Your Toast Will Never Be The Same

It’s simple, it’s quick, and it’s the perfect compliment to a bacon and eggs breakfast. That’s right, I’m talking about toast. With just the push of a button and a few minutes of your time, you can transform regular, old bread into golden, toasted goodness.

Look inside any kitchen and you’re bound to find a traditional toaster sitting on the counter, but just as major appliances evolve over time, the toaster has had a few updates too.

We’ve talked about some awesome toaster combinations before, but here are two unique toasters that will take your breakfast to the next level.

The VHS Toaster
This geeked-out VHS Toaster is certainly one of a kind and adds an old school touch to your toast. Insert your preferred choice of white or whole wheat bread, push play and in just a few short minutes, your VHS toast pops out the cassette slot.

While you can’t buy this baby in the store, a toast-loving mastermind has offered up instructions on how to make your own.

The Portable Toaster
The Portable Toaster is more practical but equally as cool. This device is hand held, made of reinforced ceramic and is shaped much like a cake knife. By using CarboNano technology, the ceramic knife is capable of generating enough heat to toast your bread, in about the same time it would take a conventional toaster.

The butterfly design lets you know how toasted your bread will be so you’ll never have to worry about burnt toast again. The Portable Toaster does need to be charged in between uses but it’s perfect for work, camping, or anyone who just really loves toast.

This toaster should be available sometime in 2009.

12 Freaky Fetish Museums

Don’t bother with regular, stuffy, old museums full of rotting bones, boring rocks and paintings by dead Europeans. Instead, expand your mind with the fascinating wonders of odd socks, carrots, and land mammal genitalia. Come and take a mind-blowing tour of some of the most freakishly weird museums in the world.

12. The Museum of Bad Art

Location: Dedham, MA
Website: www.museumofbadart.org

There are thousands of museums dedicated to artists like Van Gough, Picasso, and Da Vinci, but what about those who have no talent? The Museum of Bad Art, held at the Dedham Community Theater, proudly showcases terrible works of ‘art’ created by the talentless, the colorblind, and those suffering from hand tremors.

If you’ve never been able to color in the lines, you’ve now found a place that will happily display a portrait of your cat, Peter the Kitty.

Is he hungry or contemplating his place in a hungry world? So profound.

11. The Museum of Odd Socks

Location: Virtual
Website: www.socknitters.com/museum.htm

Although this museum is certainly not comprehensive, it doesn’t disappoint on its name. The Museum of Odd Socks proudly displays various lonely socks created by sockknitters ‘round the globe. With names like Ugly Midget, The Toeless Wonder and Unspun Hero, it becomes pretty obvious each odd sock has an extraordinary tale to tell.

But what of the whereabouts of the missing socks or the legendary tale of the dryer thief? Sadly, the Museum of Odd Socks gives us no answers, only more questions.

A classic spiral tube sock inexplicably called ‘My Dog’.

10. The Erotic Museum

Location: Paris, France
Website: www.musee-erotisme.com

If you’ve ever dreamed of a place that houses every sexually lewd, crude, giggle-inducing, taboo piece of erotic art, The Erotic Museum in Paris is for you. From satirical to serious, historic and modern views of sex are portrayed through statues, sculptures, paintings, and more. The museum has seven floors available for viewing pleasure, all devoted to the miracle of making babies.

Erotic smurf art perhaps?

9. The Torture Museum

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Website: www.torturemuseum.nl

For the masochist in us all, the Torture Museum offers an exhilarating glimpse into the painful, ancient methods of human torture and torment. It delivers a very painful, stomach-turning experience and it’s not recommended as part of a family vacation itinerary.

The ‘Skull Cracker’

8. Virtual Banana Museum

Location: Auburn, Washington
Website: www.bananamuseum.com

They’re going bananas over at the Virtual Banana Museum! Anna ‘Banana’, apparently a longtime scholar of banana consciousness, has created an entire virtual museum as well as an antique store dedicated to what she calls “the perfect fruit – the BANANA”.

From books, pictures, and banana factoids to questionable Tupperware and frightening toys, this museum is undoubtedly and insanely dedicated to the banana. Ok, so maybe it really is the most popular fruit in America, but that’s still no excuse.

mmm, deliciously crazy.

