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Sep 20, 2023

Bizarre but genius things that are skyrocketing in popularity on Amazon now

Weird but wonderful. As you go through life, problems crop up. Some are common:

Weird but wonderful.

As you go through life, problems crop up. Some are common: pet fur blankets every surface of your home no matter how much you clean. Others are more obscure: your people need swimming pool games. Fortunately, you are living in an age when nearly any obstacle that arises has a bizarre but genius solution to circumvent it.

And these solutions are within easy reach. In fact, there's a whole big list of them below. These are items that are so helpful, they’re rocketing up the Amazon charts and into homes across the country. So take a peek and find something brilliant to solve your strange problems.

If your coffee table suffers from remote control overload, put it all in order with this remote control holder. The five compartments give each remote a dedicated slot so you can easily find the one you want, even in the dark. It effectively turns sprawling remote-control clutter into decor. You can use it on the vanity to store brushes and other tools, too.

When your favorite water bottle won't fit your car's cup holder, fix the cup holder so you can have the water bottle you like. This car cup holder expander is the solution. Fit it into your car's cup holder and it holds securely while replacing that too-small one with one that holds bottles or cups with a nearly 4-inch diameter. Flexible rubber tabs around its inside rim secure a wide range of bottle sizes.

Want to clean up a child's room or your pet's toys super fast without giving up an inch of floor space? This stuffed animal storage hammock provides an easy and decorative home for toys and other soft and tossable clutter. All the stuffed animals will be comfortable and off the floor. This is a two-pack of hammocks so you can stack them or put them in different rooms. They come in six colors.

This clever cocktail glass rimmer makes it easy to create craft cocktails at home. You won't have to waste sugar, salt, spices, or time when cocktail hour rolls around. Set up your sweet or salty rim flavors once and keep them tidy and ready to go in the separated trays. One has a sponge you can fill with lime juice so that prepping (and flavoring) the rim of the glass is fast and easy.

Get all those hard-to-reach gaps in your window frames, shower door, and sliding patio door tracks clean easily with this gap-cleaning tool. It's outfitted with firm brushes that are sized to slide right into those awkward spaces. A thoughtful design means you can hang it so it's easy to find and it fits neatly into your hand.

"I can't believe the gunk it cleaned that I couldn't even see!" said one reviewer. "The design is amazing. Easy to hold and use."

Skip the expensive pedicures and time-consuming pumice stones and sit back with your feet tucked into this foot-peel mask, available in 11 scents. It bathes your feet in a botanical solution of fruit enzymes and extracts that work to slough dead skin cells off your feet. All you do is relax for an hour with your feet up. Then remove the mask, wait anywhere from six to 11 days, and watch as your callused feet peel like a snake, revealing the baby-soft skin underneath. This is a pack of two so you can do this with a friend or repeat the process later.

Your battle with pet fur all over the house is over. This simple pet hair remover sweeps it up in seconds, with no struggle or disposable tapes. Just roll it back and forth on your couch, bed, carpet, or lap and it picks up every hair and deposits it in the chamber. Empty the chamber and get on with your life.

"I am blown away at the simplicity and effectiveness of this product," said one reviewer. "It's genius. In just 20 minutes or so I have cleaned all of the places in my home that are plagued with pesky pet hair!"

Protect your hands when you are gardening or working with knives by wearing these cut-resistant gloves. The palm and fingers have a seriously cut-resistant Nitrile surface and the stretchy body breathes and moves so your hands are agile and stay cool.

"I forget that I'm wearing them when working," said one reviewer. "Fits close to the skin, soft, flexible, and very easy to gently or roughly ‘touch’ things."

Dings in your wooden furniture and scratches on wood trim or cabinets don't have to involve a messy and expensive refinishing project. Just color over the damage with this wood repair kit and make it invisible. If no one can see it, is it really there? Wax crayons fill deeper dings and scratches while the markers are perfect for hazing and scratches.

Been contemplating an expensive microneedling spa trip? This derma roller allows you to make microneedle dermabrasion part of your at-home skin-care routine. The tiny, .25mm needles are said to help brighten your skin's appearance and improve the absorption of serums. It's easy to use, too — just roll it over your skin.

"My face regimen just [works] 100% better after using this product," said one of over 18,000 five-star reviewers.

Box up your cumbersome colanders and replace them with this snap-on pot strainer. It's small and easy to store and is flexible so it fits all your pans. Instead of clearing the sink, setting up a colander, and aiming hot water at a target, you just pour hot water out of the pan and into the sink, right over whatever is in there.

"This product is genius!" said one reviewer. "Stays on tight and I haven't lost a noodle yet!"

