Slip Sliding Away

Here is the latest wacky invention being pitched by legendary infomercial star Billy Mays.

The Big City Slider

Am I missing something here? Do I really need this contraption to cook hamburgers that are 1/2 the size of normal burgers?

Billy literally hypnotizes millions of people to buy completely unnecessary products. I sat in front of my television last weekend and let him yell at me for 30 minutes about Mighty Putty. Half way through the infomercial, my 9 year-old son brings the phone to me and says; "Dad, we have to get some of that Mighty Putty". I think the main reason my son wanted this product was because he had just smashed something in the other room.

If you really like your miniature hamburgers cooked perfectly, go ahead and grab you one of these. Otherwise, meet me at Chili's.

Blast Into the Past

Special shout out to one of my top advisers, Whitney, for sending in this gem.

This fantastic site allows visitors to upload a head shot and create some hilarious throwback yearbook pictures.

Yes, the picture is me. I actually remember having this popular hair style.

Check out yearbookyourself.com and experiment with your own picture.

Head Games

The brilliant engineers at Emotiv have developed a new video game accessory that will guarantee that the next generation of teenagers are the laziest ever.

This new device will, literally, read our brain waves so that we can control characters on video games without any muscle movement, whatsoever.

Obviously, there are spectacular benefits to this device. Especially for those who do not have the luxury of movements that most of us are fortunate to have. For that reason alone, I applaud the outstanding developers at Emotiv.

For me personally, I am not sure that I want this contraption to get inside my head. My brain is already a mess.

Indiana Jones and the Potato of Doom

We all saw it coming. A big push this Christmas for Indiana Jones toys.

I will be the first to confess that we have purchased the Indiana Jones Lego video games for our two sons. I'm sorry, they are just really fun.

At some point, George Lucas has to see a toy extension from one of his movies and just say, "too much".

One of my favorite movie characters ever (yes, I was a kid when Raiders of the Lost Ark came out) is now a potato.

Stop it. George, you have enough of our money already.

Cosmic Odor?

Space smells like fried steak and hot metal. I'm serious.

NASA has paid a chemist from the British firm Omega Ingredients to recreate the odor for astronaut training.

My understanding is that the Universe is fairly large. Is there a chance that if we get closer to Saturn, that space smell like pot roast and a burning tire?

Can you imagine what was going through the mind of the guy at Omega Ingredients that took the call from NASA? "Let me get this straight, you want us to do what?"

I want to party with the guy at NASA who is in charge of the "Approved" stamp.

Idea Insanity Hall of Fame

From the BlastCranium archives we feature this slice of idea greatness. The sticker placed in upper corner of the driver side windshield that reminds us to change our oil every 3,000 miles.

I am no mechanic. In fact, I am not even sure why my car needs oil in the first place. But, my crack research team has run a series of tests and given me empirical proof that we don't need to change the oil in our car that often.

Bottom line, we only need to change the oil about half as many times as we do. That's OK, we have plenty of oil, right?

More Hall of Fame entries will be featured - stay tuned

Wii Are All Starting to Lose It!

First off, let me go on the record by saying I love my Wii. I spend countless hours playing on this genius video game console with my two sons.

The latest accessory I spotted are these Wii Maracas. Check out this 5 second clip of them in action (look for the video player in the top right corner).

If my kids get a hold of these, my wife will have me sleeping in the shed in the back yard.

To my good friends at Nintendo; keep on coming up with great extensions to your fantastic product. Please just give me some advance warning.

Who Gives a Flip?

Finally, technology has given us a simple and effective way to "shoot" a message to the person driving directly behind us.

This clever device allows us to remotely flip down our rear license plate, revealing some potentially kind words to our fellow motorist.

The best part about this product is that it will bring you even closer to that person coming up from behind. This is because, as they try to read the text underneath your license plate, they will most likely crash into you. Thus, leading to the always enjoyable exchange of car insurance information.

Sure, I would love to tell the guy behind me what is on my mind. I just don't like the potential road rage that could follow. Therefore, I will pass on this product and just rely on the old fashioned way of auto communication - let him drive by me and give them the traditional hand gesture that may apply to the situation.

The Cure for Arm Sweat?

Special thanks to BlastCranium contributor Chris "Candy" Anderson for this item.

Wrist bands are on the move, literally. When I say move, I mean up over the forearm. Pro, College, High School and Youth football players have all bought into this uniform accessory. Let's face it, pushing the wrist band all the way up to the elbow makes it look like you have bulging biceps. Even as I type this post, my bicep bands are producing muscularity I never knew existed.

My crack scientists have assured me that, in fact, my muscles are not bigger and that my sweating problem is getting worse.

Check out the Nike offering of bicep bands. Strangely, they look like ordinary wrist bands.

I think we have found the less permanent version of the popular barbed wire tattoos that were a huge hit with athletes about ten years ago.