7. World Carrot Museum

Location: Virtual
Website: www.carrotmuseum.co.uk

Now that you’ve had your fill of fruit, why not have some veggies at the World Carrot Museum? Another example of someone’s favorite food turned freaky fetish, the Carrot Museum offers a bowl full a fun with carrot art, carrot musical instruments, and medical advice that has not been verified by a real doctor. Who could ask for more?

Ok, so this guy is actually pretty cool, but the museum still sucks.

6. Toilet Museum

Location: Virtual
Website: www.toiletmuseum.com

While most of us think of our toilets as nothing more than a place to drop a load, there is one special place where the toilet is cherished as the porcelain throne it really is – the Toilet Museum. Dubbed as “a roadside attraction on the information highway, dedicated to toilets-in-art”, you can find out more than you’ve ever wanted to know about the john, the loo, the crapper, or the can.

Let Col. Chris Hatfield take you on an out-of-this-world exploration of space toilets or catch up on the zany antics of Xena, the Turd Burglar. It’s a whirlpool of fun at the Toilet Museum.

It’s true!

5. Paris Sewers Museum

Location: Paris, France
Website: www.paris.org/Musees/Egouts/info.html

Naturally, after finding out all there is to know at the Toilet Museum, this one should be next on your list. The Paris Sewer Museum, which is dedicated entirely to the sewer system of Paris, gives you an up close and personal view of where yesterday’s burrito went after you flushed.

Although the sewer system in Paris is one of the most sophisticated in the world, pictures would still do it justice without spending an afternoon smelling human waste.

See, we’re learning without burning our nostrils.

4. Toaster Museum

Location: Virtual
Website: www.toaster.org

Q: Do people want to tour an online Toaster Museum? A: No. Apparently, the reason for such a place is that the toaster offers an “unique opportunity to gather some fascinating artifacts from the 20th Century… and they simply uplift one’s spirits!”.

So basically these guys are saying the toaster gives us an insight into the industrial design and cultural trends of the 20th century. Oh, and they make us really happy. That’s an awful lot for a small kitchen appliance to live up to.

Forget insulin, forget landing on the moon. This is our greatest achievement.

3. Museum of Parasitology

Location: Tokyo, Japan
Website: kiseichu.org/english.aspx

No, that’s not some class you skipped in college. The Museum of Parasitology, located in Tokyo, is devoted to the research and education of parasites. Excuse me for a moment while I try and relax the gag building in my throat. *Ahem*

The museum curators ask one simple question. What images come to mind when you hear the term “parasite”? Perhaps images that inspire fear or make you feel sick in your stomach? In one word, yes. If your stomach is churning at the thought of intestinal tapeworms, scabies, crabs, and anything else that wants to burrow into the body, then leave this off the list.

Don’t be afraid, I’m just misunderstood.

2. Icelandic Phallological Museum

Location: Húsavík, Iceland
Website: www.ismennt.is/not/phallus/ens.htm

Do you know what Phallological means? (Hint – phallus). That’s right, the Icelandic Phallological Museum is the only museum in the world devoted entirely to male genitals. Their collection contains over one hundred penises and penile parts of most Icelandic land and sea mammals.

In addition to the biological section of the museum, there is also a collection of oddments and other practical utensils related to penises. For more info, check out the frightening images on the site.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

1. Museum of Menstruation

Location: Virtual
Website: www.mum.org

The Museum of Menstruation definitely trumps all other weird museums. There are really no words to describe some of the horrors this place offers. Clothing made from menstruation cups, slippers made from pads, vivid art, expressions such as “uterine jihad”, and for some unsettling reason, a section dedicated to cats.

Available in Men and Woman sizes.

10 Bizarre But Useful Appliance Combinations

In a world of high consumer demand and market competition, manufactures are constantly looking for ways to break the mold and create unique products that will appeal to buyers. Unfortunately, many of these mold-breaking creations end up as massive failures on a Most Useless Inventions list. The appliance industry, however, seems to have struck gold with a recent slew of strange appliances that are actually pretty handy. Say goodbye to the noodle hair guards and personal rain savers, and say to hello 10 bizarre but useful appliance combinations.

