30 Of The Most Unnecessary Home Appliances Invented, Some Of Which You Might Still Want To Have
Sure, everybody dreams of a kitchen that makes your food solely by itself. Well, maybe with the help of some innovative, high-tech kitchen gadgets, but definitely without your own manual labor. Knowing this, kitchen appliance makers sure do try their best to make our kitchens more autonomic and to make the drudgery of cooking less time-consuming. And some of the new gadgets they come up with are just awesome! Take, for instance, the frother - how did we ever survive without frothing our powdered shakes or morning lattes before it? Or, think about the omnipotent air fryer - this baby sure makes our lives easier. But it doesn’t stop at the kitchen, either! Smart home appliances like Roombas and window-cleaning robots have won our hearts and made our lives easier. However, not all home appliances are made equal, and there are some that are, well, completely useless. Then, of course, they make awesome entries to our worst home appliances list, which is even more hilarious than you would’ve thought.
This glorious list of bad appliances includes, but is not limited to, a smartphone-controlled kitty water fountain (very effective at scaring your cat sh*tless). Then, we have something called the Porkfolio, which is simply a glorified piggy bank. And then there’s the Star Trek borg cube fridge; don’t even ask about it because we’re also lost on this one. So, plenty of hilariously bad appliances we’re sure glad we haven’t bought!
Right-o, ready to check which things made it to our inglorious worst home appliances list? If so, you know what to do! Once you’re done reading, be sure to rank the gadgets from worst to dubiously best or vice versa and share this article with your friends!
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LED Tap
Why wash your hands with boring old water when it can glow like an incredible E.T.!
Smart Kettle
Yeah, because locating your phone, downloading the app, and setting up your parameters is much easier than just flipping the on/off switch!
Pie Bird
If you know what a pie bird is, chances are good that you already own one. So here is a little explanation for the pie newbies: These tiny ceramic birds can aid in steam venting while your pie bakes and keep the filling from bubbling over. The majority of home bakers still produce delectable pies without pie birds, though owners acknowledge that they serve more as a cute kitchen ornament than a necessary baking aid.
Star Trek Borg Cube Fridge
Can you appreciate an icy cold beverage if it hasn't been sitting in green light inside a mini-fridge modeled after a mythical spaceship, says this dorm-worthy refrigerator? The answer is yes, and it makes this product completely useless.
Breakfast Station
The breakfast station, which commonly combines a toaster oven, griddle, and coffee maker, is then, by all means, something you should buy.
Baseball Bat Pepper Grinder
For those who like their pepper as aggressive as possible.
Countertop Pizza Oven
Even though pizza-only countertop ovens advertise that they use less energy and cook more evenly, they aren't really compact and will occupy a lot of cabinet or counter space for something you might only use once a week. Also, you could just use the oven you already have.
My mother has this. It's the devil. Oven is so much better of a cook.
Warming Ice Cream Scoop
Enter the self-warming ice cream scoop, which claims to use some sort of thermodynamic magic to melt even the toughest ice cream quickly. Cool concept, but we'll stick to the tried-and-true techniques of letting that pint of frozen goodness soften on the counter for a few minutes or running a conventional ice cream scoop under warm water.
Magic Tap
Poof! It's magic: When you purchased the Magic Tap, your $21 suddenly vanished into thin air. Thanks to this drink dispenser, we no longer have to lift and pour juice, milk, soda, or other beverage containers. We advise you to continue building your upper-body strength by pouring your favorite beverage in the traditional manner.
Monogrammed Barbecue Branding Iron
Regardless of how good your steaks are, we won't eat anything that has your initials on it.
Musical Toilet Roll Device
Relieving yourself is not an act that requires a title track. Well, usually.
Cookie Dippers
The creators of cookie dippers kindly request that you STOP DOING THIS NOW if you are dipping your Oreos in your milk with your fingers. They insist that there is a better way. The cookie doesn't crumble when dipped because the dipper "cradles the cookie by the cream." So long as you're ready to spend valuable money and drawer space on this exact small gadget, there won't be any more cookie search and rescue operations.
I like the thrill of timing my dips. I’ll stick to my traditional method, thank you
Electric Martini Maker
When Bond, James Bond asked for his martinis to be "shaken, not stirred," he absolutely did not have in mind a machine doing it.
Meat-Shredding Claws
Not going to lie: These items appear to be fantastic for channeling your inner carnivore or for acting like Wolverine. However, unless you frequently host barbecues or whole roast hogs in your backyard, these are probably unnecessary. Use just a few forks for your most recent crockpot dish.
