Skymall

One of the few perks of spending an unseemly proportion of one's life on planes is Skymall, which is an inflight catalogue that all of the domestic airlines seem to have. For me it's a throwback to the old Innovations catalogue that used to come with my parents' Sunday Mail (sob) - full of random, mostly pointless gadgets that someone, somewhere thinks is going to make them their fortune. I picked out a couple of choice entries for your amusement and to inspire any budding inventors.

First up, a laser-guided pool cue. More useful for shining in the eyes of your opponent to distract them than imparting any fierce backspin, I think:


Next, an incredible device that lets you play guitar without having to learn any of those pesky chord shapes, or give yourself unsightly callouses:


I think I may do most of my Christmas shopping through this thing...