12 Of The Weirdest Gadgets That Serve A Practical Purpose

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You'd be forgiven for thinking that most weird gadgets were confined to the nineties, but the reality is, even today, some gadgets still feel like the result of a drunken bet. You might not know it, but today's tech has given us knives that don't rely on being sharp, spoons that season our food, and even headphones that can improve our health. On paper, they shouldn't really exist, and you'd probably scroll right past them on a normal day. But despite their oddities, some weird gadgets actually do what they claim and, in some cases, serve practical purposes — with some serving them well.

A few of the products on our list look bizarre; some of them serve a purpose you might not even have thought of. But they have all been professionally tested and have good-to-excellent feedback on shopping platforms like Amazon (a place where you'll find plenty of weird products to buy). Once you get past the initial bewilderment, they make a surprising amount of sense. Some may even change the way you do things forever. So, here are 12 weird gadgets that we believe are genuinely useful and worth your consideration, even if some of them will have you scratching your head at first.

The chef's knife hasn't changed much since someone in the Bronze Age realized sharpened metal could slice through meat. It's a piece of steel with a handle, and it has never been much more than that — until the recent invention of the ultrasonic knife. The Seattle Ultrasonics C-200 is a gadget that will make you feel like you're in the future. It's an 8-inch chef's knife featuring piezoelectric ceramic crystals in the handle, which expand when electrified. This, in turn, vibrates the blade at over 30,000 times per second.

And don't be thinking "chainsaw." On the contrary. There's no hum, no buzz, and definitely no mess. In fact, there's nothing to tell you it's working other than the food effortlessly falling apart underneath. Those vibrations make thousands of invisible micro-cuts with each stroke, and you'll only need about half the effort you would with a regular knife. The food slides straight off the steel rather than clinging to it, too, and the blade handles fine work like tomatoes and fish with precision, while it's equally impressive on meats and hard veg. It might sound like something from a late-night infomercial, but it's the real deal. A reviewer at food experts Delish even said, "It made me reconsider my chef's knife forever." So, who are we to argue?

According to the National Library of Medicine, applying concentrated heat to insect bites significantly reduces itch and pain. That's because the heat overrides the itch signal to your brain, essentially tricking your nerve cells into ignoring the bite. Applying heat works on all kinds of bites and stings, including pesky mosquitoes and even wasps. Which is all very good, but how do you apply concentrated heat to a bite when you're out in the wilderness or even sitting at home on the porch? With a tiny dongle plugged into your phone, of course.

The Heat It is a weird USB gadget you'll probably want to own, especially if you're prone to bites. Simply plug it into your smartphone to heat the tip up, press it against the bite, wait a few seconds, and enjoy soothing relief over the following minutes. There's even an app to control the temperature, which ranges from 117 to 126°F, across treatment times of 4, 7, or 9 seconds. There are also settings for kids or anyone with sensitive skin, and ZDNET tested it on horsefly, mosquito, and dog flea bites and found it to be more effective than any cream or ointment. The relief lasts for hours before you need to go through the short process again. So there you are, no more suffering the indignity of scratching yourself raw for hours at barbecues.

The World Health Organization states that a high sodium diet is one cause of hypertension, which can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular or kidney disease, among other ailments. If you're someone who needs to cut back on salt, you're probably already aware that low-sodium food can taste rather bland. SlashGear didn't include the Kirin Electric Salt Spoon in its Best of CES 2025 Awards, but it's a strange and genuinely clever answer to the problem of oversalting food, and CNN called it "one of the wildest and most attention-grabbing gadgets" at the event. 

It was developed by researchers at Meiji University in Tokyo and works by running a mild electrical current through your food as you eat, which boosts all the salty, savory, and umami flavors to give you something that resembles flavorsome. It might be slightly oversized, but nothing that makes you feel like you're sipping from a ladle. You just switch it on, pick your intensity, and eat. The sensors on the handle and spoon work together to carry the flavor to your tongue, and that's it. Simple and effective. However, the Kirin Electric Salt Spoon is unfortunately not yet available in the U.S., but Americans are promised that it will arrive soon.

There is no shortage of smart home gadgets designed to make life easier, and the MoesGo FingerBot Plus is a strange-looking one. It's essentially a small 1.3-inch cube with a mechanical finger on top, and it exists for a single purpose: to physically push buttons and flick switches so you don't have to. You simply stick it next to whatever button or switch you need it to press, then control it from your smartphone. It works on just about anything with a physical button or rocker switch and is a practical solution for anyone with mobility issues.

