Innovative and Weird Products

Pocket urinals, skinned anchovies, compact watering cans, a shredder and moleskine notebooks . . . quick, bookmark this page! You might want to order early to avoid the holiday rush.

Pocket urinals. Yup, no more pesky stops to relieve yourself along the road. Just keep a supply of these in the glovebox or jacket pocket. Buy them at Roadbag's website, a German company that accepts Paypal or credit cards.

As Thrillist.com says: "When you're making good time in your car, pulling over to relieve yourself means all those jerks you just cut off will get ahead of you, requiring they be cut off anew. Solve this timeless problem with a RoadBag."

I first learned of this item on Thrillist.com, then found out that certain members of my family (adult and children) were using it on long boating trips--they just hadn't felt the need to share that info!

Why pay big bucks for electric shredders that sit over a giant rubberized waste basket and add nothing to the ambiance of your office? These handy little multi-bladed scissors cost about $15 at Compact-Impact.com. (You can get it even cheaper at Amazon.com). And in neon orange or weblink blue, they complement any junk drawer.

For the gourmand. If you can eat anchovies, I don't know why you'd balk at the skins. Just in case, though, here is salvation for the slime-challenged.

Under $12 for a 1.7 ounce jar. Yum.

Yup, someone thought of a clever way to improve the watering can. The spout turns out for watering, then curves close to the can itself for storage. These come in large and small versions, ($10 for the small 1-quart model), so if you keep houseplants in a tiny apartment, it's for you. From Oxo International--there's even a variety of colors.

Moleskine Notebooks. All my life I thought the word was moleskin--until now, when I had to type in the url: moleskine.com (the Italian manufacturer, I believe) and moleskines.com (which leads to a Texas distributor). Now I can recommend the notebooks without worrying that those poor, squinty-eyed moles were being raised in cruel molefarms for their leathered hides. According to the website:

"Originally these books were produced by small French bookbinders who supplied the Parisian stationery shops frequented by the international avant-garde. However, In 1986, the last manufacturer of Moleskine, a family operation in Tours, closed and Moleskines were gone - but not forgotten. As a result of their previous popularity and demand, they did return. In 1998, a small Milanese publisher brought these books back for writers, artists, travelers and all free-thinkers around the globe."

They're sold in Barnes and Noble and Borders as well, for $10 and up. Or on Amazon.com--see below.