12/29/09

The Rejection List
The Things We Left Behind in 2009

We've got a pretty good filter here at UD, and most of what we see gets tossed aside after just a glance. Here, making their proud, shining debut are a few of those products and services that just missed the cut this year. By a landslide.

Girls & Corpses Magazine

It's hard out there for magazines these days, but we still believe that with enough hard work, a good idea can still make it to print. Case in point: Girls and Corpses, which describes itself as "sort of like Maxim Magazine meets Dawn Of The Dead." Graydon Carter is kicking himself.

411:: Get your subscription here

The Rat Bowtie

The vagaries of the style world can be confusing at times. Bow ties, however unlikely, are currently back in style. Rodents: not so much. This Rat Bowtie—from the helpfully named Vermin Collection—brings them together in a feat of singularly ill-advised avant-gardism. For safety's sake, don't wear it around cats.

411:: Catch the rat here

Dogtree Social Network

Around the world, dogs asked for more online socializing. And Dogtree heard the call. It's not quite large enough to be called Facebook for dogs (more like Friendster), but with over 3000 canines already signed up, it's already allowed countless users to arrange play dates, coordinate dog costumes, and post incriminating pictures from last week's pug/poodle mixer. Just be glad they haven't figured out Twitter yet.

411:: Enroll your pup here

Bandai Noodle Slide

The biggest problem with dinner, obviously, is that it isn't enough like an adventure board game. This noodle slide updates a marginally less bizarre Japanese custom of plucking noodles out of bamboo pipes. Pour perfectly good soba in the top and try to catch it before it reaches the bottom. It's this season's must-have for families who hate food.

411:: Chase the noodle here

The Bartender's Stiletto

As Steve Jobs once said, "Everything's better with a bottle-opener on it." (Seriously, look it up.) Based on that time-honored axiom, this stiletto packs an invaluable notch three inches up the heel, allowing the fine ladies of Scores to join the world of multitasking. Please tip accordingly.

411:: Get it here

Your Little Pony

As you may have noticed, there are some pretty frightening celebrity enthusiasts out there. And where obsessive interest in Lady Gaga overlaps with a lifelong My Little Pony habit, things get truly unsettling. So when a Finnish art student created a business sculpting My Little Pony replicas in a likeness of your choosing, the result was the perfect gift for children and terror-kitsch enthusiasts alike. Well, maybe not children.

411:: Get your pony here

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