There are inventions that have greatly simplified our lives. From the wheel to dishwashers and mobile phones, useful inventions change our life for the better, allow us to shift many routine tasks onto smart assistants and simply entertain. However, there are new items, looking at which one would like to ask the question "Well, why is this necessary?"
We present you a ranking of the most useless inventions made in 2017. It was compiled by experts from the popular resource Gizmodo.
7. Flying Taxi
Uber, the world's most valuable startup, is set to launch a flying taxi service in Los Angeles in 2020. The passengers will be transported by unmanned helicopters, which are currently being developed by Uber engineers.
However, only rich people can afford such a walk by air. The cost of the trip will be $ 129, although the company says that the price of such a flight will subsequently be reduced to $ 43, and then to $ 20.
To Uber's credit, this was one of the smartest things the company has done this year.
6. Horizontal building
You can call this 11-storey structure an "office building." You might want to call it a corporate campus. However, Google calls its invention a "horizontal skyscraper." Now such a skyscraper is being built in London, its length is 330 meters, and it is designed for 7,000 employees. The estimated construction cost is $ 1.3 billion.
While the world's largest metropolitan areas are choking on the abundance of people and need tall skyscrapers to make the most of the space that the city always lacks, Google has decided to use the purchased territory extremely ineffectively.
However, American futurist Amy Webb disagrees with Gizmodo experts and believes that such horizontal skyscrapers may become more common, if not in London, then in other places where there is a lot of land for building buildings.
Future employees will be able to move around the building in elevators that move sideways, not just up and down. This technology has already been proven in Germany, where ThyssenKrupp recently sold the first elevator that can move up, down, sideways and diagonally.
5. Lyft Shuttle transportation service
Unlocks the top 5 worthless inventions of 2017 a multi-seater vehicle that travels a given route. It makes stops along the way, and you can board it and drive to your destination. As other people travel with you, the cost of the trip is reduced. This is the essence of the invention, "born" in the famous Silicon Valley.
And if you decide that city buses have done the same for a long time, then you are right. Plus, the bus is cheaper, accommodates more people, and is financially viable for low-income passengers.
The biggest difference between the Shuttle and the city bus is that Lyft will only appear during times of high demand for a particular route, and there will be fewer passengers in the car.
4. Super expensive communal apartment
Of all the high-value startups, WeWork is probably the strangest. This $ 18 billion project (more expensive than SpaceX) doesn't offer any useful ideas.
WeLive is a communal housing unit. That is, many people live in one place and use common premises. According to WeWork, this is what a comfortable "living together" looks like. In reality, this is called a "communal apartment". The only difference is that a communal apartment is usually not so well furnished.
3. Smart kettle from Teforia
Teforia was advertised as the only "tea maker" on the market. For these devices, specially packaged tea was offered, costing from 1 to 6 dollars. And special algorithms were supposed to ensure the preparation of a drink with an ideal taste.
However, one Gizmodo user found that a $ 300 Teforia teapot produced inferior quality tea than can be made with a convenient $ 7 infuser. And none of its internet features were helpful. After wasting $ 17 million, Teforia closed.
2. Anti-stress tent
Long days at the office, lack of sleep, and chronic stress make people feel terrible. But there is a solution to all the problems called Pause Pod from the Odd Company. This is a small "personal space, free from stressful moments." Basically, this is the tent that you set up in the center of the office. And let colleagues and boss wonder who is snoring inside the Pause Pod. The main thing is to relieve stress.
1. Juicer
The leader in the list of the most ridiculous ideas in 2017 was an invention that skillfully imitates ... human hands.
A juicer from Juicero squeezes packets of ready-made fruit or vegetable juice. Such an invention (along with the juice packs included) costs 400 dollars and what it does is quite within the power of an ordinary person. Bloomberg experts have found that the special bag from which the Juicero gadget squeezes out juice so well can be squeezed with bare hands to squeeze out the drink.
After five months of existence and 118.5 million dollars of investments, the Juicero project was curtailed. Apparently, there are not many people who want to squeeze juice from bags for 400 dollars.