World’s weirdest appliance designs

February 2nd, 2012

Appliance Talk

The future is here, and with it a slew of strange and wonderful appliances.

Ranging from the funny to the frightening, many of these appliances have been designed for situations where space is tight. (Hence why most originated in Japan).

Whether or not they’ll take off in Australia remains to be seen, but in the meantime here is our quick guide to some of the world’s weirdest appliances:

1. Automatic human washing machine

Sick of manually bathing yourself like a chump? Well, this product is for you!

Designed in Japan (where else?) the Avant Santelubain 999 (pictured above) is a robotic bath that shampoos and showers your body while you lie there, living the good life.

It also offers infrared heat and steam, sound therapy, aromatherapy, seaweed pack, and body lotion. And not only does it clean you, it can also clean itself with an automatic sterilisation cycle that means you never have to scrub the shower screen ever again. Is there anything it can’t do?

The first ever human washing machine was displayed at the 1970 World Expo in Osaka – named the Ultrasonic Bath. Invented by Sanyo, this pod-like machine stood about 2 metres tall and required the user to climb in through a ladder. Why it never took off commercially we have no idea.

2. Tree-shaped fridge

So often I, like many people, stand in front of the fridge thinking, ‘if only it were tree-shaped’!

Now, my dreams have finally been fulfilled. Created by Yanko Design, this tree-inspired concept fridge features a trunk section for tall bottles, and several ‘branches’ with fruit-shaped holes allowing you to ‘pick fruit from a tree’. There is also a bird’s nest section from which you can pluck eggs.

It’s tree-rific! Ha ha, ha…

3. Portable toaster

Korean designer Kim Been came up with this invention which allows you to toast on the go. Uninspiring sandwich in your lunch box? Bling! Now it’s a toasty delight. Wrap a bit crap? Bling! Toast that mother to golden perfection. Raw crumpets on the train? Bling! Your digestive woes are over, fool!

The device produces heat using molecular-sized tubes of carbon which do not overheat and which protect the user from skin burns. You can tell how toasted your bread has become by looking at the heat-sensitive vine and butterfly illustrations which appear on the other side of the toaster. (Or, if you want to take the old-school approach, by looking at the bread).

The disadvantage is that you can only toast one side at a time, so it takes longer than a normal toaster. Which is a small price for being able to enjoy toast while water skiing, we say.

4. Three-in-one egg, toast, & coffee maker

Another Japanese invention, this appliance makes it possible to make toast, fried eggs, and coffee all at once. Named the ‘Wake Up Morning Set,’ this cute little appliance provides a space and energy efficient solution to all your breakfast needs.

Retailing for around AU$100, the Wake Up Morning Set might be a good idea for people with campervans or other situations where space is an issue. Assuming of course that you haven’t already run off and purchased a portable toaster.

5. Dishwasher, oven & cooktop in one

A dishwasher, oven and electric cooktop together at last! The Carad ‘Minitro’ takes space efficiency to a whole new level with this bizarre appliance.

Also available with a LPG 2-burner cooktop, the Minitro is perfect for situations where you’re willing to forego that large baked dinner for the sake of having clean dishes. Sure, you’ll be hungry, but who likes washing up? No one, that’s who.

Although we’ve not seen the Minitro in action, we suspect this may be a case of ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. It’s like asking your cleaner to cook you dinner: “Windex Surprise, mmm, you really shouldn’t have! No really, you shouldn’t have.”