Hong Kongers are often praised for their ingenuity when it comes to inventing handy gadgets, but there are still a few things they could learn from the weird and wonderful world of the Internet. Just take a look at these five utterly brilliant creations that we'd love to see on the streets in the 852.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id="73367"]
1. The Nubrella
Move over umbrella hat – there's a new model in town. With typhoon season bringing us copious amounts of rain between June and October, this ingenious hands free umbrella dome – aka the
Nubrella – would be the perfect solution to keeping us dry while giving us plenty of room to chat on our phones or capture those pesky Pokémons (is that still a thing?) This gadget has been tested to withstand winds up to 50mph and won't invert, making it the perfect coat of armour for battling those T8 gale force winds – should we be mad enough to venture outside during them! But the best thing this savvy creation would bring to Hong Kong is eyeball protection, as we would no longer have to dodge the umbrella spokes of those city dwellers with zero spacial awareness. See, look how smug this woman is!
Available from Nubrella for USD69.99
2. The Rolling Bench
Another ingenious rain-inspired invention. Struggling to find a dry bench to perch on while you munch on your lunch and indulge in some leisurely people watching? Well, here is one seat that will never be too wet to sit on. Created by South Korean designer, Sung Woo Park,
The Rolling Bench rotates with a simple turn of the handle, so if it’s been raining – which it so often has in Hong Kong – then all you need to do is rotate the slats until you find a dry side to sit on. This nifty bench has yet to be rolled out in any major cities, but we imagine it would cause an absolute storm
(pun intended) in Hong Kong. It beats whiling away our lunch hour in an over-priced cafe any day – get on it GovHK!
3. The Flask Tie
It's a well known fact that Hong Kongers work hard – and we mean
hard! And while we certainly don't advocate drinking on the job, we can't deny the brilliance of this 'work hard, play hard' creation – the
Flask Tie. Forget coffee, because this neat little fashion accessory is actually a flask masked as a tie which hides a pouch that can carry up to half a pint of booze. So the next time you find yourself in a stressful situation and only seconds away from throwing your Mac out the window, just casually “fix your tie” and take a sneaky sip on your favourite tipple. With the easy to hide mouthpiece, no-one will even bat an eyelid – well, not unless you're the unlucky dude in this picture.
Available from Cool Stuff for GBP9.99
4. The Piqapoo
As much as we love our canine pals, cleaning up after them is never a pleasant task when we're out hiking or strolling around the city. Enter the
Piqapoo – a disposable collection bag that fits gently around the base of your dog’s tail before you leave home, meaning you never have to carry around scoopers or plastic bags again – yay to reducing plastic! This totally paw-some invention
(sorry, we couldn't resist) has been tested by more than a hundred dogs of all breeds and sizes, and so far, there are no crap reviews
(again, sorry). The bag is constructed from plastic with soft silicone cushions for seamless comfort, meaning it's so light and comfortable that your pooch probably won't even notice he's wearing it – winner!
Available from Piqapoo for USD67
5. The "Handy" Cell Phone Holder
Granted we aren't all lucky enough to own a car in Hong Kong, but in a city as crowded as ours, it's always useful to have a spare pair of hands to carry our groceries, navigate the MTR with our Octopus cards, or you know, actually look where we're going! Enter the Hands Free Cell Phone Holder, a gadget that was originally designed for drivers who want to "talk on the phone while angering their fellow drivers". While we love this wacky invention, complete with a realistic hand to fool fellow pedestrians, we're not convinced it's actually available to buy on the Internet as there are no retail details on the
ThisIsWhyImBroke website where we spotted it. Know any inventors who could make it happen?
Read more! Explore the rest of our
Style section on
Localiiz.
[button color="blue" size="medium" link="https://localiiz.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=c2964a434922598f5d8ee53ff&id=07d327a2e8" icon="" target="true"]Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter[/button]