There is a range of things you can use it to automate. Wall switches, garage doors, robovacs — if it has a button, the FingerBot can press it. You need to pair it with a Bluetooth hub, and it works through Alexa and Google Assistant. One Amazon reviewer stated that it "responds promptly, executing commands seamlessly." However, MoesGo says installation takes about five minutes and requires no tools, but that same reviewer mentioned that "the initial setup required some troubleshooting." Although once it's up and running, you've essentially bought yourself a tiny robotic finger to do your bidding.

The Hushme looks weird. In fact, it looks like something Batman's muzzled nemesis Bane would wear. However, it is the world's first speech-privacy mask and likely one that will appear on lists several decades from now titled "Gadgets That Actually Existed Back In the 20s." But it does serve a practical purpose. It's a decent set of headphones with a padded sound chamber that clamps over your mouth to muffle your voice so people can't hear your conversation. Additionally, a built-in microphone system blocks out the outside world so the person on the other end can hear you clearly.

The app takes the weirdness even further. It pumps out sounds like wind, rain, or, if you're feeling quirky, Darth Vader's breathing. People nearby will hear those sounds instead of your muffled voice, but thankfully, there isn't a Hannibal Lecter option. It's designed for use in open-plan offices, noisy commutes (though you will get some startled stares), and anywhere else where privacy is hard to come by. In practice, the voice muffling isn't always 100% effective, though it does block out ambient noise for the caller. Still, CNET called it "the weirdest, yet most useful, wireless headphone ever created." 

When you're not using it, the muzzle can hang around your neck like some kind of weird jewelry, while the headphones double as a regular Bluetooth set for music. It works both wired and wirelessly, and you can stretch the battery life to 10 hours. You'll probably get a seat on the bus to yourself, too.

It's difficult to believe that a flat bag not much bigger than your hand can actually lift a fully loaded fridge, but that's what an inflatable air shim does. Also known as an air wedge, it's one of the weirdest tools to serve a practical purpose, and the Calculated Industries AirSHIM is a popular contractor-grade option. You just slide the shim into a gap (which can be as small as 2.4 mm), squeeze the hand pump to inflate, and watch as whatever sits on top slowly lifts up.

The AirSHIM is a tough rubber wedge with an internal stiffener to stop it from folding under pressure — and it's strong enough to bear serious weight. The best air wedges can take on around 300 pounds, but according to Wirecutter, one sculptor is known to have used multiple shims to support concrete casts weighing almost a half-ton each. They're ideal for anyone from DIY enthusiasts to locksmiths to anyone who has ever tried to level a wobbly washing machine on an uneven floor.

When the job is done, a release valve lets the air out slowly to prevent anything from slamming back down. Once deflated, simply fold it flat and tuck it away in a drawer or tool bag. The main gripe, however, is that they can lose their seal over time — but at less than $20, replacing one hardly warrants a crisis.

The Kinpthy 1920P HD Industrial Endoscope looks like a piece of medical equipment that has escaped from a hospital. It's a long, semi-rigid cable with a tiny camera and adjustable LED lights on the end, and its practicality is evident in the sheer range of problems it can solve. It's a particularly useful USB gadget for the garage, where you can trace wiring, peer inside engines, or check pipes for blockages. And for the latter, it's also waterproof.

The practicality doesn't end there, though. It also comes with a hook for retrieving dropped items, a magnet for fishing out screws, and an angled mirror for seeing around corners. It bends where you need it to without going limp, so it's easy to guide through awkward gaps without losing control, and it plugs straight into your smartphone, whether you use Android or iOS. Video and stills are sharp, and everything is streamed to your screen in real time.

The Kinpthy 1920P HD Industrial Endoscope has found a following among DIYers and amateur mechanics alike, and some customers say it does the same job as much pricier equipment for a fraction of the cost. It's also surprisingly easy to use, with one Amazon customer writing, "Bought this for my parents to handle kitchen pipe clogs. They're not tech-savvy, but the app is super straightforward." When you've finished the job, it easily coils up tight and stores away without taking up much space.

Once upon a time, thermal imaging meant expensive, specialist equipment. Nowadays, smartphone thermal cameras have changed all that. The Topdon TC002C Duo is one such device. It's a small module that plugs into your device's USB-C port and turns it into a fully functioning thermal camera. It works on both Android and iPhones, as well as laptops, and everything is controlled via an app, with any photos or videos you take saved straight to your device.