Soft Pretzel Makes With Cheese Dip Warmer
Is there anything more frustrating than preparing a pretzel and then realizing you forgot to reheat the cheese dip? There is. Literally, anything else that might occur in your life is what it is called.
Runny Nose Shower Gel Dispenser
Because who wouldn't want to slather themselves with snot? (except for toddlers, maybe)
Microwavable Bacon Cooker
Don't have an oven, a grill, or even a stove? Then a microwaveable bacon cooker might be the right choice for you.
Waffle Bowl Maker
Waffles bowls are terrifying. There's not much to add to describe this scary device.
Electric Salt And Pepper Grinders
Again, if you have arthritic hands or another condition that makes it difficult to turn a handle, you might be able to justify using electric salt and pepper grinders. If not, it's difficult to defend these automatic devices with motors and batteries that fail, leaving your food tragically unseasoned. (Yes, many of them have LED lights, but they're probably not worth the extra money unless you're cooking supper in the dark.)
Egg Counter
Well, using your eyes or your hands to count the eggs would also work just fine!
Popcorn Machine
Calculating how much popcorn you would need to consume for a personal popcorn machine to be financially viable is not even worthwhile.
Pickle Picker
Apart from pleading to be put in a tongue twister, pickle pickers exist only to protect your fingertips from the gross humiliation of reaching into a pickle jar (or olive jar, or pepper jar). Naturally, a fork has long fulfilled the same purpose, but pickle pickers promise to be more dependable and keep your hands free of liquid.
I actually have one of these. Great for picking a peck of pickled peppers.
Omelet Maker
Call us old-school, but pan would work perfectly well here.
Corn Dog Maker
Having a piece of special equipment for making corn dogs doesn't seem like it will make life any easier unless you eat them all the time.
Completely illegal. Federal law dictates that all corn dogs must be eaten while wandering aimlessly at the state or county fair.
Taco Holder
Perhaps taco holders encourage taco consumption in a more refined manner. They can enable a daring home cook to prepare each priceless taco in advance and then maintain order and cohesion once everything is placed on the plate. But we're not persuaded. We'll be over with the barbarians who build their tacos as they go, eating any spilled toppings with a fork and a smile.
Counterpoint: These are great, especially in a restaurant setting where you get 3 at a time..
Avocado Masher
You can mash avocados with this masher, which resembles a potato masher in appearance, but a fork will also work. Even if you often consume guacamole, there is no compelling need to keep this in your utensil drawer.
Wi-Fi Scent Dispenser
Your phone can do many things these days, so why not give it the ability to make your room smell like Jolly Ranchers or sizzling bacon while you're away?
Automated Floss Dispenser
30 dollars, and this gadget is all yours! However, we like our floss dispensed manually better.
Wine Aerator
Any person who is trying to save money should ignore wine aerators. According to some experts, there's no need to spend money on yet another pointless bar accessory unless you're in a great rush to aerate a wine. Wine should have lots of oxygen after being slowly swirled, which will help flavors develop. Bonus: When you do it, you appear to be a genuine wine expert.
Hands-Free Bag Holder
This puzzling device tries to make the laborious process of filling a plastic baggie significantly simpler. Avoid unless you're packing hundreds of plastic bags per day with nefarious, cumbersome sauces or soups. You won't need to dig them out of the bottom of your junk drawer because your hands are free.
Like a lot of these devices, they aren't useful for many people, but great for disabled people and people with mobility or dexterity issues
The "Smart" Toilet
There is a lot wrong with this situation. Nobody should be using a phone app to operate their toilet since toilets are so simple and pretty self-explanatory (rhymes with 'lavatory').
Corn Kernel Stripper
While we're talking about corn, numerous devices can remove the tasty kernels off your corn cob. That would, however, prevent you from enjoying the summer ritual of devouring a mouthwatering ear of buttery corn on the cob and then pulling the kernels out of your teeth.
Chocolate Fountain
While chocolate fountains can add flair to a wedding or other significant event, adding one to your kitchen requires a serious love of chocolate. Try melting some chocolate on the stove to make a quick (and far easier to clean) treat instead.
I had a small one of these, it wasn't that hard to clean at all, and was a fun little treat for like date nights and stuff. The problem, as with most appliances, is that it gets stuck in a cupboard and you forget you have it. Honestly, most of these posts is just being snarky about neat stuff because there's a cheaper way.
