From the company that brought you the USB-powered butt cooler, the Thanko Anychair is geared toward cubicle dwellers out in China and Taiwan and the like, cultures in which an occasional desk-side nap is condoned, even somewhat encouraged, as a way to recharge the battery in the middle of the day. It goes from desk chair to fully reclined flat cushioned bed-like surface in right around 30 seconds.

Sure, it wouldn’t be unpleasant to have a way to put your feet up during work, and reclining it halfway up would make a comfortable, foot-elevated experience. Going to full bed in a lot of places would probably be sufficient to get you fired, especially these days. And in all honesty, this probably isn’t going to go over well outside of the culture for which it was intended.

Napping at work is encouraged in a lot of places–we’ve seen China and Taiwan, similar Asian cultures probably get in on that action too. And I’ve heard some reports that European cultures favor a nap at work–what does “siesta” mean, after all, if not “a brief midday nap”? Some research even suggests that humans are specifically designed to be “bi-phasic”, essentially getting tired twice a day, and that ignoring this second phase can lead to health problems.

Of course, try telling your boss all this in the midst of the current economy we find ourselves in and you’ll likely be shown the key to all the napping you can stand: unemployment. But all this research aside, you can get your hands on one of these, reportedly, for $600.

Yes, design label Diesel, already well know for their clothing and watch ranges, has now moved in to furniture with their Lifestyle range.

The Xraydio 2 Disk rectangular coffee table measuring 1400 x 500 x 290 is cleverly made by printing the X-ray of a dj console onto glass and using the ‘colours of the night’ with shades from electric blue to black.

Diesel themselves say ‘by retaining the transparency of the glass the effect is truly strong, evocative and highly iconographic.’ The lighting opportunities too are limitless.

No price yet on this piece of art in the lounge.

Well, there you have it, it’s a really cool design and would certainly grace any retro-style lounge. In fact you may even consider other rooms as Diesel also produce a range of bed covers that match the design on the table!

Strictly unofficially of course, these Android Pillows measure in at 12” x 12” and, according to the maker, known as Craftsquatch, are “made with the softest fleece and the fluffiest polyester filling, making (each pillow) firm yet springy”. Now I don’t know about you, but my one disappointment with the Nexus One was exactly that it wasn’t enrobed with the softest fleece and, let’s face it, neither is it firm yet springy and, if you’ve ever tried to sleep on a Nexus One, well…I’m sure you catch my drift.

The Android Pillows – which are undoubtedly de rigor for any true, discerning Android fanboy – are available from Craftsquatch’s Etsy portal and will set you back some $20 a pop.

I love Halloween. It’s the one season of the year where freaks feel normal and people can find yet another excuse to decorate their homes with piles of useless novelty crap like plastic skeletons and witches that look like they’ve smashed into a tree. Every now and then I happen across a Halloween gadget that doesn’t look like a pile of Chinese-manufactured throwaway trash and the animated moving books from BuyCostumes.com certainly fit the bill.

So what are Animated Moving Books, anyway? Well, they’re exactly what they say they are. They are a set of four books that you stick into your bookshelf among the less creepy volumes and when someone walks by them a motion-activated sensor kicks them into action. According to the website, the books slide in and out and make eerie sounds. Sounds a bit like my love life, but I digress. While they do look a tad on the fake side up close, I bet the illusion is more convincing from afar.

The Animated Moving Books require four AA batteries (not included) and will run you a mere $24.95 at www.buycostumes.com. Isn’t that a small price to pay to ensure that your children will never read another book in their lives? I thought so.

This one isn’t technically a gadget … but it is using the idea of a gadget to create something unique and stunning! The fork chair is an incredible design that uses the shape of a fork to make a comfortable and funky chair.

Sitting on a fork might be painful but not this time around! In fact this chair amalgamates the use of the spoon and fork to create the fashionable piece. The spoon is used as the base and the fork ensures a comfortable experience what with it creating an artistic back.

The only scary feature of this designer chair is its price tag; as one chair will set you back $899 but then again … no one said style would be cheap!

