This week I've heard of two things that were great ideas, and I'm surprised no one thought of it earlier.

The first one I saw on the local news - a woman was making christmas tree toppers with little smoke alarms in them. She was selling them from a card table outside in her driveway. I can't believe this wasn't thought of before and mass marketed. It is a great idea, and could make millions!

The second was from a friend of my mother. She went to NYC this week to talk to people at Revlon about something she made that she thought teenaged girls would like. Temporary tattoos with perfume in the ink. Again, I can't believe this wasn't thought of earlier, and I think young girls would love it.

Have you seen something that you thought was a great idea and can't believe you didn't think of it earlier, or do you have a great idea?

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2000

Answers

Oooh, I always tease a friend of mine about this. In college, she had an idea to cover the bottom of shaving cream cans with plastic so they wouldn't rust in the shower. Like a year later, someone invented it and it was selling big.

Then she had an idea for a special towel specifically for wrapping up your hair, with a velcro or button to fasten it. Yep, someone invented it and it was selling big.

She had the idea for the tape bracelet thing for wrapping presents too, so you can keep both hands free. I don't know why she never tries to make anything of her ideas. Me, I'm not nearly clever enough to come up with any cool ideas.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2000

a shower cap with a propeller...?

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

Sunday's Washington Post ran an article by Dave Barry that was full of "interesting" gifts, including a doggie umbrella, funeral home cologne, a nasal cleaner and more...these are actual products!

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

This from my local Co-op grocery store. Members have cards with our number on it that gets scanned in and you get special deals, coupons for groceries when you buy gas and other 'reward' systems. Everyone keeps losing their cards, forgetting them, digging for them at the check-out and holding up the line, etc. So in the mail the other day we get a key-tag with our co-op number on it. Voila, it attaches to your key ring and you are never without it. It's fabulous. AND if you lose your keys, they can just be dropped in the mailbox and co-op will mail them back to you. It's already worked for a friend of mine.

What I want is a remote control with, like, 'speed dial' buttons on it and little icons next to them for my son's favorite channels, 'cause I am tired of getting up from whatever I'm doing to change the channel for him. (I want TELETOON! TREEHOUSE!! You get it) So a picture of the Treehouse icon next to the Treehouse button so all he has to do is push it and leave me alone to cook dinner, Anyone? Anyone?

-- Anonymous, December 10, 2000

there is a remote that does what you want. Our old cable company had one, you could program 5 or 6 channels to it and the kid can't put anything BUT those channels on. Then I saw the same idea in a discovery catalog of some sort.

-- Anonymous, December 11, 2000

My boyfriend comes up with odd things all the time, but my favorite was pizzadilla-because we went out for dinner about 5 times a week, and it was either for pizza or we went someplace where he could get whatever he wanted and I would order a quesadilla (always in search of the perfect quesadilla). He had the ingenious idea of putting the two together and calling it a pizzadilla...but, sadly, one of the "kitschy crap-on-the-wall" restraunts (Fridays/Chilis/RubyTuesdays/Applebees) already had it on their menu. The night that this was discovered was a terrible terrible night, and still from time to time I listen to him moan about those bastards stealing his pizzadilla idea.

My stepfather even has a book about how to "make a fad", written by the Wally Wallwalker inventor (remember? the rubbery, sticky octopussy thing that you threw against a wall and it slowly rolled down the wall leaving behind a greasy stain and picking up amazing amounts of lint and hair). I read it and thought of all kinds of fads to inflict on the world while I was reading the book, but it seemed like so much trouble and effort and money to do it that I decided to just wait until I get my peroxide hair and liposuction and become Brittney Aguilara. It has to be easier.

-- Anonymous, December 11, 2000

Brittany Aguillara...heh. I like it, Robin. When I saw the post about pizzadilla my brain went sideways to pizza made of armadillos. A true Texas pizza. Then you could have possupizza for the people from Arkansas, crawpizza for cajuns, moozpizza for Canadians or maybe pizzamooz and pizzaposs, and pizzadad...SHIT! I spilt my effin' drink

-- Anonymous, December 11, 2000

That's a great idea! Sushizza in California? I actually had a quesadilla once in Kansas City that had corn and apples inside. I'd like to say it was good, because it was an interesting idea, but it sucked and who wants sweet, crunchy stuff in their quesadilla? Keep it pure, compadre! Fortunately the same place served hardened white chocolate wrapped in tamale husks and awesome mixed drinks, so they were redeemed.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2000

i once had this idea to make theese cute little toys out of toylet paper rolls bute then my freind told me that the kids daddys would just use them as make shft bowls. so id idnt do it.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 2000