The 10 most ludicrous health gadgets ever
Usually we cover future tech that will make the world a better place. Today we pause to remember a few gadgets that never should have been.
We get so much joy out of our gadgets, it's no wonder we look to them for health benefits, too. Whether it's a too-good-to-be-true weight loss miracle or just a way to make fitness more fun, gadgets add some color to an exercise routine. Yet sometimes those gadgets don't live up to their claims, and sometimes their whole idea is completely inane. Here we present the 10 most ridiculous health gadgets ever.
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1. iGallop Of all the indignities to come out of Brookstone, the iGallop may be the worst. Consider how you'd look straddling this electric horse. Not a pretty picture, right? If you must use it (or knock offs like the iJoy or Giddyup Core Exerciser) please do so at home with the shades drawn. [Source]
2. Airun Shoes If you catch someone shoe-gazing when they're supposed to be working out, maybe it's because they're trying to read the display on their Airun shoes. They shoes can measure BMI and calories burned, but good luck catching a glimpse of the results. [Source]
3. Hawaii Chair We all laughed about this idiotic chair when we first saw the infomercial, then we blocked the memory like a childhood trauma. Too stupid even for late-night TV (Seriously? Vibrating your way to fitness?), it disappeared in record time. [Source]
7. XkPad BodyPad Was the BodyPad just ahead of its time? This assortment of sensors launched in 2005 with the promise of turning PlayStation and Xbox fighting games into a workout. While it received buzz for a while, in the end people preferred to play their games with butt firmly planted in couch. [Source]
8. Philips Activa Fitness Monitor One recent casualty is this MP3 player from Philips, which gives feedback to motivate your workout and matches music tempo to your pace. It's still technically for sale, although Amazon slashed the price from $129 to $39. Sales likely fizzled not because people hated the features, but because most of us would rather have an iPod Nano. [Source]
9. Amiga JoyboardAn early effort to bring movement to video games, the Amiga Joyboard launched in 1982 and flopped soon after. Part of the problem was that there was only one game for it, a slalom skiing title. But the board also wasn't sensitive enough for fine control. Yet over two decades later Nintendo would have trouble keeping its Wii Fit Board in stock. [Source]
5. Wii Vitality Sensor Unlike the other gadgets here, the Wii Vitality Sensor was never released and is still officially in development. The sensor was originally intended to help players zen out in relaxation-based games, but Nintendo says it's exploring other uses. We hope it finds them, as relaxation games sound really dull. [Source]
6. MP3 Smart Jacket Our own Adam Frucci called this jacket "dork suspenders" when he beat it like a piñata in 2008. Combining the style of a road repair crew with MP3 playback, this "jacket" was far too embarrassing to ever wear in public. [Source]
10. Gamercize Still in active development, and probably beloved by joyless parents, Gamercize is a sad comment on our times. It's for people who can't tear themselves away from their video games long enough to go for a walk or bike ride once in a while, and it forces players to churn their feet up and down to keep their games working. Versions exists for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, GameCube, and Windows and Macintosh computers, and comes in both step and cycle models. [Source]
4. Slendertone Bottom Toner The worst fitness gadgets promise something for nothing, just like the Slendertone Bottom Toner. This moronic device promises to jiggle your ass to a sexy shape. While it clearly could never work, it's still for sale. [Source]
