Boyfriend Arm Pillow
The Boyfriend Arm Pillow is a Japanese product aimed at men and women who like sleeping with their head on their partner's chest but don't have a partner to do it with, or have given up on the standard model and are trying to reconstruct a better boyfriend.
So far they've got the shape right and have it padded appropriately for comfort, they've eliminated all the sounds and smells of the standard boyfriend and have even added an alarm clock which gently shakes the arm when it's time to get up.
We are unaware at this point of any after-market accessories for the product though we figure an inbuilt electric blanket would be good for cold nights. And perhaps a nice strong slow heartbeat and maybe an MP3 jukebox with access to long loops of recorded audio such as rain beating on a tin roof, hours of sweet talking, a comprehensive library of self esteem affirmations, the life works of Barry White and ... Only time will tell if the Boyfriend Arm Pillow is a viable alternative to the real thing. At US$77, it requires no further maintenance other than occasional fluffing, and has no running costs and we suspect there's a hug latent market for women of all nationalities who have decided that the White Knight might not be coming.Quite a few Japanese sites offer the Boyfriend Arm Pillow and manufacturer Kameo is looking to distribute the pillow in other countries based on the popularity of item. There is also an unconfirmed report that a limited edition Girlfriend Arm Pillow will be trailed.

Remote Control Jammer
The Remote Control Jammer is a tiny but ingenious gadget that will make sure the channel you want on stays on. It jams any infra red remote control - TV, video or stereo - and no one but you will be able to fix it. And because the jammer is so small, no one will even see you press it, so your secret stays safe. Then, when your favorite show is finished, you can "fix" the remote, leaving everyone so grateful that they don't have to walk all the way over to the set to change channels that they'll probably let you watch what you want for the rest of the night anyway!

Lollipop Lick Counter It's a sad day in the Tootsie Pop factory when they start rolling out that shoddy 70's owl again. We thought we'd only have to hear that annoying "how many licks does it take" phrase and see that weird scholarly cap on the occasional VH1 nostalgia show. But no, looks like Tootsie still drags the owl out for useless schwag like this "technical" answer to his nagging quest to count lollipop licks. We still can't quite believe they actually used an LED-display for this, but we are relieved they haven't resurrected that un-PC "Indian-shooting-the-star" promotion they supposedly once trotted out (yep, it's an urban legend)