Why is everyone so obsessed with glowing items? Show me someone out there who doesn’t think glow sticks are cool and I’ll show you a liar. Seriously, if it glows it’s gotta be awesome. Let’s look at the evidence: Lite-Brite? Awesome. Glo-Worm? Awesome. Rudolph’s nose? Super awesome. It doesn’t look like the novelty is wearing off anytime soon.
The Glo Nightlight with Portable Balls (Amazon, $56.21) is a great example of practical glowing technology. On the surface, it looks like a generic nightlight – funky design, but with your basic monster-banishing principles. What sets this light apart is that you can remove each of the balls from the base and they will continue to glow, no batteries required. Ok, so no batteries must mean you have to charge them up before each use, right? Nope, these babies are ready to go at a moment’s notice. Each ball is powered by a low energy LED (won’t be hot to the touch) and will fade to dark after 30 minutes of glow time (no shutoff needed). The balls will light up and change colors, but only when on the base. When removed, the balls simply glow a white-green light.
Whatever happened to Glo-Worm? Somebody needs to investigate that, right quick!
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Multi color nightlight
-No charging required
-Fades to dark after 30 minutes
-Color selection lever
-Select one color or color changing
-Low energy LED base
-9 volt power adapter included
-BPA free, Phthalate free, and PVC free
I used to read a lot, as in a book a week. Sometimes I would even finish a book in a day because I was simply too enthralled to think about putting it down. With the exception of a recent foray into Harry Potter (I read all seven books in about a month), I’ve been pretty lax about my reading. It’s not like I’m trying to fill a quota or anything, but I think the easiest way to get excited about literature again is to just dive in.
Soon to be my favorite new reading accessory, the Book Rest Lamp (Generate Design, $79.00) is super cute. Yes, it’s a house-shaped lamp that gives off just the right amount of light for a bit of bedtime reading, but it’s also a book rest. Instead of having to stick a bookmark in every time you need to put your latest tome down, why not gently set it down on top of this soft beacon of light? Granted, you’ll eventually have to resort to a bookmark if you want to read on the go and it’s unclear exactly how long you can leave flammable materials on top of a heat source without starting a fire.
File this one under “Exercise Common Sense” and we’ll all be fine.
3 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 4.5″ x 5.9″ x 5.7″
-Frosted glass lamp/book rest
-Light output is 600 lumen
-Light bulb included
Do you know how many germs are in your mouth right now? I’ll give you a hint: a lot. Seriously, think about what you eat in any given day and then how well you brush your teeth every night – did you get every nook and cranny? You did? Great! So now that we’ve established that your mouth is sparkling clean, what about your toothbrush? All that bacteria has to go somewhere and it doesn’t magically disappear just because it comes in contact with some toothpaste and water. That’s like thinking your feet get clean in the shower because you’re standing in water the whole time. It doesn’t really work that way.
The only way to be sure that you aren’t simply rubbing old germs and bacteria over your chompers twice a day is to be proactive with a gadget like the UV Toothbrush Sanitizer and Holder (Convenient Gadgets & Gifts, $29.95). Instead of using harsh chemicals or solvents to clean your toothbrush, this sanitizer utilizes the power of UV-C light. How powerful are we talking? For just seven minutes a day, this sanitizing lamp will kill up to 99.9 percent of bacteria, fungi, and viruses from your toothbrush.
By day it’s just a regular toothbrush holder; by night it vanquishes its many enemies, including those pesky micro-organisms!
4 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Toothbrush sanitizer and holder
-Holds 4 toothbrushes (not included)
-UV C sterilizing lamp kills 99.9% of bacteria
-Process takes 7 minutes
-Uses 2 AA batteries (not included)
I’m so clumsy it’s a wonder that I’ve managed to avoid breaking each and every bone in my body. Spoiler alert: I haven’t broken any, but it’s not for lack of opportunities. I am a master at tripping over nothing and accidentally running into things. While I could try becoming the next Bubble Boy, I’m hoping there’s a better solution to my accident-prone nature.
I’m not saying it’s a cure-all, but the Path Illuminating Umbrella (Hammacher Schlemmer, $39.95) is certainly a step in the right direction. It’s got to be harder to trip over your own two feet if they’re lit up like a Christmas tree, right? This umbrella, besides being ginormous and gust-resistant, features a flashlight built directly into the handle. Three bright white LED lights cast 100 lumens over a 30 foot range and the flashlight end rotates up to 180 degrees. With up to 48 hours of continuous use, you could take that two day stroll you’ve always dreamed about.
You could try shouting “Lumos!” while holding your current umbrella, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
3 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 38.5″ x 1.75″
-Umbrella with built in flashlight
-Up to 48 hours continuous use
-Lights up to 30′
-Three bright white LED light (100 lumens)
-60″ nylon gust resistant canopy
-Manual open/close
-Uses 3 AAA batteries (included)
Christmas is a great holiday to go completely over the top without really offending anyone. What, so you put up a ton of lights on the outside of your house and the inside looks like Santa’s village? Awesome! Don’t tell me, you bought your friends and family way too many presents? Well, golly gosh I guess that’s alright. If you’re self-conscious about the sheer volume of Christmas spirit in your life, then you’re doing it wrong.
Nothing put the “holly” in “holiday” quite like the 8-Bit LED Holiday Wreath (ThinkGeek, $9.99). It’s so much better to invest in a wreath you can have year after year instead of one that dies immediately after Christmas, but the faux ones can be such a bummer. I mean, maybe from a distance it looks like the real thing but up close it’s a mess. If you’re gonna go fake, you might as well get something with pizazz to spare. This wreath features an 8-bit design and is decorated to delight any gamer. The six yellow coins have a flickering LED light in each that alternate to create a dazzling light show for your front door. And because this wreath runs on batteries, you can hang it pretty much anywhere – inside or outside!
If you like this, you’ll love the 8-Bit LED Jack O’ Lantern!
5 out of 5 stars.
Specs:
-Dimensions: 10.5″ x 13″ x 1.125″
-Old school style holiday wreath
-Flickering yellow LED in each coin
-Uses 2 AA batteries (not included)
-Made of durable EVA foam
