h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Trousers with hems that can be raised or lowered depending on what shoes you are wearing with them.

Over to you.

A vacuum cleaner with an extra foot of cable.

Online supermarket shopping using 'streetview' visuals. You push a virtual trolley around a replica supermarket and click on items you want. This way you could see better what you are getting, and not order a fridgeful of broccoli like I just did.

I still want a mobile phone with a useful built in feature ofr two... really... I don't want a camra, or a video recorder on teh damn thing; I want a built in electric toothbrush and razor... I don't think its too much to ask...
Oh, and I'm still waiting for my personal rocket pants we were promised years ago

Having said which, those trousers would be useful too; I'm forever walking about bare-footed, and it always messes up the ends... I mean, I could* just turn up the ends, but I just don't want to look that* stupid

Oh, and whilst we're about it, a universal, universal, charger... all electrical items can be run off, charged from etc...

With regard to supermarkets.


You swipe your card on a doobry on the trolley when you go in - you chuck all you want in the trolley and it charges all the bits and bobs in the trolley to your card as you walk out. A bagging area outside the main shop can be used for those who don't have access to a car.

None of that faffing behind slow gits in the queue and those who continue shopping when they've queued in front of you.

The moment you chuck some alcohol in an attendent can confirm you're 18+ on the doobry.

If you haven't sufficient dosh on your card/haven't paid the wheels lock and you will be attended to by an assistant...

There can still be the traditional method available in a small area for those not needing a trolley and luddites

There is. It´s called an oldfashioned mom and pop shop where they know you because the "attendants" are not robots.

Sainsburys Fast-track is pretty close to that!

Sainsbury fast track was shite. Too much queuing, mostly by people with big trolleys who didn't use fast track, too many rescans, too many things that didn't scan, too difficult to 'minus' items, I hated it.

what we need is a volume control for dogs.

hmmm... how would that work for non bar-coded items though?: Loose fruit and veg etc?

Can´t. Buy more plastic.

I've an overssion to buying fruit and veg which is packaged in such a way to indicate they've taken more time with the packaging than the product itself... I'd prefer to buy food items with some value, rather than wrappers which only go in the bin as soon as the items get home Mind, I do my supermarket shopping from in front of my PC so the supermarket checkout is a thing I can't see myself ever using again in person

A good invention would be: all-in-one clothes. I mean, cothes that can change from office clothing into, lets say, a swimming suit or something like that. Wouldn't that be great? Or a medecine against a cold.

@2legs - you put them in a bag, weigh them and produce a new code tag that you stick on the bag and is readable by the reader that checks your stuff as you walk out of the shop.

Handy prepacked items in popular quantities can also be provided.

BTW - @post 1.

Isn't this invention just called turnups?

Orcus: Here the supermarkets have little handscannners, which you can use to scan each item before placing it in the trolley. Then when you´re done, you place the scanner back in the holder, pay the amount it says and walk out with your groceries.

Here in Surrey, a little man from the village does the scanning.

Too much work Xanatic, I don't want to do anything except put it in my trolley.

That system has also been and gone quite some time ago in the UK.

Read Mina's post above for the reason why it's gone

The description Mina gave sounded to me more like the one where you scan all the stuff at the end yourself, which involves taking it all out of the trolley and then placing it all back in.

In reference to post 9
Some stores in the US have an answer for that.
You put the item on a scale and touch an alphabet for the items first letter like L for lettuce.
A series of pictures appears for all non bar code items starting with that letter. you touch the one you have it weighs it and gives you the price adding it to your total announces" please put item in the bagging area" and then returns to normal scanning mode.

You know what needs inventing?

electric cars with self charging pedal assemblys rigged for all the passengers........."pedle faster you idle bd!!"