Sno-Cone Maker
For a dessert that unquestionably tastes better at the state fair than in your living room, this is a large appliance. It's probably simpler to get a container of ice cream if you want a frosty dessert anyhow.
Asparagus Steamer
To spend money on a specific asparagus-sized pot with a wire attachment that encourages your preferred vegetable to stand up straight while it cooks. The rest of us will continue to prepare asparagus by stuffing it into a multipurpose steamer basket, roasting it in the oven, or frying it in butter and garlic.
Tuna Press
The tuna press makes it simple for you to empty that can without any hassle, and it can even occasionally empty cans of maize or black beans. Of course, most of us simply carefully drain the liquid past a can lid that is only partially open, but if you prefer extra-dry tuna, go for it.
Milk Tea Shaker
We believe you can purchase a milk tea that matches your requirements at a great tea shop nearby if you can afford an automatic shaker for your milk tea. Otherwise, until the milk tea trend fades, you can expect to have this bulky device clogging up your kitchen counter.
S'more Maker
I'm glad someone finally said, "How can I create an S'more without a fire, company, or any sense of amusement? I just want the chocolate and marshmallows!" It's just sad.
It is sad. The entire point of making s'mores is holding flammable sugar goo on a flammable stick over fire!
Electric Can Opener
An electric can opener is a prime example of a device that takes up too much room on a kitchen counter and doesn't actually save money or improve food quality. It's a headache and extra expense to fix or replace it if it breaks. Stick with the manual model unless you have arthritis or another condition that requires an electric can opener.
Roller Spiral Slicer
Although it's wonderful to have fruit with spiral cuts, there's a strong chance that your fruit will still look delicious without going through this extra effort. It's difficult to do even with a tool.
Deep Fryer
When you have images of onion rings and funnel cake dancing through your head, buying a deep fryer could seem fun. However, it won't be used frequently enough to warrant its size, expense, and labor. Instead, use a heavy-duty medium or large pot (or even a wok) together with a thermometer to fulfill your deep-frying needs.
Fondue Set
Is there really anybody who eats fondue more often than once a year? Well then, there's your answer - you really don't need a fondue set.
Quesadilla Maker
When a skillet and spatula aren't enough to finish the job.
....I asked for and got one of these for Christmas. I don't care. I love the stupid thing.
Porkfolio
A digital piggy bank that aids in goal-setting and tracking your savings. So far, it sounds good. Oh, so it simply takes coins, I see. On the other hand, it might be time to set higher financial goals if they entail items you can find in the couch cushions.
Treat Tossing Dog-Watching Wi-Fi Cam
Again, perfect for scaring your pet right out of its fur.
Pizza Scissors
Pizza scissors come to the rescue when a rolling pizza cutter doesn't clog your drawers enough. Many of these stainless-steel marvels even include an attached wedge-shaped spatula to keep your fingertips clean while they claim to slice through your pie with ease.
These are just kitchen scissors. We have a specific type that pops apart for easy cleaning and it's only used for food - works great on veg and meat as well as pizza. And no, you don't get "oily" cutting it, why are they acting like it would make you filthy?
Yogurt Maker
You've got to love yogurt to want one of these yogurt makers taking up space in your kitchen, especially since you can make yogurt in everyone's favorite multiple-use small appliance, the Instant Pot. Even worse, these devices only produce tiny amounts of yogurt and take at least half a day to produce. So we'll continue to buy the six-packs that are on sale at the supermarket.
Trongs
Trongs are vying for a place in your utensil drawer if you can't stand to eat messy foods like chicken wings or ribs without getting your fingers covered in sauce or grease. Reviewers claim that these strange plastic pinchers, which have grooves for your fingertips, make eating more hygienic but that using them is difficult (surprise, surprise). We'll continue to use our fingers (along with lots of soap and water after we're done).
Egg Steamer
Look, you can even color-match this device to your kitchen! Or you could just boil your eggs in a pot!
I totally disagree that this is useless. I love mine. When I boil my eggs in a pot they bang around and break, they always seem over or under done and I waste a potful of water. The egg cooker uses a few tablespoons of water, cooks the eggs perfectly every time and is a breeze to clean (and no more broken, oozy eggs)
Banana Slicer
The Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer has received some witty reviews on Amazon, which is proof of how useless it is. So save your money and use a knife unless you have an obsession with perfectly even banana slices.
Electric Tomato Squeezer
It looks dangerous enough to be considered a necessity by some.
Food mill- I own one... But mine isn't motorized.... Shopping trip!
