Earphones have been around ever since the first transistor radio in 1954. Granted, there was only one earphone, not two, but they predate the Walkman.
So therefore they were not begat by the Walkman? 
j
Jumping in here late but I was in a Best Buy yesterday and it reminded me that the 4K format exists.
I’m somebody who still buys movies. And even I can’t see why somebody thought introducing a new format for home video sales was a good idea. The home video sales market is dying as a whole. There certainly can’t be any significant number of people who are looking to get into a brand new format.
Maybe we should ask posters to define what the word “useless” means to them.
Fair point. I was thinking of the net benefit or otherwise to society, but it’s certainly not the only definition you could use.
j
By that measure it’s supremely ridiculous to say that mobile media devices and satellite location systems as a whole are useless. The benefits to society dwarf your petty complaints about them, unless there’s more than noted in your post.
Is it? I certainly see DVDs or Blue Rays or whatever it is the kids are calling it these days as dying, but watching video at home seems a growing market.
As far as 4k, well, it is useless, unless you have a big enough TV for it to matter, and I don’t think that that really kicks in until 70+ inches or so, and I would agree that a TV that big is a bit useless.
?
Whatever. 
j
4K, like 3D TV before it, is an attempt to move product. I think there’s even 6K now. TVs are pretty good these days and can be had for a reasonable amount, even a big one, and they last a long time. But good luck finding any movies or programming in 4K or even 2K.
I have a friend who’s more interested in the technical aspects of this stuff than I am, and he reports that he attended an event (maybe at Panavision or hosted by a former employee?) who said there’s no evidence that 4K or 2K are better viewing experiences than HD.
The infamous “Behind-the-balls” camera angle in porn.
Does anybody actually enjoy seeing that? I mean we have entire stand-up routines dedicated to making fun of it.
Several people have found out the hard way that using GPS to get to my place causes them to wind up in the wrong neighborhood, albeit on a street of the same name. That’s why I tell people not to use GPS and I will give them verbal directions, which in my case are very simple.
I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve pretty much standardized on that shot for most events: family reunions, crowd shot at sporting event, selfie, etc.
In the early days of GPS directions to my gf’s house wanted people to turn into the woods. I notified Google Maps, Apple Maps, and WAZE and the problem was addressed.
Meh, my wife who had pain problems in her hands and used to get me cereal with Bananas for breakfast in bed had one of those and said it helped her a great deal. Even it the bananas don’t curve right, it still gives you slices its just that some are a bit oblong. So I guess that goes to show something or other.
In terms of combination of usually useless yet totally ubiquitous I’m going to vote with those who say bottled water. A whole aisle of the grocery store devoted to something you can get out of the tap at 1% the cost.
I had an avocado slicer with a superfine mesh that sliced it up into 6x 10^23 pieces. It made great guacaMole.
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This is a great one! I would be so happy if Javascript and PHP just didn’t exist, and all webpages were forced to adhere to html-only standards.
The only loss would be to megacorps that want to panopticon all your web browsing, and some shiny bits to the end consumer.
So I actually had one of these (bought when I was single) and it was great!
It turned out to be a real conversation starter and was comparatively well-reviewed by everyone who used my shower.
It was also great for hungover / difficult mornings, because you didn’t have to turn on the eye-searingly bright real lights, but could shower comfortably in the funky ambient light from the showerhead.
And at that price point, the better question is “why WOULDN’T I want my shower to be an awesome multi-spectral adventure?” 
I wrote a dozen different “funny” replies, but not one could stand its ground here.
I missed that the first time around. Thanks.
I vote for the cat bed. Really, what cat doesn’t prefer to choose their own spot … or will sleep in the box the bed came in, just to troll you.