[source]

Man oh man, what I would give to have this in a human-sized offering. I think I’m in love with this plush pink Beetle Pet Sofa.

I’ve never thought of myself as the jealous kind but now I can imagine myself getting rather “catty” with my pets when they snuggle up on this gorgeous fluffy offering.

On top of it’s appeal, it is also cleverly designed with a slipcover which is machine washable in cold water. It is available in pink and black and makes your pets feel as though they have just stepped of f the “cat” walk …
(Yes, for your information, I am loving the puns! Mainly to keep me from saying horrible things about my pets using this sofa, instead of me!)

It’s unfortunately designed for cats and small dogs so I can’t even pretend that it’s mine. Could you imagine a 5ft2inch girl perched on a bright pink sofa which is only 26” x 12” x 14”? Let’s put it this way; the image is amusing to say the least.

This stunning polyester, foam and wood sofa is a definite must for any adored pet or for those, without pets, who want hot mini sofas just for kicks (Me! Me! Me!)

[source]

Now I know these Glowpets nightlights from Prezzybox were made with kids in mind, but I’m all for owning a few them what with my absolute love of colourful lit objects such as my lustrous collection of lava lamps. In fact, I reckon these little sweethearts are children’s answers to lava lamps!

The Glowpet nightlights from Prezzybox come in Bunny, Elephant and Kitten designs and have been created in such a way that they are completely safe for kids – day or night! They are also relatively well priced at £19.95, considering it’s your peaceful night’s rest we’re putting a price to.

These soft, luminous animals glow in an array of shimmering colours; silently fading between pink, orange, blue, red and green, creating a gentle atmosphere for your babies to rest in peace (unscathed by the dark-loving boogie-man!)

The low-consuming LED’s are completely child-safe by ensuring the Glowpets never get too hot to handle and due to the soft design, your little munchkins can carry Glowpets around wherever they go!

[source]

So I think I’ve pretty much explained how “nerdy” I am so this review on the “Pixel couch” should come as no surprise. The “Pixel Couch” is a celebration of bad computer graphics and terrible screen resolution, yet somehow, the designer, Cristian Zuzunaga, has designed a fabric that rejoices this phenomenon.

This “Pixel Couch” is all thanks to the Royal College art graduate’s fabric design which is now being produced through the Danish manufacturer Kvadrat and sold through Moroso.

It only makes sense to own furniture that replicates our daily lives by bringing the concept of computer pixels into our living room don’t you think? Why escape pixels when our entire lives revolve around myriad pixels on an hourly basis; from cameras to cellphones to computers to GPS units to portable gaming devices and now lounge suites. Our lives are part of one big pixelated heaven …

So go grab a pixel couch today and integrate your old-fashioned homely life and modern existence flawlessly into one faultless pixel picture of perfection. Wow, that’s a lot of “P’s”

[source]

It’s been a while since we’ve featured a cushion here at TFTS but we simply could not pass up on posting about this unequivocally geeky Dosugus Cushion designed by Vasily Dubovoy from none other than Art Lebedev which comes with what appears to be a DOS directory listing printed on its fabric which, if you read the directories listed actually offers a few somewhat tongue in cheek surprises.

The just released (at the time of writing) the official product page of the Dosugus Cushion, in true Art Lebedev form, offers little by way of detail hence we cannot detail the materials of manufacture but , what interested us is the directories listed on the cushion itself which include such gems as ‘trojan.exe’ listed under Autoexec.bat and a Jpeg file named ‘Optimus.jpg’ – what could that possibly refer to (could it possibly be this other Art Lebedev product)?

The decidedly geeky Art Lebedev Dosugus Cushion retails for around $28 / €23.

If you have young children then you’ll know that getting them to sleep can sometimes prove utterly exhausting. And, once you’ve read Harry Potter to them forwards, backwards and in a made up language that involves a great deal of dribbling for the umpteenth time (or removing that Mariah Carey poster from the wall – you know it gives them nightmares) there’s always one trusty fall-back that’s sure to do the trick.

