With the death of Gary Dahl, the inventor of the Pet Rock, we are reminded that an invention does not necessarily have to be useful to bring the inventor success.
From inventions that found unexpected uses, to ones that were genuinely worthless, here are some of the silliest products that still managed to sell millions.
1. Pet Rock
Perhaps the best known useless invention, the pet rock was conceived in 1975 by advertising executive Gary Dahl, and was marketed like a live pet. For some reason, the product became a six-month fad, resulting in sales of 1.5 million pet rocks, making Dahl a millionaire.
2. Silly Putty
In 1943, General Electric engineer James Wright was working on developing synthetic rubber to alleviate rubber shortages during World War II. His experiments resulted in a bouncy putty that GE’s engineers couldn’t find a practical use for. A toy store owner eventually found out about it in 1949, and saw the potential for it as a toy. Silly Putty would become a worldwide hit by the end of the 50s.
3. ThighMaster
The ThighMaster, a simple piece of exercise equipment consisting of padded metal tubing, bent into loops and hinged in the middle, was invented by Josh Reynolds in the 90s. It gained notoriety due to an infomercial starring Suzanne Somers using the product. While it was useful for building up muscle in your thighs, it wasn’t much good at making you lose weight.
4. Pocket Fisherman
Ron Popeil was a master salesman of the 70s, hawking all manner of strange inventions in infomercials, with the most famous being the Pocket Fisherman. The portable fishing rod solved a problem you didn’t know you had, and thanks to sales of his invention, he was able to sell his company for $55 million in 2005.
5. Furby
When Tiger Electronics launched the Furby in 1998, the virtual pet craze was in full swing, allowing the interactive toy of dubious usefulness to sell 40 million units within its first three years of production.
6. BeDazzler
The BeDazzler, another infomercial favorite from the 80s, was invented by Herman Brickman to allow consumers to affix rhinestones, studs, and patches to their clothes when they decide they needed a glittery kitten emblazoned on their sweater. The product has sold consistently for decades, however, finding niche with fans of kitsch and retro fashion.
7. Shake Weight
The Shake Weight is a modified dumbbell that oscillates, supposedly increasing the intensity of an exercise. The sexually suggestive way in which the product is used caused videos of it to go viral around 2009, resulting in sales of 2 million units and $40 million in revenue for inventor Johann Verheem.
8. Hula Chair
The Hula Chair, also known as the Hawaii Chair, made the rounds on infomercials in the mid 2000s, and convinced enough people it could actually provide a massage and workout while sitting in the office to see significant sales in 2007.
Hawaii Chair Infomercial
9. Flowbee
The Flowbee is an electrically powered vacuum cleaner attachment made for cutting hair, invented by Rick E. Hunts in 1987. However, many critics said it didn’t actually cut hair all that well. Nevertheless, by 2000, over 2 million Flowbees had sold.
Flowbee hair cutting system (1992)
It looks like I can finally start saving some serious money when I get my Flowbee! I posted this just for the “skille…Read more
10. Snuggie
The Snuggie is perhaps the silliest invention to find success. The product wasn’t the first sleeved blanket on the market, but found widespread popularity in 2009 when it became a pop culture phenomenon due to the mocking it received from the internet and comedians. The phenomenon resulted in millions of Snuggie sales within a year, with the company now offering a wide range of patterns for the strange-looking robe.
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