What’s one of the zaniest items you’ve every purchased? For me, it’s got to be the Record-a-Call, a telephone hand-set that records phone conversations on mini cassette tapes that I ordered on a whim through SkyMall, the ubiquitous in-flight catalog of unique gifts and gadgets for about $60.
As a writer, I thought, hmmm … the Record-a-Call might help me conduct better phone interviews. I was tired of trying to type as sources talked to me. But I was skeptical. The SkyMall catalog, really? Flash forward 10 years. Turns out, the Record-a-Call is going strong and has proven to be so invaluable for work interviews that I’ve actually considered ordering a second one in case the one I still have breaks.
That purchase hooked me. Now, whenever I’m on a flight, I thumb through the SkyMall catalog, looking for cool and off-beat gadgets and gift ideas for my friends and family and for stuff I might actually need. Their website, www.skymall.com, offers hundreds of interesting items too. I’ve already spotted something I’m going to add to my holiday list: an electronic notepad that will convert hand-written notes to a Microsoft Word document, something I could also use for meetings.
How about you? Have you shopped the SkyMall catalog/website lately? What’s the most off-beat item you’ve bought from anywhere that turned out to be really useful?
Brenda
11:04:39 AM on Mon Nov 5 2012
I thought I was the only one with this guilty pleasure. I have no idea who compiles all these items, but I can easily spend a whole flight perusing the catalog and making a list of items I have to have. Very often, I end up sticking it in my purse for future reference!