While this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was filled with straightforward news and elegant gadgets, there were also a few strange things that stood out.
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The Hapilabs “Hapifork”
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Yes, there is now a fork that tracks what you eat. Lots of companies are coming up with health-tracking devices that measure your physical activity, but the Hapifork from Hapilabs can track how many bites of food you have taken and the frequency with which you take bites. It also records your eating schedule. We’re definitely intrigued. — Sean Ludwig
Re-Timer glasses that correct your sleep cycle
Re-Timer’s glasses can make you look really goofy. But that’s not the only thing they do — the glasses can also help you adjust your sleep cycle. Based on 25 years of research from Flinders University in Australia, the glasses emit a particular type of green light, and you use them with instructions to accomplish various goals. For example, if have trouble sleeping at night, you wear the glasses in the morning when you first wake up for 50 minutes four days in a row. — Sean Ludwig
Muse brain-sensing headband
While walking the floor, I came across the brain-sensing headband from Muse. The headband measures the EEG levels in your brain and displays your focus and relaxation levels. As I sat in front of the screen, I did different things such as converse with people and count, but I found out that my best “focus levels” registered when I closed my eyes and listened to conversations around me.
Ideally, the headband and software that goes with it could help your train your brain to focus or relax better. The company has raised $287,472 on Indiegogo on the strength of its premise. — Sean Ludwig
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Phonograph from Zhonghao Digital takes us to the past
The retro crowd might like the antique phonograph that Zhonghao Digital showed off in its booth. The device can play multiple kinds of media, including vinyl records, AM/FM radio, compact discs, and music stored on a USB flash drive. The company’s brochure says, “excellent musical notes make your heart relax.” — Dean Takahashi
Samsung’s somewhat ridiculous smart refrigerator
While Samsung debuted several gadgets at CES, the product that turned our heads the most was the company’s newest smart refrigerator. The new fridge comes with a 10-inch display that can run apps. You simply touch the icons to watch news, leave notes for family members, or run apps like Evernote. The note-capturing app allows you to write a grocery list and save it. Once you do that, your list will instantly appear on the phone of another family member who is out shopping already. It makes for faster communication, and with this at home, you’re less likely to run out of milk. — Dean Takahashi
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Bonus: Big Bird and his helper during Qualcomm’s keynote
Qualcomm’s big keynote at CES was one of the most talked about events at the show because it was an absolute trainwreck. Out of the many strange parts of the keynote, the moment when Big Bird and a developer came out on stage to talk about an app was particularly weird and slightly politically incorrect, with its talk of “outsourcing to owls.” — Sean Ludwig
Check out video from Big Bird and his helper at Qualcomm’s keynote below:
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Photos and videos via Sean Ludwig, Dean Takahashi, and Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat
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