1. C%LTM
COOL-D-ZINE.
THE POD
The docking station for HAIR STRAIGHTENERS
LET’S GET HAIR STYLING BACK OFF THE FLOOR
Women's Favourite Gadget Is Hair
Straighteners.
2. HAIR straighteners have been voted women's top gadget.
They narrowly beat the mobile phone - men's favourite - into second place.
Other girlie gadgets in the top 10 include the hair dryer, the MP3 player and the iron.
TV-loving lads said their Sky box was the second favourite, with the remote control
in fourth.
The Nintendo Wii and the Xbox came seventh and 10th respectively for blokes.
Oddly the poll, for high street chain Comet, listed the calculator as women's seventh
favourite gadget.
And men voted it into eighth place.
She-Gadgets Top Ten:
1. Hair straighteners
2. Mobile phone
3. Laptop
4. Hair dryer
5. Remote control
6. MP3 Player/iPod
7. Digital camera
8. Calculator
9. Iron
10. Nintendo Wii
WHATS THE PROBLEM THOUGH?
Vanity Vandals Responsible For £2 Billion Worth of Domestic Damage
4 million people have burnt, scalded and damaged furniture
The average cost of accidental fire damage in 2004 was £6,500
Over 7 million instances of 'vanity vandalism'* in the south of England,
With 16-24 year olds most reckless.
Hair straighteners or other heated beauty appliances might make us look good and
feel better, but according to new research by Halifax Home Insurance these high-
tech beauty appliances are causing a wave of 'vanity vandalism'*. According to the
leading insurer, over 12.6 million** GB adults have damaged furniture and
domestic surfaces in recent years, resulting in £1.9bn** worth of damage, a
heavy cost for the nations vanity.
Hair straighteners are becoming a commonplace household appliance in the UK. They
are used to straighten hair in much the same way that an iron is used to take the
creases out of clothing. The basic design is of two arms connected at one end and
housing a hotplate at the other to be clamped over hair and drawn along its length. The
hotplates are made of either bare metal or ceramic, and are designed to heat up to
temperatures of 180–220°C.They heat up rapidly, but it takes time for the heat to
3. dissipate once the electricity supply has been turned off. The resting position often
leaves the hot plates exposed. This compromises safety and is a design fault that could
potentially be addressedby manufacturers with a design modification.
This could be addressed by a public health campaign to raise awarenessof the
problem and improved packaging warnings for these products. Manufacturers may be
able to modify the design of their product, having the hot plates protected when in
the resting position.
Accident and Emergency Department, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Sciennes Road, Edinburgh, UK
This is Kayla Murray from Paisley. She is 18 months old and pulled a set of
unattended Straighteners off a kitchen work top. They landed on her arm and she tried
to pull them off resulting in the above injury. The NHS report this is an increasing
accident in the home.
We can do something to prevent this.
7. As you can see the main aim was to ensure that the plates were in a secure position.
The user is encouraged to place the straighteners in the pod which resets the timer to
ten minutes. If this does not happen the timer will count down and the power will
switch off. When finished styling, just switch off at the power button. IF YOU
FORGET!!! Then the timer will count down and after 10 minutes will switch the
power and the straighteners off. The deluxe model will also have SMS technology and
will text the user with the message;
‘Hey forgetful, you left your straighteners on and I have switched them off. All is
well and have a good evening’
We see the product packaged together, for example the High School Musical
straighteners with a figure of eight plug and the pod sold with it. The unit should
appeal to all ages and hopefully attract the younger age group and parents alike.
Recognition and awards;
West Of Scotland Inspired Project 2010
NESTA S46 Award 2009