Cleaning the crevices in your car or those impossible-to-reach spaces between the keys on your keyboard isn't as hard as you think. You just need this universal cleaning gel to make it easy. Press the gel into the crevices and it grabs dust, crud, and crumbs and holds on to them. When you remove it, your car or keyboard is clean and the gel is a little dirtier. Keep cleaning until the gel gets too dirty to be effective, then throw it away.

If you and your pet live in fear of nail clipping, switch to the smooth sailing of nail filing with this electric dog nail grinder. It is gentle and quiet and won't snip the nail quick or hurt your pet. You can both relax and enjoy some pedicure bonding time instead of traumatizing each other. It comes with three ports to fit your dog's nails. Just insert the nail and turn it on.

Help eliminate the mess in your oven or air fryer by lining the rack below potentially drippy food with these nonstick oven liners. They cut easily to fit the surface you want to line. And unlike the interior of your appliance, these remove for cleaning and are made with Teflon so baked-on messes wash off easily. They come in three colors and nearly 19,000 people said, "Five stars!"

Defeat the invasion of bugs that is terrorizing your home easily and with very little effort. Just plug in this indoor insect trap, load it with a replaceable sticky mat, and let it handle the bugs. It lures them close with a tempting bug light, catches them with its fan, and sticks them to the mat inside, where the bugs then proceed to perish. It is completely silent and all you have to do is change the mat occasionally.

Prevent tragedy by making your dog easier to see at night with this light-up dog collar. It's rechargeable, has three modes — steady, strobe, and blink — and the lights go all the way around the collar so your pet is visible from every direction. It snaps on easily and comes in 11 colors.

"Genius," said one of 14,000 five-star reviewers. "Easy to adjust, easy to recharge, and [lets] me know where my dogs are in the dark."

This LED camping lantern is easy to carry and store because it collapses to the size of a hockey puck. But pop it open, set it in a sunny spot, and it will light your campground by charging during the day and being ready to light the tent or campsite when the sun goes down. The brightness is adjustable and it works as a flashing SOS light if you run into trouble. It will charge your phone, too.

Prevent your home's gutters from getting clogged with leaves by installing this plastic mesh gutter guard over them. Instead of entering your gutters, the leaves will stop at the mesh and fall off — or be easy to blow off with a blower. Rain will keep draining off your roof and going where you want it to go without so much ladder climbing and gutter cleaning from you.

Dusting the ceiling — and other high and hard-to-reach places — is easy to do with the right tool. This long ceiling fan duster is that tool. The handle telescopes from 27 to 47 inches so you can easily reach the ceiling fan, high shelves, and more, without climbing a ladder. And the cleverly designed (and washable) duster head slides right over the fan blades, catching the dust so it doesn't rain on your head.

If your motto is, "Happy cat, happy life," you need to gift your cat this delightful pet cave for safe and warm nap times. It looks pretty and decorative in your space, comes in 14 colors, and will be your feline friend's favorite place. It's crafted from durable New Zealand wool and is said to be warm in winter and cool in summer.

When you break a glass, spill cereal, or make crumbs on the counter, reach for this handy, compact dustpan and brush set to quickly clean it all up. The fine brush catches all the debris and sweeps it into the bin so you can empty it. The brush snaps into the bin when you store it so you don't have to look for two parts.

"I like that they can be stored together, and the shape of this dustpan is genius!" said one reviewer.

When the summer heat makes playing on the trampoline no fun, attach this trampoline sprinkler. No one will ask for a pool with this on deck (probably). Not only does it reduce the temperature on the trampoline by up to 25 degrees, but it also douses the playing kids — or adults — with water.

"The kids love it and it's a great way to cool off," said one reviewer. "I like the flow control valve that allows you to control the power and amount of the spray coming from the sprinkler."

If golf is your game — or you just enjoy mini-golf — this putting mat is a must for your office or a corner of the living room. It's small enough to fit in your space but this is so much more than a toy. It looks beautiful, will help improve the precision putting of your game, allows for left or right-handed play, and the grass-like surface is authentically smooth. It has two holes — one smaller than regulation to build your skills — and automatically returns the ball.

Add this UV black light flashlight to your cleaning kit and you might be shocked at the messes you have missed. The 68 LEDs are bright and will help expose pet stains, bed bugs, scorpions, and other things you can't see in regular light. It throws a wide, bright beam to make checking the carpets and furniture for stains fast, easy, and — dare I say — sort of fun.

Whether you are traveling by plane, train, or automobile, pack along this infinity travel pillow so you can grab a comfy cat nap whenever the opportunity arises. Wrap it around your neck, jam a hand in between the folds, rest a piece of it against the window for a pillow, or set your head down on it on your desk or the plane's tray table. It's wrapped in soft bamboo and filled with soft layers of microfiber so it's comfy and washable.