Egg Separator
Salmonella is a serious issue, but a special egg separator seems unnecessary since most of us have traditionally used the shell to separate the yolk from the white while being careful to wash our hands afterwards.
You come with two perfectly good egg separators--your hands work just fine. The white runs between your fingers & then you dump the yolk in a bowl. Repeat as needed. Much easier to clean too.
Smartphone Controlled Kitty Water Fountain
You can "keep tabs on your kitten's water-intake right on your smartphone," claims the product's sales pitch. Congratulations, you just nailed down the daily routine of the world's loneliest individual.
Actually, since cats are descended from desert-dwelling carnivores, they have a very LOW thirst drive. They are designed to get most of their moisture needs from their prey, but most people feed their domestic cats dry kibble. Therefore, the vast majority of pet cats don't drink enough water, and are dehydrated to some extent or another, and kidney failure/chronic kidney disease is VERY common in elderly cats. A way to monitor and track their water intake is helpful and beneficial for their health. But way to make it sound like a concerned owner who wants to make sure their kitty has a healthy life is the "world's loneliest individual".
Bread Maker
We'll let you in on a secret - your kitchen already has a built-in bread-maker. It's called an oven.
Salad Spinner
To get your money's worth from a salad spinner, which speeds up the process of washing and drying leafy vegetables a little bit more than the traditional rinse-and-pat technique, you'd have to consume a lot of greens unless you intend to use it in other ways like as a serving bowl or a colander, stay away.
Whoever curated this list seems... unnecessarily angry and bitterly sarcastic at some of these appliances XD It's like... yeah, we get it, they're useless, and most of the time an existing device or tool in your kitchen already can do the job... but we want to LAUGH at these products, not feel uncomfortable at the weirdly vitriolic commentary on some of them XD
My thoughts? Poster SELLS this stuff and trying to make people into buying them
Load More Replies...My favorite non-essential home thing is a dragon that fits over the steam vent on my insta-pot. Makes it look like the dragon is breathing smoke at least when you release the steam.
How is that non-essential?? It sounds about as essential as you can get!
Load More Replies...Scrolled down halfway through to joking the discussion about how snarky and judge this post is. Especially since a lot of these things are actually pretty handy compared to the cheaper way of doing things. Might as well add a whisk to the list, cause you can often do the same thing with a fork. But the whisk makes it easier.
I think many of these are useful for those who have a physical disability or if they're working at a restaurant and need to slice multiple bananas at lightning speed to avoid a long queue or something. From what I heard, many of these were originally created for to cater to these people/businesses.
Many of these are intended for disabled people but are mass-marketed for profitability. Thanks for the depressing morning dose of ableism!
This is a rather disappointing list. A few of them are really helpful if you are disabled - I am. Others are conveniences, which some may like. Others are gadgets that people may like, but most will roll their eyes at... maybe focus on gadgets instead of trying to be a gatekeeper of usefulness.
The title would be more accurate if it was "Most useless appliances for the author specifically" - more than a few of these are actually *rather* helpful to those with joint problems, and some are simply regular items with a novelty appearance... which is a personal style/entertainment choice. Yeah, of course you can have a normal mini-fridge... that's just blank... but what if you DO want one that looks like a borg cube? Does that make it LESS fridgey? So... if I get blackout curtains that have a design of Axolotls on them.. what, now they''re "useless"?
Our most useless kitchen "appliance" is a little stool that we lovingly call "speaker's corner" (yes, like the spot in Hyde Park). Whenever a family member has something to proclaim or just feels silly, they stand on the stool and can be sure they get the attention they want.
The tone of this article is all wrong. Some of these are unnecessary, but might be fun. Some are primarily useful for people with disabilities. Some might only make sense to own under very specific circumstances. None of them deserve the hate the author gave them.
Thanks Neilas, you made me admire peoples' creative minds and ability to change, simplify and give us altenatives..
Dude doesn't know a pie bird, but thinks his opinions are valid on kitchen tools. Pretty obvious he's not in charge of years of feeding a large family.
surprised to not see a small cotton candy machine on here. we had one at home growing up because my dad’s work was getting rid of theirs. super fun to make cotton candy at home!
These are genius! (HEY GUYS! WEIRDEST BI YOULL EVER MEET IS BACK FROM A MONTH LONG PHONE BREAK! Please tell me someone realized I was gone…)
Does the author/curator have no life? He certainly lacks deep, critical-thinking skills, and he seems to be--you should excuse the expression--kind of a douche.
