There are so many incredibly ridiculous pool floats out there now. I recently spotted one that looks like a whoopee cushion. And also one that looks like a baby bottle (why?!). But the one that really caught my eye is by British artist David Shrigley.

It's called the Ridiculous Inflatable Swan-Thing and it's kind of like a swan but with a meh face. I think it's glorious!

It's available from Australian retailer Third Drawer Down for A$55 (approx. $42.33).

Are you sure you want to buy this rubbish? Read the rest

I have a soft spot for crapgadgets. During my first stretch living in Silicon Valley, one of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday was to get a friend to drive me to Fry's and just buy a whole whack of stuff from the impulse aisle: stuff that some optimistic entrepreneur had made an unsuccessful bet on, sold off to a jobber, who then split it into lots that were sold on to import/export places that eventually dumped it into Fry's: black-and-white digital cameras without a viewfinder (I called it the "point-and-pray"); stuffed bootleg Windows 2000 logo plushies; digital walkie-talkies that looked like the Incredible Hulk.

Boing Boing is sponsored in part by Meh.

Our sponsor Meh is a daily deals site that deals in a wide range of gadgets, gizmos, geegaws, widgets, stuff, gear, goods, and, of course, things. Recently, they sent me a big box of items they've previously sold for me to "review." But before I even got a chance to open the package, my ten-year-old son had torn into it, tried out each item (for at least one minute), and formed strong opinions that I will now share with you. -dp

Ion Audio Vinyl Motion Portable Suitcase Turntable: "I collect vinyl, and I can tell you that as a rule, new turntables that sell for less than $100 are crap. This one is surprisingly much better than the crappy ones that most people end up buying. The Ion turntable is actually a great bang for your buck, especially if you're playing $1 bin records that you don't care too much about."

Evriholder Beer Chill'R Mug: "I don't drink beer, but even if I did... this thing is stupid."

Haan HandiPro HS-22 Hand Held Steam Cleaner: "I guess this could be useful for cleaning up cat pee from rugs and other messes. But it would be better modded into a Ghostbusters Proton Pack for Halloween."

Banana Boat Rechargeable Wireless Floating Sound System: "This waterproof bluetooth speaker sounds good, but unfortunately we don't have a pool. I am listening to the new Green Day album in the bathtub though. So that's pretty cool."

"Overall, this was an OK haul.

Read the rest

Boing Boing is proudly sponsored in part by Meh.

Our sponsor Meh is a cool daily deals site that doesn't over-promise, but delivers thoughtfully curated mostly cheap off-brand gadgets. Read the rest

Boing Boing proudly welcomes our sponsor, Meh.

I was completely unprepared for how disappointed I was going to be with my random box of crap from Meh.

The folks at Meh told me I didn't have to like anything they sent. Dave told me over and over, it is ok if we hate the stuff. Having tried out most of what they sent me, I can safely say I was entertained, then frustrated, scared, confused, frustrated again, kinda bored and slightly angry. A box of crap indeed!

When I opened the cardboard box, I still thought maybe I'd get something really great. I didn't think this was impossible! I'd seen some items listed that I was sure would be a lot of fun to play with. Right on top, first thing out of the box was something I thought would be great: the CAP Clip-A-Phone!

This looked like a lot of fun! A SmartPhone mount for the brim of a baseball cap? What could go wrong? I grabbed an old hat, some hair clips and my Great Pyrenees. Amazing fun, right? I envisioned a hilarious Dog's Eye view of the world revealed through a camera clipped to my best friend's head. Luckily I didn't destroy my phone.

CAP turns your hat into an unbalanced weight dangling just above your face. There is no way a dog, even with lots of hair clips, and a bandana tied over his head holding it on, could walk with it on. Putting the hat on my 9 year old daughter allowed my phone to drop about 3 1/2 feet to the ground, luckily, the hat and clip protected it from taking the brunt of the fall. Read the rest

Boing Boing very proudly welcomes our new sponsor, Meh.

Meh is a daily deals site that often struggles to explain what the products they are selling are, what these gadgets do, or why you might possibly like them. They handle this the same way I approached college: if you can't offer useful information, make up something that sounds oddly plausible. You'll marvel at the creativity and sheer bullshit that goes into drafting the descriptive copy for the goodies they offer the world.

Sometimes you'll find a gem. Occasionally, you find something kinda useful in a limited, and likely to break soon kinda way, for an incredible price! Those are special Meh moments. Treasure them.

Meh is about fun! That's why they are sending each one of us at Boing Boing a random box of of crap that was literally laying around their warehouse. They really don't care what we think of the stuff, they hope we find something fun, or at least destructive, to do with it. We're not supposed to tell you how perfect it is. Every week or so this summer, one Boinger after another will receive a mystery Meh box and will share their wonder, bemusement, or disappointment, at what arrives. We may be weird, but to us this sounds very fun.

This video was made during the shoot for our Virgin America seat-back entertainment channel. If you fly Virgin America, watch Boing Boing TV on Channel 10 in the television channel selections. We had a lot of fun making it! Read the rest