Selfie sticks and chindogu
Selfie sticks used to be known as a joke design, known as a Chindogu.
"Chindogu" translates from Japanese to "strange tool." These designs aim to solve a single problem while ignoring other problems they cause. Shoe umbrellas, a chopstick fan and butter stick are probably the most popular examples.
Kenji Kawakami, the "father of Chindogu" came across Hiroshi Ueda's camera stick design, called Extender, from the 80s and thought it was funny and impractical. Kenji went on to present it in his books as a Chindogu design.
Years later, selfie sticks found a new purpose when smartphones with front facing cameras were developed. Social media grew in popularity and there was a demand for better quality selfies and group photos. In 2022, the selfie stick market was worth $610 million.
Other designs have been impractical for everyday use at first, too. Early microwaves were massive, expensive machines used for military research. The same can be said for drones and portable phones.
Design is flexible. Market and technology trends are always changing. What is categorized as useless today may become un-useless later.
