# Plausible or soon-to-be plausible inventions you think they ought to have **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020 "2010-10-13T16:48:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/41 "2010-10-14T17:23:34Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > An email billing system. > > People I know and want to get email from get to send it to me for free. > > Spammers can send me all the v!4gra ads they want at a dollar a pop deposited directly to my savings. > > Someone sending me political/religious/lolcat glurge? That’ll cost you a Benjamin. I’ll second this. There was a micropayment system mooted a while back called Millicent. I wonder what happened to it. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/42 "2010-10-14T19:06:04Z")
Self cleaning bathrooms. Surely i can’t be the only one who hates cleaning them too… ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/43 "2010-10-14T19:21:23Z")
> [@Ann\_Onimous](#): > > Caffeine without the nasty side effects. Which are? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/44 "2010-10-14T19:35:59Z")
Years ago I postulated something I called VROS – Virtual Reality Operating System. Instead of a mouse and keyboard, you’d think that you were standing in a field or on Mars or whatever “wallpaper” you chose, and icons would be floating around for you to physically grab and open. Documents and applications would be floating in 3D space all around you. Sure, what we have now works much better, but VROS would be totally rad. ---
**Author:** ![Kingfisher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc8723/32.png) [@Kingfisher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kingfisher)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/45 "2010-10-14T19:43:43Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > A TIVO for my car radio. Whenever I miss a news story or a song, I should be able to rewind and hear it again. The 2010 Buick LaCrosse has this feature! ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/46 "2010-10-15T04:21:53Z")
A car with a windshield that’s actually an augmented-reality display screen. So for example, when driving at night it would dim the oncoming cars’ headlights while brightening the dimly lit areas of the road. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/47 "2010-10-15T12:17:36Z")
> [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](#): > > Then there is always the fill-the-sink-with-ice-and-add-salt trick If you want it even faster, fill it with ice, salt, and water. The temperature will still be the same, but the water will make better contact with the beer AND have a faster rate of conduction. It only takes like four or five minutes to chill a beer to a good drinking temperature with this method. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/48 "2010-10-15T14:01:27Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > A TIVO for my car radio. Whenever I miss a news story or a song, I should be able to rewind and hear it again. Amen. I don’t know how many times I’ve been driving along and realized that I just missed the traffic report and want to rewind 30 seconds to hear what they just said. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/49 "2010-10-15T14:02:30Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > It only takes like four or five minutes to chill a beer to a good drinking temperature with this method. So… Go four to five minutes without a cold beer? Doesn’t sound luck too great a deal there. ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/50 "2010-10-15T16:35:59Z")
I am reminded again this week, as I get over another head cold, of the need for a fast-acting nasal decongestant spray that doesn’t get your sinuses addicted. I would fly to Stockholm at my own expense to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony for its inventor. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/51 "2010-10-15T17:21:09Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@bouv](#): > > > > It only takes like four or five minutes to chill a beer to a good drinking temperature with this method. > > So… Go four to five minutes without a cold beer? > > Doesn’t sound luck too great a deal there. My way is easier. I buy it cold, and drink it before it warms up. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/52 "2010-10-15T17:48:56Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > On a long ago TV quiz show, Henry Morgan predicted a subminiature personal barber. It would park on your scalp, and periodically cruise your head to compare and trim each hair according to a memory of a fresh haircut. I’d love something like this, even if it was something simeple as a customizable FlowBee helmet. Scheduling an appointment, having to sit for 30 minutes and shelling out $30 a pop could all be avoided. Sign me up. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/53 "2010-10-15T20:40:09Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > > [@AskNott](#): > > > > On a long ago TV quiz show, Henry Morgan predicted a subminiature personal barber. It would park on your scalp, and periodically cruise your head to compare and trim each hair according to a memory of a fresh haircut. > > I’d love something like this, even if it was something simeple as a customizable FlowBee helmet. Scheduling an appointment, having to sit for 30 minutes and shelling out $30 a pop could all be avoided. Sign me up. Why not go the natural route and train your headlice to eat hair? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/54 "2010-10-15T21:06:30Z")
Should have read the thread first. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/55 "2010-10-15T23:37:55Z")
My fantasy invention is a small box that you program with your height, weight, health issues, etc. It looks like a microwave and you add a plate of food to it and turn it on. It will then “read” the food inside and display all the calories, vitamins, carbs, salt, sugar…etc, in the food and redlight anything that goes beyond the alotted calorie intake for the day (if you’re trying to lose weight) or if the sugar amount is too high (if you’re a diabetic) and so on, with whatever you program it to monitor. Then if it’s too high a number, you can remove a small amount of food off the plate to reduce your calories to a safe level before eating. No more counting calories, weighing out portions and reading confusing labels in the store to eat healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/56 "2010-10-16T00:04:02Z")
A second, low voltage, power distribution in the kitchen, bathroom, and behind the TV. No more wallwarts. And the opposite of a Microwave would be a Macrowave. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/57 "2010-10-16T00:07:15Z")
A sleeping pill that actually makes me sleep. Oh god please. PLEASE. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/58 "2010-10-16T00:52:55Z")
I want my damn Jetson’s food pills. I want to be able to take one pill that will give me all my nutritional needs for the day. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/59 "2010-10-16T01:19:07Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > A car with a windshield that’s actually an augmented-reality display screen. So for example, when driving at night it would dim the oncoming cars’ headlights while brightening the dimly lit areas of the road. I think windshields are huge spaces of screen real estate that are wasted, and should display useful information, beyond the usual dashboard info: Sat-Nav directions and maps; weather; traffic; emergency messages, such as pull-over directions from approaching police or fire engines. They can be placed around the edges, so they can be glanced at or seen peripherally without obscuring your view of the road. I believe some cars do have something rudimentary like this, and there are lkikely problems with seeing projected text in bright sunlight, but with judicious application of tinted areas on the screen, and using TFT-type technology rather than projection, there ought to be ways to perfect it. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020/60 "2010-10-17T03:45:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > > [@Lumpy](#): > > > > A car with a windshield that’s actually an augmented-reality display screen. So for example, when driving at night it would dim the oncoming cars’ headlights while brightening the dimly lit areas of the road. > > I think windshields are huge spaces of screen real estate that are wasted, and should display useful information, beyond the usual dashboard info: Sat-Nav directions and maps; weather; traffic; emergency messages, such as pull-over directions from approaching police or fire engines. > > They can be placed around the edges, so they can be glanced at or seen peripherally without obscuring your view of the road. > > I believe some cars do have something rudimentary like this, and there are lkikely problems with seeing projected text in bright sunlight, but with judicious application of tinted areas on the screen, and using TFT-type technology rather than projection, there ought to be ways to perfect it. some cars already do [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plausible-or-soon-to-be-plausible-inventions-you-think-they-ought-to-have/557020.md?page=4)