Wacky Ideas Gain Ground At '09 Korea Trade Show
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This year's Korea Trade Show in New York featured some wacky gadgetry which may become a real hit for many Americans. NY1's Adam Balkin filed the following report.From UV lights that sanitize your workspace or glassware, to an at-
home accupressure device, the 2009 Korea Trade Show New York truly earned its nickname Koreannovation. It's that cultural willingness to create something different, maybe wacky, coupled with the desire to create something different and wacky that may actually be useful to many of us that leads to creations like so-called "naked" appliances.
A see-through toaster and iron aren't just about neat new designs, they're transparent for more practical reasons too.
"The main object is to show that it's cooking well so that you don't
get burnt toast or anything like that, you put it on a normal timer
sometimes it still burns like that, so this way you can actually look
at it, it won't get burned," said Joseph Kim of S. Park Co., LTD. "You get that right crisp if you want, the iron is the same idea, while you're ironing you want to see the creases, make the right creases, you want to see if it's getting burnt as well."
It may be tough to keep your eye on your shirt though if you're anywhere near a Sparkleboard. Lined with LEDs, anyone can write on it with special florescent markers and create an instant, neon-like sign.
"As you can see, it flashes up with an LED lighting program and stuff, and by pressing one button you can change the lighting program scenarios of the lighting system," said Alex Hsu of J and P.
One button press is all you need with the Unibrush, and the
toothpaste in the base continually fills the brush as you're using
it. Developers say it not only gives you more even toothpaste
distribution within your mouth, but is also more hygienic because
you're not using what you might call the dirty, used toothpaste from
one side of your mouth to clean the other side.
"You can use the toothpaste not mixed with the food waste and bacterias in the mouth because your paste is coming out all the time you're brushing," said J. K. Park of apoL Inc.
Finally, you've no doubt heard of brag books -- those little photo albums parents and grandparents carry around to show off their kids. Well, what about a do-it-yourself brag keychain?
The mini album kit allows you to print out what's essentially one
giant, accordian-like sticker that you just stick to itself to create
a tiny photo album. Mini-Korean magnifying glass so you can see the photos clearly, not included.