1.    Microwave Oven & Toaster

It’s probably one of the most debated decisions during small appliance purchasing – microwave oven or toaster? Both have their own set of perks and a lot of people just end up buying both, but for a home that’s low on counter space or funds, you will ultimately have to decide which is more important. That was until LG decided to take the best from both worlds and develop a combination Microwave Oven & Toaster. Now families around the world can enjoy evenly toasted bagels and perfectly cooked pizza pops at the same time.

2.    Radio & Toaster

Who doesn’t like to start the day with a slice of toast and the morning news? Well, thanks to Hammacher Schlemmer, you can now enjoy both AM pleasures with one energy-saving, space-saving appliance, the Radio Toaster. It comes with all the usual bells and whistles of both appliances but it’s all packed into one cool looking design. It guarantees perfectly toasted bread every time and even has a removable crumble tray for easy clean up. What more could you ask for?

3.    Coffee & Egg Toastenator

How about an appliance that not only makes your toast, but brews your coffee and fries your egg too? You can thank the always-clever Japanese and their forward thinking for this ultimate three-in-one breakfast making machine. This little space-efficient wonder has a coffee machine on one side, a toaster oven on the other and a mini griddle on the top to help you save time and energy – both in high demand during the morning routine.

4.    In-sink Dishwasher

Another perfect combination for those who don’t have a lot of room to spare is the In-Sink Dishwasher from KitchenAid. It’s the only one like it on the market and comes with a pretty hefty price tag - $1,800.00 - but for singles or couples living in tight quarters, this could be a practical addition. The racks are removable so you can still use the sink and it comes with a cutting board on top for even more space saving. But unless your hate for washing dishes by hand is worth $1,800, we suggest putting off purchasing one of these until the price drops a bit… or a lot.

5.    Refrigerator & Range

Like light and dark or big and small, there are some things that just can’t be mixed together but thanks to Whirlpool, hot and cold are no longer one of those. The Whirlpool Gold Polara is a combination range and refrigerator that will keep your food fresh and cool all day long and then cook it to perfection just in time for supper. It comes with a fully functional cooktop and is ideal for busy families that don’t have time to thaw and cook meals.

6.    Refrigerator & Microwave

Options for stacked, space-saving appliances are no longer limited to the washer and dryer. You can now purchase a Summit Refrigerator/Microwave combination to help save room with two home appliance necessities. Simply stacked with the refrigerator on the bottom and microwave on top, this is an exceptionally functional and affordable appliance combination.

7.    Pasta Maker Station

Perfect for chefs or anyone who loves to cook and eat Italian food, the Zanussi Pasta Station is an all-in-one, buffet-style pasta makin’ station. It allows you to combine a variety of appliances such as pasta cookers, electric ranges, ovens, a Bain Marie (double boiler), storage cupboards and more into one unit for a professional cooking experience.

8.    Toilet & Washer

Lovingly called the ‘Washup’, the combo appliance industry has entered a whole new frontier with this toilet-washer combo. After the initial ‘Ew’ factor wears off, the idea behind this appliance is actually very intelligent. The water used to wash your clothes is reused to flush the toilet. It’s sustainable, eco-friendly and because of its stacked design, space saving so it’s perfect for apartments or any home looking to ‘go green’ and save on their water bill.

9.    Tea Maker & Life Line

Give another nod to the innovative Japanese for this combination Tea Maker & Life Line. The weird mix may have you confused but like most Japanese inventions, the idea behind it is pretty smart. It was designed to give peace of mind to those worried about their (tea drinking) elderly parents who live alone by sending an alert via email or cellphone message when the tea maker is being used. It will let you know when it was turned on and how long it has been keeping warm, allowing you to know that your parents are safe and sound.

10.    Dishwasher & Oven/Cooktop

Carad has developed the Frankenstein of all combination appliances - a fully functional three-in-one dishwasher, oven and cooktop for the really space-deficient home. Currently available for purchase, it has a dishwasher with a 27 cm dinner plate capacity on the bottom, an oven in the middle, and a hot plate cooktop on top. Pick up one of these with a refrigerator-microwave combo and your kitchen will be complete!