Bring order to the lids in your kitchen so you never waste time looking for the right lid for the storage containers again. This lid organizer holds all your lids upright like a filing cabinet. The five dividers are adjustable to fit your collection. Arrange them the way you prefer and it makes putting the lids away super easy — and transforms the experience of locating the lid you need from incredibly aggravating to straightforward. It comes in five sizes.

Boost your core and balance workouts with this wobble cushion that removes the stability under your feet or butt so your core has to work harder — this is said to help your balance improve. The disc does double duty as a seat cushion, meditation seat, or lumbar support, too, and storing it is easy.

"It's a great addition to my ergonomic setup in my office and allows me to do my exercises as often as I want," shared one reviewer.

Learn to work this strange back massager tool into the recovery portion of your workout and your back, shoulders, and neck will thank you. It helps make physical therapy easier and aids in releasing tension from sore places all along your spine. It comes with a carry strap and an exercise guide to get you started.

"This product is amazing," said one reviewer. "It relieved my back pain after one use. [...] I use it to replace the painful foam roller. This is so much better!!"

Turn pool time into hours of playtime with this inflatable water wheel float that's like a hamster wheel on steroids. Just inflate it, toss it in the pool, and watch the hilarity unfold. Or try it yourself. It's not as easy as it looks.

"It's the hit of the pool!" reported one reviewer. "The kids are always trying to get in and make it go. Nobody has been able to because you fall over in it, but that's the fun part!"

Whether your pup is an inside-goer or you want these as mistake control, make these washable pee pads part of your decor. Teach your pup they are a safe place to go, and cleaning up after those events is super easy. Just toss the pad in the wash and return it, clean, to your dog's safe place. You can choose from six patterns.

Get the knots out of matted fur, clean up a pup who is blowing their coat, or manage everyday shedding quickly and painlessly with this stainless steel dematting comb that has bristles with a slightly serrated edge. The big, grippy handle makes it easy on your hands and your pet will love not having to carry around all that unnecessary fur.

"It cut through mats so easily. My dog was finally able to relax," said one reviewer.

This is the phone stand of a tech-lover's dreams. Set your phone in it and listen through its Bluetooth speaker and see the phone screen at the same time. Use the easy-to-access controls on the speaker to skip songs and control the volume. It will charge your phone while it rests here, too. And the night light built into the rim turns it into a lamp that allows you to change colors to create the right vibe in the room or use it as a nightlight.

Light up your patio parties simply and easily by clipping this patio umbrella light to the pole of your outdoor umbrella. Its 28 LEDs throw a gentle beam that illuminates a cozy gathering place. You can adjust the brightness to set the mood and an LED indicator lets you know when it is time to recharge it.

Help prevent shower drain clogs without tasking anyone in your house with the job of cleaning out a scummy and disgusting shower strainer. Just upgrade to this TubShroom. It installs into the drain, letting water (and soap scum) through while trapping hair on the vertical hair catcher. Just pull off the hair once in a while and you will never have a clog. Nearly 84,000 people gave it five stars.

Clear your clogged toilet, sink, or shower quickly with this heavy-duty plunger that is super easy to use. Just set it over the clog — fitting it right into the drain — and plunge. It uses 10 cups of water, at force, to unclog just about any blockage. This makes it more effective, with less effort from you, than the standard bathroom plunger.

You can stop living in fear that you will spill something on your white shirt or that nice button-down you invested in. This stain remover promises to get the mess out if that happens. Just spray it onto the mess, blot it off, and watch your garment return to clean. This stuff gets over 28,000 five-star reviews and a large number of those reviewers describe it as downright magical.

"I swear this stuff is magic!" said one. "You can literally watch the stain disappear when spraying."

If you are prepping for the zombie apocalypse, you will need seeds to grow your own food. This pack of survival garden seeds includes 3,000 seeds in 32 varieties of vegetables to help you get started on your new civilization. They are open-pollinated, not hybrid, and untreated so you will start things off healthy. Reviewers report that the seeds have a terrific germination rate and that the vegetables that result are tasty.

"Virtually every seed sprouted. I'm happy with everything I planted," reported one reviewer.

If you want rock-solid abs, you have to work all the muscles in your core. When you work these core sliders into your fitness mix, they will help you activate more muscles by requiring your abs to constantly stabilize. This works your glutes and hamstrings, too. And they are small so you can do the exercises in the included ebook or online videos anywhere you have a piece of floor.

"These help me have perfect form in my lunges, recruit more muscle, and give more challenge to my legs," said one reviewer.

Ever dreamed of lovingly tending your own wheels of cheese? (Join the club.) This cheese-making kit has everything needed to realize that dream. It includes directions, tools, rennet, salt, and everything else you need to turn milk into 10 kinds of tasty cheese, from cottage to Chevre.

"Very clear instructions," said one reviewer. "I made halloumi and it turned out great."