There are a lot of these that are unnecessary,but, there are a few that are needed. There is a pumper that would have saved me a lot of time. My mother could not lift ANYTHING. Gallons of water, milk, ended up on the floor and me cleaning it up. Get her smaller containers? She would not let me or anyone else buy her manageable containers. This is what happens when you get alzheimers.
So, I have or have had seven of these, and with the exception of the spiral slicer, they were or are used semi-regularly. The egg cooker and salad spinner are essential, bread maker and can opener are retired now but used to be used a lot, egg separator isn’t needed that often but when it is it’s REALLY needed, and bag holder I just got and haven’t had a chance to try out yet. I think we still have the spiral slicer somewhere, I’ve just never seen it used. However, spiral pineapple slicer? Genius.
Whoever curated this list seems... unnecessarily angry and bitterly sarcastic at some of these appliances XD It's like... yeah, we get it, they're useless, and most of the time an existing device or tool in your kitchen already can do the job... but we want to LAUGH at these products, not feel uncomfortable at the weirdly vitriolic commentary on some of them XD
My thoughts? Poster SELLS this stuff and trying to make people into buying them
Load More Replies...My favorite non-essential home thing is a dragon that fits over the steam vent on my insta-pot. Makes it look like the dragon is breathing smoke at least when you release the steam.
How is that non-essential?? It sounds about as essential as you can get!
Load More Replies...Scrolled down halfway through to joking the discussion about how snarky and judge this post is. Especially since a lot of these things are actually pretty handy compared to the cheaper way of doing things. Might as well add a whisk to the list, cause you can often do the same thing with a fork. But the whisk makes it easier.
I think many of these are useful for those who have a physical disability or if they're working at a restaurant and need to slice multiple bananas at lightning speed to avoid a long queue or something. From what I heard, many of these were originally created for to cater to these people/businesses.
Many of these are intended for disabled people but are mass-marketed for profitability. Thanks for the depressing morning dose of ableism!
This is a rather disappointing list. A few of them are really helpful if you are disabled - I am. Others are conveniences, which some may like. Others are gadgets that people may like, but most will roll their eyes at... maybe focus on gadgets instead of trying to be a gatekeeper of usefulness.
The title would be more accurate if it was "Most useless appliances for the author specifically" - more than a few of these are actually *rather* helpful to those with joint problems, and some are simply regular items with a novelty appearance... which is a personal style/entertainment choice. Yeah, of course you can have a normal mini-fridge... that's just blank... but what if you DO want one that looks like a borg cube? Does that make it LESS fridgey? So... if I get blackout curtains that have a design of Axolotls on them.. what, now they''re "useless"?
Our most useless kitchen "appliance" is a little stool that we lovingly call "speaker's corner" (yes, like the spot in Hyde Park). Whenever a family member has something to proclaim or just feels silly, they stand on the stool and can be sure they get the attention they want.
The tone of this article is all wrong. Some of these are unnecessary, but might be fun. Some are primarily useful for people with disabilities. Some might only make sense to own under very specific circumstances. None of them deserve the hate the author gave them.
Thanks Neilas, you made me admire peoples' creative minds and ability to change, simplify and give us altenatives..
Dude doesn't know a pie bird, but thinks his opinions are valid on kitchen tools. Pretty obvious he's not in charge of years of feeding a large family.
surprised to not see a small cotton candy machine on here. we had one at home growing up because my dad’s work was getting rid of theirs. super fun to make cotton candy at home!
These are genius! (HEY GUYS! WEIRDEST BI YOULL EVER MEET IS BACK FROM A MONTH LONG PHONE BREAK! Please tell me someone realized I was gone…)
Does the author/curator have no life? He certainly lacks deep, critical-thinking skills, and he seems to be--you should excuse the expression--kind of a douche.
There are a lot of these that are unnecessary,but, there are a few that are needed. There is a pumper that would have saved me a lot of time. My mother could not lift ANYTHING. Gallons of water, milk, ended up on the floor and me cleaning it up. Get her smaller containers? She would not let me or anyone else buy her manageable containers. This is what happens when you get alzheimers.
So, I have or have had seven of these, and with the exception of the spiral slicer, they were or are used semi-regularly. The egg cooker and salad spinner are essential, bread maker and can opener are retired now but used to be used a lot, egg separator isn’t needed that often but when it is it’s REALLY needed, and bag holder I just got and haven’t had a chance to try out yet. I think we still have the spiral slicer somewhere, I’ve just never seen it used. However, spiral pineapple slicer? Genius.