48. 33. Mother Earth-approved bamboo towels said to replace up to six month's worth of paper towels. They're stronger (see watermelon pic) and more durable than the other kind, so you can reuse 'em. Amazon I'm not sure *why* you would use a paper towel to hold a watermelon under the faucet but it's certainly a striking example of the strength of bamboo! Anyway, all you have to do when you're done using one is throw it in the wash. Promising review:"I clean for a living, so using these on the job as well as my home makes life much easier, and I can feel better about not being so wasteful. I use them for drying my hands, cleaning the countertops, and as a reusable Swiffer pad for floors. What I do is mark each one with a Sharpie. My first initial for hands and face at home, 'C' for cleaning counters and 'F' for floor. What I love about these the most is they dry a lot quicker than regular towels and washing them is super easy. Dirt and grime tends to just rinse right out. Even on the mop pads. It's incredible. Now I don't have to waste money buying the Swiffer refills. These are different to use but it's worth figuring out what works for you!! A must buy for eco-friendly cleaning!" — Joyce Get a roll of 20 sheets from Amazon for $9.99. 34. An outlet light for anyone who hates stumbling into things when they drowsily shuffle into the dark kitchen for a glass of water. This sleek device won't take up any precious outlet space and just looks very futuristic in general! Your stubbed toes will thank you for this game-changing development. Amazon Promising review:"I don't like night-lights because they take up the wall outlet, so this was the perfect solution. I put it in the guest bath and at night with the bathroom door open this provides just enough light to guide a person to the bathroom without blinding them. I ended up putting two on my hallway switches as well. What a great product." — LMK Get it from Amazon for $22.98+ (available in four colors and three sizes). 35. E.l.f Lash Xtndr mascara, which uses ~tubing technology~ to make your lashes appear longer, thicker, and darker. The lightweight "extensions" won't smudge or weigh down your actual lashes and — best of all — they fall right off when you wash your face. Nothing worse than trying to yank those things off. :( Emma Lord/BuzzFeed Check out a TikTok of the E.l.f. tubing mascara in action. BuzzFeed writer Emma Lord loves this mascara and says: " I am not a new human to the tubing mascara game, and in fact readily spent $26 on the famous OG blend from Blinc every time it needed replacing. I didn't even love it for the length half as much as the fact that tubing mascara like this genuinely never smudges, but can I just say — regardless of price, the E.l.f. tubing mascara formula blows all the others I've tried out of the water. It gives me way more length and volume than other brands, slides on so much more easily, stays put ALL day, and never, ever smudges. My favorite part, though, is how gently and easily it comes off with soap and water. In the past, other mascara removals have felt rough on my lashes, but this comes off so fast that I'm like ??? was I even wearing mascara a minute ago?? Anyway, I hesitate even writing this review because I want to gatekeep the hell out of this before it sells out, but the world needed to know. I'm a big fan of the brown shade (which is what I'm wearing above!), but it also comes in black and soft black." Get it from Amazon for $7 (available in three shades). 36. Hope's Perfect Sink solution that cleans and then basically creates a water-repellant force field over your sink to protect it from stains and damage. It works on everything from stainless steel to porcelain (along with cast iron, corian, composite, acrylic, etc.), ensuring that your sink rinses clean and shines like new, no matter how many cups of coffee you pour on it. Sue Storm would approve! BuzzFeed editor Maitland Quitmeyer loves this stain-removing polish: "I bought this for my white porcelain kitchen sink, and I've since texted five people about it, which is really a lot for such a boring grown-up product. It cleans beautifully, but the *best* thing about it is its ability to repel stains after cleaning. You know that thing when you rinse out your coffee cup and the coffee water just lingers in your sink, and you have to purposefully rinse it out for two minutes? You don't have to do that — the coffee can't stick to the sink and just goes RIGHT down the drain. Time saved, sink clean — this is really a Virgo dream product right here." Promising review:"My kitchen sink is 6+ years old and has gotten pretty gunky over the past year — much more so than ever before. I tried my old cleaner on it with zero success, but this one did the job. There were some bad stains around the drain and a general ring around the perimeter of the sink, but with a good bit of elbow grease and several applications, I was able to remove about 95% of all of it. The sink looks more like it did when it was new, and the water even beads on the surface again. I'll be sure to clean it more often from now on, and I plan to buy some more Hope's. (It also did a dandy job on my stainless toaster, which had gotten pretty dull.) I recommend this product to others, with or without heavy stains on their sinks. Very pleased!" — Barry Get the value size from Amazon for $29.95 or the smaller size for $9.95. 37. A Coway air purifier designed with a four-stage filtration system to remove up to 99.97% of particles in the air, like pollen, pollutants, and other allergens. Coolest of all, it has a neat LED that tells you the air quality level. Thank you, iPod Shuffle! BuzzFeed editor Melanie Aman has this and says:"I love it! I had been waking up with watery eyes and the sniffles and desperately wanted some relief. I joked to my partner that this bad boy looked like an iPod its air-filtering capabilities are no laughing matter! Now, I wake up feeling refreshed instead of congested. Plus, I really feel like this air filter is able to detect changes in the air. Case in point: when I made fish a room away, the LED turned from blue (indicating good air quality) to red (indicating poor air quality), and the purifier jumped into action." Get it from Amazon for $206.99. 