# Things that need to be invented **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585 "2008-10-05T19:45:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![audient](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@audient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audient)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/41 "2008-10-06T17:03:51Z")
The perfect stone wall builder. You get a truckload of rocks, 3d scan them so you have a model of each one. Then a computer uses some search algorithm to find the best fits and it gives you plans for building a wall with those rocks where they all fit together with minimal, if any, cement. my girlfriend hates this idea. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/42 "2008-10-06T17:12:12Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > A program/device that can monitor my tastes, in things like music and fiction and art and food and so on; then sort though the millions of options to find all the thing’s I’d like, but will never have the time or opportunity to find. There’s not enough time in the world to personally try everything. Do you know last.fm? It kind of does that, at least for music: whatever you listen to on your PC is ‘scrobbled’, then matched with data accumulated from other users, from which it generates a list of artists you’d be likely to enjoy that you can immediately start listening to as an online radio station. There’s also a firefox applet so I can just now push the ‘play’ button in the lower right corner of my browser window and my recommendations station automatically starts playing. It’s not always accurate, but I have found quite a few new artists to like thanks to it. ---
**Author:** ![audient](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@audient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audient)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/43 "2008-10-06T17:20:16Z")
If someone I’m talking to on my cell needs a phone number from me, I look it up on my cell’s contact list. at that point, i want to press a button that sends that phone number from my contact list to theirs. instead, I have to look at the phone screen, then hold it to my face, recite a few numbers, look back at the phone, recite a few more numbers, etc… the person I’m talking to writes down those numbers somewhere. And then has to enter them manually back into his/her phone, and also enter the name, etc. i would take all the time this would save and still spend it pressing buttons on a cellphone… ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/44 "2008-10-06T17:28:09Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > While the remote to find stickers attacked to lost stuff has a basic design flaw, I wish TVs came with a button to help locate the remote. This would be really helpful in light of the fact that most new TVs won’t work without a remote. We already have that feature on cordless phones. One problem with this approach is that many people don’t actually use the remote that came with the TV to control the TV. If they have cable or satellite, they probably either program the remote for the receiver box to control the TV, or buy a universal remote to control multiple devices. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/45 "2008-10-06T17:37:46Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I want a microwave gun, so I can just sorta point it at stuff and melt it. Or, heat up just my potatoes. > > 3D Television. in HD. But not that blue & red shit. Gotta be the polarized glasses, or something less intrusive. > > A self heating coffee mug, to keep my coffee consistently hot (No, I’m not talking about a thermos). > > A pill that will give me my damn hair back. I used to have hair, and I was fond of it. > > _HoloCube™Technology._ I’m not sure what it is yet, I just know it’s gonna kick ass. Here’s the TV. [Philips unveils 56" 3D HDTV, no glasses required ($25,000 price tag)](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2097873/posts) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/46 "2008-10-06T17:44:20Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > A lot of these things have already been invented. For instance: > > [Quote=Annie-Xmas] > > A box you could pop any food into, press a button, and get the total breakdown on calorie/fat/protein/carbs/etc. etc. etc. Such a box comes free with nearly every food purchase. [/QUOTE] That box just tells me an estimate. I wanna dump the food into a dish or put a pile of grapes in a bowl and get an exact count. ---
**Author:** ![Kickback\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/cdc98d/32.png) [@Kickback\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kickback_Joe)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/47 "2008-10-06T17:47:39Z")
I would like someone to invent a way to interpret the hints my wife gives me and convert them into actual requests which can be followed. Of course having this might actually require me to do something. Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/48 "2008-10-06T18:03:39Z")
> [@Always Brings Pie](#): > > It’s been [done](http://unwantedfacialhair.vaniqa.com/skinmedica/unique/108621.php?Keyword=Vaniqa). Sort of. That’s for women dude, I’m a healthy, hairy virile ,stud:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/49 "2008-10-06T18:30:11Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Isn’t there some firefox search plugin to do that? I only have to highlight a word, right click, and I can search for that word using pretty much any search engine I want; also, when I alt+click on a word, a little box pops up displaying whatever entries [answers.com](http://answers.com) could find regarding it, mostly definitions and stuff. Notice I said “key **words**.” If I read an interesting news story about someone named “John Smith” and want to find out more, just keying “Smith” or “John” or “John Smith” into a search engine is going to be massively unproductive. Some of the stuff I search for tends to be rather esoteric, and using a low number of words (like say less than ten) isn’t going to winnow down the search results to a manageable number. What I’m talking about would allow you to key in a nearly unlimited number of terms and only spit out results which had _all_ of those terms in the page, and not just most or some of those words. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/50 "2008-10-06T18:54:33Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Nanobots that remove plaque from arteries and veins and deposit it safely for disposal or removal; or micro-organisms that can do the same, perhaps using the plaque for fuel and excreting a safe byproduct that can be removed by the body. Same thing for teeth! (And while those bots are working, their buddies could be re-plating the enamel.) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/51 "2008-10-06T19:53:27Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > I hate to ask, but I have to know: Just what effect did duct taping hair to your forehead have while you were in your 20s? 😉 I meant that I actually _had_ hair in my 20s, so the duct taped hair wasn’t a good analog to the real thing. Ouch. Explaining my lame jokes hurts. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/52 "2008-10-06T19:58:13Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > Same thing for teeth! (And while those bots are working, their buddies could be re-plating the enamel.) Actually what we REALLY need is a pill to re-grow teeth that have gone. Put me down for a mouthful:p ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/53 "2008-10-06T20:29:45Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > An easy way to determine which electrical switches/outlets/fixtures are controlled by a particular circuit breaker. Is [this](http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1814337&cp=2568443.2568454.2632224.1259271&parentPage=family) easy enough for you? Me, I want a Personal Digital Assistant. No not those dumb PDAs they sell today, a real, honest to goodness assistant. A device that has voice recognition, can schedule and remind you of appointments. It can do research, download information on movies, restaurants, stores and give it back to you instantly. It can look up traffic, give you directions, store hours, recommend restaurants and such based on your observed preferences. It can tell you when there’s an email from your mother, but knows not to bother you if it’s from your uncle, who only sends jokes. All without you needing to handhold the device, you make a conversational type of request (PDA, are there any good restaurants around here?), and it returns a conversational type of answer (Do you want Japanese, Mexican or Steakhouse? The Japanese place is highly rated, but kind of pricey.) ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/54 "2008-10-06T21:24:22Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Is [this](http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1814337&cp=2568443.2568454.2632224.1259271&parentPage=family) easy enough for you? Holy crap! It’s about time somebody invented that! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/55 "2008-10-06T22:13:55Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > A cyber-being that can digitize the planet without undermining biology, eventually culminating in a techno-rapture, with all machines and humans becoming one with it. It will then be able to traverse the cosmos as a complete being with all our wills and intellects, a being known only as “Earth.” Post singularity trans-trans humanism at it’s finest. Or at least working transhuman augments. > > I’ll get the screwdriver… Sure, that’s nice. But, what will we do Tuesday? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/56 "2008-10-06T22:15:54Z")
How about a cheap electric battery that is **so efficient** , that gasoline is discarded as inefficient? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/57 "2008-10-06T22:45:04Z")
> [@audient](#): > > If someone I’m talking to on my cell needs a phone number from me, I look it up on my cell’s contact list. > > at that point, i want to press a button that sends that phone number from my contact list to theirs. > > instead, I have to look at the phone screen, then hold it to my face, recite a few numbers, look back at the phone, recite a few more numbers, etc… > > the person I’m talking to writes down those numbers somewhere. And then has to enter them manually back into his/her phone, and also enter the name, etc. > > i would take all the time this would save and still spend it pressing buttons on a cellphone… You could always text them the number. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/58 "2008-10-06T22:59:56Z")
> [@jali](#): > > A microcool for my warm beverages. Pop it in… 30 seconds…drinking cool stuff. If we were living in a B sci-fi movie, all we’d have to do is reverse the polarity on a microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/59 "2008-10-07T01:10:01Z")
A fertility on/off switch, so only planned pregnancies can occur. Also, a scanner that can be used to instantly tell you any diseases a person has. That way, if a woman is on birth control (or if the fertility switch has been invented), and you are both clean, you don’t have to use a condom. You can see where my priorities lie. ---
**Author:** ![audient](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@audient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audient)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585/60 "2008-10-07T01:53:29Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > [QUOTE=Audient] > i want to press a button that sends that phone number from my contact list to theirs. You could always text them the number. [/QUOTE] that doesn’t quite do the trick. at least on my phone, I’d still have to key the number in to a text message, & i’d have to type it into my contact list if I were the recipient. no shortcut to moving info from contacts to text message, or vice versa. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-need-to-be-invented/466585.md?page=4)