And that’s soothing rhythm of music.

This furry MP3 compatible pillow, that’s apparently modelled on a phone – we’ll take their word for that (to us it looks like a fluffy bone, but perhaps that’s the medication talking) – could be just the answer as not only is it, well, furry but it also comes with two integral speakers which can be connected to an iPod or other comparable device (which can be safely tucked into a mesh side pocket out of harms way).

The bone Phone shaped Music Pillow is available in a range of suitably cheery (aka gaudy) colours and, if a bone phone shaped music pillow is not to your tastes the range also includes a Personal Music Cookie Pillow (a round pillow to you and me) and a Square Shape Personal Music Pillow (they seem to have run out of highly inventive product titles at this point).

Cookies – apparently.

The Phone Shaped Music Pillow retails at $14 (alas, no rebates for Mariah Carey posters at the time of writing).

Inflatables? We’ve had a few. But then again, too few to mention…except, perhaps, for this designer inflatable chair, this inflatable motorised pool lounger, an inflatable meeting room in a bag and even an inflatable potty. And now we add to this collection with this curious self inflating traffic cone.

Why are we featuring an inflatable traffic cone? It’s a very good question to which we can only reply: why is the sky blue? Why do cats always land on their feet and, of course, why to birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?

This self inflating traffic cone, which features an internal light so it will glow in the dark, is great for warning of a broken down vehicle ahead but it’s also handy if you want to mark off areas, such as parking spaces, so as to ensure that they are reserved for your use only. Not only that, but there’s nothing stopping you from purchasing a few to place in your front room to act as ambient lighting for traffic themed parties (you know, the ones where everyone comes with a tray stuffed down their pants and big attitude claiming they’re a modded 911 or with with a BMW badge glued to their foreheads only to spend the entire night walking in front of people and abruptly veering off in differing directions without warning).

Let’s be honest here, inflatable furnishings have never exactly oozed major appeal in the design stakes – or at least they didn’t until now. And in this respect the Swiss made AirSeat seemingly manages the impossible – namely by being the sort of inflatable seat you might actually want to be seen using yourself rather than just inflating whenever your mother pops round (its always entertaining to watch anyone trying to use an item of inflatable furniture in a moderately dignified fashion, don’t you think?).

Not only does the AirSeat look unusually good but it has been designed to be utilised in a number of ways, either as a recliner with a handy inflatable foot rest or as a standard seat whereby the inflatable footrest serves to keep the seat in the prone position. Also, in being waterproof and buoyant, the AirSeat could just possibly be the most comfortable pool accessory in the world (although, unlike this previously featured motorised pool lounger, it doesn’t come with its own onboard power plant).

The AirSeat measures 86(H)x95(D)x106(L) and retails for a cool ¥68250 (which equates to $561 / £281 / €415) for which you’d at least expect a canister of designer air with which to inflate it.

(Thankfully, if you can’t quite stretch to this monetary outlay you can buy these somewhat smaller designer chairs at a fraction of the cost.)

We would like to say that we are writing this very post whilst reclining back in one of these highly desirable, rally car styled executive chairs but unfortunately this is far from the case (we’re actually sitting in a well worn office chair spirited out in a precision SAS styled operation from a company I once worked for – but to digress any further would be most incriminating, so we’ll move on).

Designed for the office executive who likes to stand out from the crowd, this rally car styled executive chair is manufactured from 100% genuine ‘leather look’ PVC (you can’t have it all, can you) with a chrome base and comes with tilt locking mechanism, height adjustment, adjustable tilt tension (my wife also processes this feature, incidentally), easy move castors and a dump valve (okay, I made that bit up).

Now all you need to do is get your secretary to interject phrases such as ‘hard left’ and ‘easy right’ at random intervals during your board meeting and you could almost be there.

The Rally Car Styled Executive Chair retails for £249.99 (£149.99 for members) which equates to roughly $495 and $297 respectively.

