# Things you want, but don't exist. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2000, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244 "2000-04-21T02:41:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![horowitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@horowitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horowitz)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244/61 "2000-05-05T21:14:40Z")
A girlfriend that does not try to have a deep conversation with me while I am watching The Smurfs. or a light saber. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244/62 "2000-05-05T21:42:14Z")
So far, most everybody has posted requests for stuff that is kind of way-out-there, flying cars and lightsabers and the like. I want to request something that, to me, should be perfectly reasonable and practical, something I don’t know why nobody has previously implemented. Y’know the status bar in your Internet browser? (The 99.9% of you using graphical browsers, that is.) And how it says, “Contacting host [xxx.com](http://xxx.com)” or “###.##.###.#” or whatever? Here’s what I want: I want a little button on the status bar I can click to skip loading from that site/address only. Why? Because I get frustrated waiting for a page to finish loading because the stupid ad banner feeder site is busy and/or hung up. If I could look at the status bar and see the browser was waiting to hear back from “ads.imgis…” or one of those stupid things, I could just skip it, and proceed with the rest of the page. Note, this is different from clicking the Stop button, because if you do that, often you just end up with a blank page, as nothing else has loaded yet. I just want to skip selected bits and pieces. And if I’m being a complete moron, and there’s already a way to do this, please, someone, enlighten me. You’ll make my month. ---
**Author:** ![Hardwood\_Paneling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hardwood\_Paneling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hardwood_Paneling)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2000, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244/63 "2000-05-05T22:04:16Z")
I wish I was cool and imaginative like you people. I just want a washer-and-dryer in one. I mean come on, why is this so hard? And tiny little machines that will clean my car at night in the garage. And I want Lenny Kravitz to be my neighbor. Maybe that doesn’t count, because it’s not a thing. I’d like a drug that keeps my skin from wrinkling, so I could take longer showers. I hate the wrinkling. I bet it’s dangerous. Clothes that are their own atmosphere, so you would never be hot or cold. And yet somehow let tactile response through. Definitely. Skintight, not looking like Buzz Aldrin. A Dick Tracy wrist video phone. Some way of meeting people safely. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2000, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244/64 "2000-05-06T14:50:06Z")
A vegetation invisiblyzer. I catch birds and I’d like to know where to put my nets. If I could press the “Hide plant life” button, I’d see the birds sitting in the air or on the ground (“hey, that’s a good spot over there by the blueberries” or “no more white-throated sparrows, I want those catbirds over there”). I’d go with the model that allows me to select what type of animals are visible (“Show only feathered friends” or “Show critters without backbones”). And sign me up for one of those get-an-object keyboards and the rid-a-fur microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Ayesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Ayesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ayesha)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2000, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244/65 "2000-05-06T15:19:22Z")
A self-cleaning house. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2000, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244/66 "2000-05-07T14:00:31Z")
A left-handed computer keyboard, with everything from the “Insert” and “Delete” keys and further over, moved to the left. (If one exists and you know where I can get it, let me know - I’ve done Web searches for one, and found many kinds of alternative keyboards, but not this seemingly basic variation.) A whole new set of frequencies for broadcast radio, so that there could be about 20 times as many radio stations as now, and good music could find its way onto the airwaves a lot easier. A gizmo that would keep moles from burrowing under my yard. ---
**Author:** ![BigRoryG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigRoryG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigRoryG)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2000, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244/67 "2000-05-07T15:14:12Z")
It’s called **Portable Hole** folks. Insert what you want to have with you, when you need, just stick your hand in, and out it comes. So friggin’ handy. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2000, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244/68 "2000-05-07T18:26:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > A reverse microwave. Pop in a beverage, “anti-nuke” it for 30 seconds, and it’s ice-cold. > > * * * > > **Movie Geek Central** – Reviews, news, analysis, and more! [http://moviegeek.homestead.com](http://moviegeek.homestead.com) > \*\* I’ve wanted one of these for a loooong time! I always wish for it when I need ice cubes and find the ice cube trays in the freezer but empty. We don’t have room for a large new fridge, so I can’t have a built-in ice maker at this time, and trying to retrain the housemates is futile. Also, I once lived in an apt that had a frost-free fridge, and I noticed that the frost-free freezer was stealing my ice cubes! I was living alone and if I didn’t use ice much I would notice that the cubes got smaller and smaller and smaller until they were gone. Darn thieving Frigidaire! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-want-but-dont-exist/16244.md?page=3)