Keep your scrub brushes or kitchen sponge in the sink where they belong with this flexible sponge holder that hooks over the faucet. The plastic-coated wire construction is flexible so you can customize it to your sink. It will keep your tools out of dirty dishwater, make them easy to find, and allow them to drip dry. It's simple to use but also decorative and effective. It comes in four colors.

Attach this dog bath brush to the hose — or use the shower adapter to make it an option in your shower — and bathing the dog will go from an inefficient, wet-dog nightmare to an easy dog spa at home. The water comes directly through the brush so you can target it at a difficult undercoat. It's gentle and more akin to brushing than spraying, so it helps turn the experience from scary to pleasant for your dog.

Wear these cut- and heat-resistant gloves when you are grilling to help protect those hands while you work. These flexible BBQ gloves let you move your hands freely, have a grippy palm so you can safely pick up hot or cold items, and will help keep you safe. They come in seven colors and two sizes.

Install a zip line anywhere with this clever zip line kit. The kids will have fun in the yard, get some exercise, and just may stop asking to watch a screen. To set it up, find two trees between 10 and 55 feet apart, mount the slackline, and attach the pulley. It holds up to 250 pounds so some adults can get in on the fun, too.

Cover anything that doesn't enhance your landscaping — gardening tools, hoses, sprinkler valves — with this landscape rock and it will blend into your environment beautifully. It has a natural-looking textured surface and is durable enough to withstand all the weather. Choose from a variety of sizes to fit your needs.

"We used this fake rock to cover sprinkler heads and it was perfect," said one reviewer. "Very easy to install and looks great."

If your dog yanks your arm every time a squirrel runs past, give those joints a rest with this shock absorber dog leash attachment. The jerk of a leash isn't ideal for your dog, either. This attachment helps soften the yank with an elastic bungee cord so your dog can learn to slow down before the leash slams on the brakes. But even if the dog never learns, the snap to your joints will be gentler.

When you spend the day on the beach, go camping, or take the family to the park, bring this privacy pop-up tent so everyone has a place to change, shower, or hide. It has windows for ventilation, is tall enough to stand up in, and sets up quickly and easily. It breaks down just as easily and stores into its own carry bag for toting.

This adorable outdoor statue is a functioning solar light that charges in the sun, turns on automatically when it gets dark, and runs till it uses up its power. It does that every day. So set it near the entry for a fun light element or use it as decor and soft lighting on the deck. It comes in turtle, frog, rabbit, gnome, and angel styles.

Keep this gel face mask stored in the freezer and wear it whenever your skin feels inflamed or your face is puffy. It helps cool and calm all kinds of skin irritations and feels lovely. It doubles as a heating pad, too, so you can use it to warm your skin before applying serums or to treat pain or injuries. It comes in five colors.

This coffee pod holder turns the inside of a cabinet door or an empty wall in the pantry into the perfect storage spot for your K-cup or Nespresso pods. Just stick it to the place you choose and slide the pods into the slots. It works with many brands of coffee pods and turns them into a beautiful display that makes it easy to choose a flavor.

If the dog chases the cat or — worse — investigates the litter box, this door strap and latch kit makes it easy to create a space that's accessible to the cat but not to the dog. Stick it to the door and the frame, adjust the strap so the cat can get through the door but the dog can't, and foil that canine naughtiness.

Have fun decimating the fly population in your home with this battery-powered bug zapper racket. It makes hunting bugs into a racket game and delivers a powerful shock to the invading insect so that your success rate is always very high. It comes in three sizes and batteries are included.

When you clean the litter box, don't prop that dirty scoop against the wall where it will drop dirty litter on the floor. Set it into this cat litter scooper holder that's designed to catch all the litter. It looks cute, comes with four colored paws to decorate it with, and holds any size litter scooper.

These wrinkle wipes make it super convenient to clean a pet that constantly has eye goo or wrinkles that get stained or inflamed. It is loaded with phytosphingosine to help repel microbes to aid in keeping those areas clean and healthy. These promise not to sting or irritate even the most sensitive skin.

Pull on these pet grooming gloves before you pet your cat or dog and turn that affection into grooming time. The gloves have bristles in the palm and fingers that make it easy to give a good scritch and remove shedding fur at the same time. In the bath, they reach deep into fur so you can get soapy lather and water to your pet's skin to get a solid washing.

When you need to remove a screw or bolt that's an odd shape or has lost its original shape, this universal socket will save the day. Just attach it to your drill and let its many pins conform to the shape of the object you need to turn. It comes in three sizes.

"I had some oddball square-head lag screws holding up an awning frame," said one reviewer. "This little socket snuggled over the three different sizes [and] popped those bad boys right out. What would have been a day-long pain in the wrist took about 20 minutes."