Incidentally, if you’re a petrol head you may also be interested in this Cadillac Couch, which is modelled on a classic Coupe de Ville Cadillac and comes complete with side wings, grille and even illuminating lights which is also available from the same site.

Whilst it would be nice to surround ourselves with designer furnishings the truth it the majority of us simply cannot afford to do so – or at least we couldn’t, until now.

Coming in four volumes, these designer chair collections feature some of the best chair designs from some of the world’s most famous designers at a price that will suit most pockets. The only slight problem is that, in being 1/12 miniatures, the chairs themselves serve as models only and so have absolutely no function whatsoever other than as display items unless you happen to be 1/12 scale yourself (which, let’s face it, is fairly unlikely).

Following on from the Car Wheel Alarm Clock (complete with gear stick) we posted about yesterday we could not hold back from posting about this highly original coat rack aimed squarely at petrol heads.

A great cloakroom gadget, this Gear Stick Coat Rack, which is constructed from steel and measures 83.5cm in length, features five different gear sticks that serve as hooks and we don’t doubt that it would it make a great gift for any car enthusiast.

Further details can be obtained from this site – though we are unfortunately unable to gain pricing information.

As many of you will no doubt agree, how you wake in the morning invariably determines your mood for the entire day, so why wake to the torturous sound of a screaming alarm clock when you could be gently summoned back to consciousness by the sounds of your favourite MP3 tracks emanating from an oversized strawberry or, perhaps a large bunch of bananas?

These curious yet somehow enchanting fruit pillows, known as ‘Morning Music Pillows’ will allow you to do just that as they come complete with an internal speaker and MP3 player connectivity thus allowing you to wake up – or fall asleep – to your favourite MP3 play list as long as your MP3 player has a timer function.

Coming in a veritable fruit salad of varieties – namely banana, strawberry, orange and apple (alas no melons) – these could be just the ticket for those of you who like to wake up to something a little fruity in the morning (don’t we all).

Further details can be obtained from this Chinese Online Store.

If you consider yourself to be a discerning retro gamer then this is, surely, the doormat of your dreams come true though, if you do dream of doormats perhaps it’s time to consider getting out a bit more.

Powered by a couple of AA batteries, this retrotastic doormat displays a series of space invaders via an inbuilt LED screen. And, if space invaders don’t appeal then you may be interested in this equally geeky Globright Doormat.

Very cool, thought we’re holding out for an animated Manic Miner LED doormat.

The LED Space Invaders Doormat retails for $110 and can be obtained from the Charles & Marie online store.

[Source | The Uber Review]

It has seemingly become a tradition here at TFTS to offer at least one post per month concerning either pillows or cushions and, whilst we frankly have no idea how this has come about, we are never one’s to disappoint. Indeed, TFTS could be seen as starting somewhat of a trend following a host of pillow and cushion related posts appearing on gadget and technology sites the world over.

This is our legacy and, like punctuation, we bracket our posts concerning high-tech gadgetry with not full stops, but cushions and pillows.

We’ve featured a number of curious cushions and pillows previously on TFTS, such as the extremely bizarre Girlfriend’s Lap Pillow, the food inspired Breakfast in Bed Pillows and even a functional iPod MP3 pillow, but these Emoticon cushions are probably the most geeky we’ve happened upon and we think they would make great addition to any discerning geek’s homestead.

These fun, brightly coloured, Russian designed Emotion scatter cushions come in a set of six and show a range of emotions in the well established internet chat room/forum shorthand – aka ‘smileys’ – with the set retailing at a mere $24.82 / €19.94 from this online outlet.

And, if these Emotion cushions don’t appeal, there’s always this somewhat more macabre, Godfather inspired Severed Horse Head cushion.

Powered by a 20w Halogen bulb and a 12v adapted, both included in the package, the twelve inch Earth Globe Lamp projects a slowly rotating image of the world across the walls and ceiling of any room its placed in as the lamp rotates on its base unit.

