# Inventions That Are Long Overdue **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 14, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032 "2020-12-14T16:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/1 "2020-12-14T16:25:00Z")
I’m surprised that in 2020, we still don’t have… A lightweight **portable refrigerator** that is around the size of a regular backpack, runs on a battery, and is easily affordable to the average household. What sort of gadget (that seems technically feasible) do **you** think the world should have come up with already? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/2 "2020-12-14T16:43:12Z")
Already decades ago I witnessed a guy install a thermoelectric mini-fridge in a VW Kombi. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/3 "2020-12-14T16:50:20Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > A lightweight **portable refrigerator** that is around the size of a regular backpack, runs on a battery, and is easily affordable to the average household. Why do you think there would be demand for this? Are you literally talking about something that you could comfortably carry for longer distances on your back? Or something more like a cooler box that actively cools? ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/4 "2020-12-14T16:53:16Z")
Cat sized elephants. I’d love to have couple in my backyard. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/5 "2020-12-14T16:57:44Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > A lightweight **portable refrigerator** that is around the size of a regular backpack, runs on a battery, and is easily affordable to the average household. I have an older version of [this](https://www.amazon.com/Chefman-Portable-Personal-Capacity-Freon-Free/dp/B076X5D5JH/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAt9z-BRBCEiwA_bWv-LW8Jo4ogeI-MAkawUCb7vOjI8-o5BVfr2O6YqIVqHHJgS7P7Hb1mxoC6dwQAvD_BwE&hvadid=176929371309&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9033304&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13719158892724105176&hvtargid=kwd-4951361385&hydadcr=15279_9741720&keywords=small+car+refrigerator&qid=1607964913&sr=8-4&tag=googhydr-20). Keeps 4 bottles of water nice and cold. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/6 "2020-12-14T16:59:30Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#): > > Cat sized elephants. How about these guys? Strangely, it turns out they are more closely related to elephants than to shrews. > **[Elephant shrew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_shrew)** > > Elephantulus > Galegeeska > Macroscelides > Petrodromus > Petrosaltator > Rhynchocyon > Elephant shrews, also called jumping shrews or sengis, are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea. Their traditional common English name "elephant shrew" comes from a perceived resemblance between their long noses and the trunk of an elephant, and their superficial similarity with shrews (family Soricidae) in the order Eulipotyphla. However, ph... ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/7 "2020-12-14T17:03:51Z")
I’d like to see an invention that modernizes drying after a shower. We’ve used towels forever. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/8 "2020-12-14T17:07:15Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#): > > Cat sized elephants. I’d love to have couple in my backyard. I’d rather have elephant sized cats. Just think of that snuggly warmth! I know this might end badly. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/9 "2020-12-14T17:09:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’d like to see an invention that modernizes drying after a shower. We’ve used towels forever. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen anyone who had one of those hot-air hand dryers in thier home. Or wanted one. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/10 "2020-12-14T17:12:52Z")
I immediately thought of these > **[Hyrax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrax)** > > See text > Hyraxes (from Ancient Greek ὕραξ (húrax) 'shrewmouse'), also called dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Typically, they measure between 30 and 70 cm (12 and 28 in) long and weigh between 2 and 5 kg (4 and 11 lb). They are superficially similar to pikas and marmots, but are more closely related to elephants and sea cows. > Hyraxes have a life span from 9 to 14 years. Five extant species ar... but I’m not sure they would appreciate being kept indoors. > [@kayaker](#): > > I’d like to see an invention that modernizes drying after a shower. We’ve used towels forever. Easy, just scale up those Dyson hand dryers. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/11 "2020-12-14T17:19:35Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Come to think of it, I’ve never seen anyone who had one of those hot-air hand dryers in thier home. Or wanted one. My grandmother had something similar to this in her bathrooms when I was young: [https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-clean-working-nutone-9354-1784934001](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-clean-working-nutone-9354-1784934001) One of them was probably 3 feet tall, with a single long resistance coil going the full length, and all recessed into 50-year old drywall. It was scary at the time, and terrifying in retrospect, but when you’ve just got out of the shower having that much heat radiate directly onto your body definitely feels luxurious. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/12 "2020-12-14T17:39:40Z")
I’d like a button on the TV you can push and the remote starts beeping. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/13 "2020-12-14T17:44:00Z")
I wish there was an effective, cheap and durable device against mosquitoes that killed no other bugs. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/14 "2020-12-14T17:45:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’ve never seen anyone who had one of those hot-air hand dryers in thier home. Or wanted one. > [@DPRK](#): > > Easy, just scale up those Dyson hand dryers. Nope. I want a dramatic innovation. A new way to dry. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/15 "2020-12-14T17:47:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’d like a button on the TV you can push and the remote starts beeping. I like that idea, but I’d prefer the button to be on the remote, so that I wouldn’t have to get off my couch to go to the TV. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/16 "2020-12-14T17:47:53Z")
Scale up the toaster in your kitchen. I suggest you start on the 1 or 2 setting at first. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/17 "2020-12-14T17:48:31Z")
I love the concept of inventions that were both transformative, and behind the times. Think of wheeled luggage. How long were we using those stupid dog on a leash designed suitcases before someone figured out to put the damn wheels on the luggage itself. There’s gotta be something else like that out there waiting to be invented. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/18 "2020-12-14T17:48:39Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Easy, just scale up those Dyson hand dryers. Geez, if you walked through one of those things you would lose skin. And be deaf. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/19 "2020-12-14T17:49:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I want a dramatic innovation. Ok, how about a scaled up Dyson hand dryer with giant speakers that play _Ride of the Valkyries_? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032/20 "2020-12-14T17:52:52Z")
No!!! I want a paradigm shift. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inventions-that-are-long-overdue/928032.md?page=2)