And stretch the limits many of our Gadget Freak contributors often do! Going back a few years, my favorite invention would probably be the "beer chucking" refrigerator - you just have to make sure you catch it!
I realize that Gadget freak submissions are mainly for fun but it looks as though these students put some serious effort into their designs as, I am sure, they are being graded on them.
That said, why aren't college professors and instructors pushing their students into creating something a little more useful. It seems to be a trend in schools these days to make sure that it's "fun" for the students.
I sincerely believe that this attitude has created a generation of people who ignore the serious problems of today in favor of designing a new iPhone App or a better game of Beer Pong.
Yes, I thought it was great we had a new gender for Gadget Freak. I recently contacted her to see if she had any new gadgets. No such luck. She's too busy with school.
Yes, Chuck, one of the interesting things about Gadget Freak is that often the gadget doesn't really solve anything. Gadgets for gadgets' sake. That's one of the fun aspects of Gadget Freak.
Regarding your comment, Bronorb, I'd like to point out that Gadget Freak projects are too important (too much fun) to be left to students alone. We'd love to see more submissions from seasoned engineers. Please drop me a line at alex.wolfe@ubm.com if you have something you'd like us to take a look at. As for beer pong and the like, I'd say that's definitely something one ages out of shortly after graduation. (At least, I hope that's the case.)
I find your post a little offensive, especially the part about the Beer Pong table. As the mother of the "gadget freak" that made the table, I am VERY proud of him and all the work he put into it. Whether or not the engineeing project is something "useful" to you is irrevelant. I assure you, Cameron will "outgrow" the beer pong table, but as long as there are college students, this will always be "in style and in demand." It may not be something YOU want to see, but Cameron received many "thumbs up" for his project, including the University of Cincinnati. Maybe they should make a column called "Gadget Freak Wannabe's" for people like you.
Although there has apparently been one female constributor to Gadget Freak, we need more. Women make up 10% of the engineering workforce today, I believe.
Not only is the engineering profession dominated by men, the electronics industry in particular has few women participants. I remember covering EDS (an electrincis distributor show) for a number of years. The only women at the show were journalists doing coverage.
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