# Why haven't they done this yet \[product suggestions\]. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200 "2012-07-14T14:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/21 "2012-07-14T18:12:02Z")
> [@Zep\_Tepi](#): > > IWhy has not a soap manufacturer placed a small polystyrene insert, the size of the piece of soap that is normally discarded, inside a bar of soap so that only a small piece of polystyrene is discarded when the bar is finished. Because polystyrene costs more than soap. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/22 "2012-07-14T18:41:02Z")
My idea: a pressure sensitive pad that goes under the baby’s carseat (or is built in). When there’s weight in the seat, it activates an RF transmitter than connects to a fob on your key chain. If you get more than 10 meters away and there’s still a weight in the car seat, it goes off. No more killing baby because you forgot you were the one dropping him off at daycare. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/23 "2012-07-14T19:04:52Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > No more killing baby because you forgot you were the one dropping him off at daycare. What if baby is in the car seat, on the roof of the car? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/24 "2012-07-14T19:13:03Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > What if baby is in the car seat, on the roof of the car? Then it’ll go off as soon as baby rolls off the roof and you drive 30 meters away. Easy peasy. ---
**Author:** ![RearEchelon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RearEchelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RearEchelon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/25 "2012-07-14T21:29:19Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > 20 shaves with a disposable? Really? > I buy the bonus pack of Bic sensitive at the dollar store (10+2). Including tax that’s about 9 cents a razor. For cheap disposables they work well. I keep them in a drawer in our guest room closet. If I have no razor in my bathroom medicine cabinet, I get one from the drawer. If there is a razor in there, it means I used it once already and after I use it this time I throw it away. > > That’s right, I only use them twice. That equals 4.5 cents per shave. And seeing I only shave every other day on average, it’s about 15 cents a week. And I always have a sharp razor to shave with. I’m not fooling around with keeping a journal about how long I’ve kept a stupid razor. > > FYI, my dad had one of those old time safety razors where you put a two sided single blade in it. On the top of the handle there was a knob with numbers that clicked around the handle to the number 10. That may have appealed to the OP. > But those blades my old man used are still only like a nickle (and they’re double sided). I’d be damned if I’d use one 10 times.:rolleyes: I guess my facial hair is coarser (or something), because I have never found a disposable that will shave without pulling hairs. Even brand new out of the bag. And the ones with two blades are worse; the first blade will pull on the hair and then the second will slice my face open because the first one was pulling up on my skin. ---
**Author:** ![RearEchelon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RearEchelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RearEchelon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/26 "2012-07-14T21:32:05Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I read somewhere that Gillette designed the lubrication strip so that it it wears out faster than the blade gets dull, because the steel in the blade was good enough that the cartridges last far longer than they would like. This. Lube strips on the blades I use are usually 50-75% gone by the time I’m done with the first shave. If I threw away blades immediately after all the lube was gone I’d be homeless from spending money on razor blades. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/27 "2012-07-15T01:19:53Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > 20 shaves with a disposable? Really? yep. Gillette Fusion five blade cartridges. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/28 "2012-07-15T01:55:20Z")
If they put those web things on the handles, there would be another manufacturer war. One would start with ten webs, the next would have twelve, the next would be 15, etc. Even if all the blades were identical they would still do this. Soon we’d have disposable razors with 25 blades and 300 webs. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/29 "2012-07-15T02:01:13Z")
Well there is the Spishak Mach 20. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F7TMlrDXtw) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/30 "2012-07-15T03:15:14Z")