38. A portable white noise machine and speaker that goes under your pillow so you can fall asleep to soothing sounds without disturbing your sleeping partner. Sure, they snore, but you could take the higher ground and NOT blast whale sounds from your phone. This sleep bar has 10 different soothing noises, or you can connect to Bluetooth if you'd prefer to fall asleep to a podcast or some smooth jazz. The mini speaker uses bone conduction (sound waves that hit bone instead of eardrums) to amplify the white noise without disturbing the people around you. They'll still be able to hear the speaker if you play noises too loudly, though. Promising review: "This bone-conduction sleep speaker is a game changer! The white noise options are amazing, and the bone-conduction technology means I can enjoy it without disturbing my partner. Plus, it's so easy to carry around." — Vivian Get it from Amazon for $30.99. Some reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Boston Globe
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A novel for kids tells the true story of a newspaper for dogs
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up When Lobestine decided to write a children's novel about their adventures, the real Sophie, now a student at Emerson, jumped right in. 'She's so creative,' says Lobestine. 'I talked to her a little bit about it, and then we decided to do an artist retreat — some friends of ours own a farm in Vermont and they invited us to come. I was working on the book and she was really into being a filmmaker in high school so she made these two short documentaries. She continues to be this amazingly creative person and I've seen her really come into her own.' Advertisement 'The Barking Puppy' is meant to entertain and delight, like any other middle-grade novel — Lobestine says she was 'just smitten with how fun the story could be' — but the author also hopes it inspires its readers, if not to start their own newspapers, to at least 'lean into their passions.' Advertisement 'I wanted the book to model a lot of different ways to be yourself,' she adds, 'and to show how a community can be a place where we have room for each other, where we hold each other up.' Lobi Lobestine will read at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, at the And now for some recommendations…. Lydia Millet is one of our finest fiction writers, a cool chronicler of an overheating planet and a master at melding history in humor in novels like 'Oh Pure and Radiant Heart' and 'A Children's Bible.' ' Tech-driven visions of the future have always had a high error rate (I am still looking around for the robot housemaid promised to me by the Jetsons). But as Silicon Valley grows in political influence, the fantastic plans promulgated by industry leaders have begun to influence policy and government budgets. This isn't great, as science journalist Adam Becker points out in ' Advertisement In ' Kate Tuttle edits the Globe's Books section. Kate Tuttle, a freelance writer and critic, can be reached at
Telegraph
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Government Cheese, review: no surrealist flight of fancy is left unflown
TV producers sometimes like to boast that, 'We've put all the money on the screen.' It means that rather than fritter the multiple millions on poster campaigns and fancy catering, it's all gone on production design, locations and making the thing look as good as it can. Which really, is exactly how it should be. Government Cheese (Apple TV+), a new nine-part comedy-drama from Apple TV+, has put all the money on the screen. This being Apple, there's a lot to put there. Set in 1969 in a sort of suburban hinterland between the Jetsons, Wandavision, Mad Men and the Incredibles II, it looks sensational. It tells the story of Hampton Chambers (David Oyelowo), an ex-con trying to turn his life around after his release from prison, chasing impossible dreams and a stable family life in the San Fernando Valley, where everything is impeccably rendered. Of course, when things look this good one is entitled to ask what lies beneath. Pretty pictures and a pleasing palette can conceal a lack of meaning or heart. In the beginning, Government Cheese does appear to be all surface, as it struggles to find its narrative centre. The early scenes, set in Hampton's jail just before his release, are dazzling but also dizzying. They feature a flood followed by a riot, smiles and jokes intercut with sudden stark violence, an introduction to Hampton's great invention – a self-sharpening drill bit – on which he is pinning all of his hopes, and a cast call for his family. The Chambers number a son called Einstein (Evan Ellison) who's into pole-vaulting and particle physics, another son called Harrison (Jahi Di'Allo Winston) who wears a cowboy hat and thinks his dad's a useless grifter, and Hampton's wife Astoria (Simone Missick) who didn't know her husband was coming back and would rather that he hadn't. This is a lot to take in over an initial 45-minute episode (the rest are half-hours) and it doesn't help that creators Paul Hunter and Aeysha Carr are plainly Wes Anderson aficionados. The show leaves no surrealist flight of fancy unflown, and is as interested in aesthetics and that perfect shot as it is in story. Much like Wes Anderson's films, however, too much quirk can sometimes irk. There is undoubtedly a barrier to entry for Government Cheese (such as its name – it is nothing to do with politics; the name comes from an early saying that 'the best sandwiches come out of government cheese and white bread,' i.e. you can be inventive with the most meagre ingredients.). But if you can stay the course, a few episodes in it settles into a worthwhile family drama cleaved to a likeable crime caper. Can Hampton stay on the righteous path or will he turn to the dark side in a bid to ensure his great invention makes his fortune? With Oyelewo at the centre and the family unit all strong, it turns out that Government Cheese is more than just window dressing. The money is not just on the screen – it's been spent on the writing, too.