Ever you’re ever wanted to feel like an arch villain looking you at the world to plan your next dastardly deed (not that there’s already enough people doing that these days) then all you need is this Earth Globe Lamp and, of course, an optional white long fur cat (and, of course, you could always shave all your hair off for that extra sense of authenticity).

The Earth Globe Lamp retails at £49.95 and further details can be gained from this site.

[Via]

Unfortunately this is not something I’m accustomed to here at TFTS Towers as invariably I’m so late each morning that I’m still getting dressed in the car so the closest I can get are these novel Breakfast Food Pillows. Indeed, never has the thought of lying on a fried egg been so appealing.

Available in four designs, the aforementioned fried egg, toast, coffee beans and pancakes as well as two sizes these pillows are sure to liven up even the dullest of bedrooms and there’s no denying that they all look extremely comfortable. We’re just a little surprised that there’s not a sausage or a fried tomato pillow in the range.

Of course, if you find the idea of resting your head on items of food unappealing you could always opt for one of the other curious pillows previously featured on TFTS (direct links to which are provided below).

The Breakfast Pillow Range – Toast, Coffee Beans, Fried Egg & Pancakes

You can gain further details concerning these Breakfast Pillows via the official product page, linked here. Alternatively you may be interested in these other pillows we’ve featured here at TFTS (….just call us ‘Pillows ‘R’ Us).

The Severed Horse’s Head Pillow

The Working iPod Pillow

The Girlfriend’s Lap Pillow

[Breakfast Pillow Source | Notcot ]

If you have a retro themed house, however, these highly original light switches from Boutique to You could add that little extra spice to your house – or alternatively, of course, they could just look rather silly (this very much depends upon your personal taste).

Available in a wide range of styles, from pool balls (as illustrated) to cars, and even dinosaurs, these are certain to prove a talking point next time you have guests round – though the idea of flicking a dinosaur every time you what illumination seems curiously rather rude (don’t ask me why).

Retailing at £24.99 you can view the full range on offer by navigating to the Boutique to You website via this link.

[Source | Spluch]

We all know someone who undoubtedly deserves one of these and, in true Godfather fashion, finding a severed horse head in their bed is sure to show them that you really ought not to be trifled with.

That said, as the severed horse head pillow is apparently quite comfortable one cannot help but wonder whether your message might be a little diluted as far as being a lesson in respect is concerned.

Still, it’s all a matter of horses for courses, as they say (surely you expected a cheap pun in this post somewhere?).

Available for $60 for the unstuffed version and £70 for the stuffed version (excluding shipping) from this site.

Hook this pillow up to your iPOD and it will not only play your music via an internal speaker but it will also allow you to listen to your favourite radio stations courtesy of its own, inbuilt FM tuner. Furthermore, as if that’s not enough by way of establishing that this is no ordinary pillow, the buttons featured on its surface actually work, allowing you to change the volume, scan for radio stations and even power the pillow down.

And, if you think this pillow is a little different, why not check out the Girlfriend’s Lap Pillow or the Heartbeat Cushion (okay, not a pillow, but lets not quibble).

The MP3 iPod Pillow will set you back $19.99 and is available from this site, however, if you want something a little more high-tech by way of iPOD accessories, this rather wonderful gadget may well fit the bill.

Designed by Banana Design, each cushion is hand made and features an 8 MHz computer, powered by a 9 volt battery, that utilises a specially formulated algorithm to generate a remarkably life-like heart beat – a beat so life like that in fact it changes subtly over time.

Available in two colour schemes the My Beating Heart Cushion will set you back $120. Further information and online ordering are available from the official product site which can be accessed via this link.

Measuring 11cm in length and covered in fake fur, the Cat’s Hand offers pretty much the full range of movement of its real counterpart and even has extending claws – all of which can be controlled by a trigger mechanism on the end.

Quite why anyone would ever consider buying one of these curious devices is quite beyond me, though if you have a cat (and we at TFTS Towers do), then this could be an ideal plaything offering whole minutes of hysterical fun.

You can purchase the Cat’s Hand for $7.65 / €5.96 via this site.