> [@Zep\_Tepi](#): > > Why has not a soap manufacturer placed a small polystyrene insert, the size of the piece of soap that is normally discarded, inside a bar of soap so that only a small piece of polystyrene is discarded when the bar is finished. This insert could also be used for competition prizes as one would have to use up the bar to see if you have won or not. One other property of the soap bar would be that in a bath, you would not spend minutes looking for the soap bar as it would float to the surface. I don’t use it anymore, but a few years ago when I was using Dial bar soap I noticed that they had an oval-shaped depression in the bar that was _perfect_ for holding the little chip of soap left over from the previous bar. I don’t know if they designed it that way or not but it was much easier to use up the old soap than it is with a weird shaped bar like Dove. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/31 "2012-07-15T03:27:20Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > My idea: a pressure sensitive pad that goes under the baby’s carseat (or is built in). When there’s weight in the seat, it activates an RF transmitter than connects to a fob on your key chain. If you get more than 10 meters away and there’s still a weight in the car seat, it goes off. No more killing baby because you forgot you were the one dropping him off at daycare. I designed (under contract) a similar [device](http://ktar.com/?sid=1110149&nid=6) for police dogs. The guy who I designed it for has never been able to market it successfully. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/32 "2012-07-15T03:47:16Z")
I would have to imagine that, even if you throw the little sliver of soap away (which many people do not), it would have to be much more environmentally friendly to do so than to throw away a little block of plastic every time. I did see clear bars of soap once that had a 20-sided die imbedded inside each one. I think the idea was that you give it to your favorite hygienically-challenged geek who would then use the soap regularly in the hopes that they could soon get to the die inside to use with their favorite role-playing game. No idea if this was actually effective :). I tried to come up with a similar idea for anime conventions, but I really couldn’t come up with anything similarly appealing to that demographic, able to be encased in soap without damage, and cheap enough to be financially feasible. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/33 "2012-07-15T04:27:22Z")
As Robert Heinlein used to say, the answer to any question beginning “Why don’t they…” is almost always “Money.” > [@Zep\_Tepi](#): > > I just wish that a manufacturer of disposable razors would have 20 or so small plastic webs on the side of the handle that one can nick out a web with your finger nail after each use so that you know how many shaves you have had with that razor. Use some metal object to put one scratch on the handle after every shave. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/34 "2012-07-15T04:57:18Z")
Clark Howard says that if you dry off the blade of a disposable razor after using it, it will last many times longer. I’d try it, but I haven’t shaved since '97. My son-in-law says it works like Clark says. Anyway, I have seen an ad for computer keyboards with high-contrast large letters on the keys for weak-sighted individuals. Why not just sell a set of stickers as an economy option? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/35 "2012-07-15T23:36:50Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > 20 shaves with a disposable? Really? > [@kayaker](#): > > yep. Gillette Fusion five blade cartridges. Absolutely. I also use the Gillette Fusion Five and I change it the first of every month. So in a year, I get 31, 28 (or 29), 31, 30…etc. shaves per blade. mmm ---
**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:** [July 16, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/36 "2012-07-16T01:32:56Z")
Last week I bending down to grab something from a hot oven, and I wondered, “Why don’t they hinge home oven doors on the side rather than the bottom? That way you don’t have to bend over the hot interior of the door to get close enough to the racks to get hold of the pan, and you reduce the chance of burning yourself on hot surfaces…” ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/37 "2012-07-16T01:53:36Z")
A mouthwash that has a 30sec count down timer on the lid. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/38 "2012-07-16T02:27:29Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Last week I bending down to grab something from a hot oven, and I wondered, “Why don’t they hinge home oven doors on the side rather than the bottom? That way you don’t have to bend over the hot interior of the door to get close enough to the racks to get hold of the pan, and you reduce the chance of burning yourself on hot surfaces…” This makes a lot of sense to me. Some commercial ovens have side hinged doors, why not home ovens. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/39 "2012-07-16T03:00:50Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Last week I bending down to grab something from a hot oven, and I wondered, “Why don’t they hinge home oven doors on the side rather than the bottom? That way you don’t have to bend over the hot interior of the door to get close enough to the racks to get hold of the pan, and you reduce the chance of burning yourself on hot surfaces…” Some smart aleck kid would think it was funny to pretend to shut the door on his mom and give her 2nd degree burns on the side of her face. Or the dog would hit it. Or your floor is crooked and it closes by itself. It sounds like a good idea but I don’t think it’s safe. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200/40 "2012-07-16T03:03:16Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > A mouthwash that has a 30sec count down timer on the lid. Use the hourglass timer in your Yahtzee game. I have one that lasts about two minutes that I use when I brush my teeth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-havent-they-done-this-yet-product-suggestions/628200.md?page=3)