It's sensitive enough to even pick up on the warmth generated by something as minor as a bend in an electric cable, and you can take readings from around 16-and-a-half feet away. Electricians use it to trace faults, HVAC technicians use it to find heat loss, home inspectors use it to spot problems hidden behind walls, and you can use it to keep an eye out for pets at night, check refrigerator performance, or figure out why one room in the house is always colder than the rest. If none of those work for you, it'll at least make you unbeatable at hide-and-seek.

We all do it. Make a coffee, wander off, get distracted, then come back to a stone-cold cup. It doesn't matter if you're a tradesperson called to the other end of the site or someone who just wants a useful gadget for the desk at work – the Ember Mug² is a practical solution. It's a coffee mug with a built-in heating element that you control from your phone via Bluetooth. Yes, it's a mug with Bluetooth and an app. However, if you're that person who microwaves their coffee three or four times before lunch, it may be for you.

You use the app to set your preferred temperature, which is anywhere between 120°F and 145°F (you can even adjust it mid-drink), but if you can't be bothered with that, you can set it to automatically hold 135°F. There's even an optional lid, which will cut down on your glasses fogging up in the office. The battery only lasts for up to 80 minutes, so it might be best to keep it connected to the charging coaster if you're one who usually takes much longer to finish a cup. The Ember Mug² comes in 10 and 14-oz sizes, the latter of which is a better choice if you're the type who needs a bigger caffeine kick in the morning.

There's an entire product category dedicated to making your computer think you're still sat at your desk, and that's both amusing and completely understandable. Whenever you step away from your desk and your screen goes dark, your active status flips to idle. A mouse jiggler solves this, and they come in many forms. There are software apps, physical platforms that shake the mouse, and even Raspberry Pi DIY builds.

But the simplest option is a USB dongle like the AUEDROT Mouse Jiggler. It's a small aluminum alloy plug that slots into your USB port and does one simple thing: it moves your cursor and keeps your PC awake. It doesn't need drivers or software, and you can set it to either "slight," which nudges it a pixel or two, or "random," which moves it around more freely.

But can companies detect when one is being used? Well, as far as your computer is concerned, it's just another mouse, so any IT department is unlikely to notice. Your Slack and Teams status will stay green and available, but it won't, however, get past serious surveillance tools — and it definitely won't do your work for you. What it will do is keep your screen alive while you go make a coffee, and that's something that's hard to beat in terms of practicality.

Most of us are well aware of the pitfalls of too much screen time, and apps designed to limit this barely put up a fight when you want to override them. A phone lock box takes a different approach. This is a gadget you use to physically lock your smartphone up for a set time. The Mindsight Phone Lock Box was created by a family who had had enough of their dining table being taken over by screens, and it's a highly recommended must-have gadget for focus and productivity.

You can lock your phone away for as little as a minute or as long as a month, and two out of three of the modes let you unlock early using a code found on the bottom of the box. However, Fortress Mode is a different story altogether. There is no code and no override. The only emergency escape available is emailing the company and hoping they take pity on you. It is kind of absurd that we have reached a point where physically grounding our phones is a good idea, but if you've ever lost an entire evening to doom-scrolling, you'll understand.

The good news is that you can run a charging cable through the bottom to ensure your phone doesn't die while it's in solitary. It's also big enough to hold 3-4 phones, and there's a plus-size option for bigger families doing a tech detox. But don't think you can just force your way in there when the cold sweats start; the lock is sturdy and built to resist any jailbreaking attempts.

Dyson has made a pair of wacky air-purifying headphones, and yes, you read that right. The Dyson Zone is, in fact, the only pair of headphones on the market that actively cleans the air you breathe while you listen to tunes. Like the Hushme, the Dyson Zone will also give you a Bane-like appearance with its detachable shield. It clips directly over your mouth and nose, and Dyson's smallest-ever motor found in each earcup draws air through filters that capture 99% of pollution particles and harmful gases before directing the flow onto your face.

On top of the health benefits, they are actually a decent set of cans. The sound quality is good, or you might say decent enough at least, given the high price. But Wired notes that they also feature "superb active noise-canceling." You'll get up to 50 hours of battery time on a single charge, although using the air purification does bring this down sharply. You'll get anywhere between 90 minutes and four hours depending on the filtration setting. So if you need your tunes while battling city pollution, seasonal allergies, or wildfire smoke, those bewildered stares may well be worth it.

We trawled through CES articles looking for weird and practical gadgets, on top of browsing the web and SlashGear archives to find oddities worth including. Websites like ZDNET and CNET helped us to discover some interesting gadgets, too, while others like Bored Panda and Mashable threw up some genuine contenders. When searching for weird and practical gadgets, we also tried to include those that are accessible to buy.