Foot Cardigan
I don’t have many fashion foibles, but one of them is an obsession with socks. I wear holiday socks year-round, and am always on the lookout for a new, unnecessarily decorated pair of foot-warmers. For some reason, socks too often tend to be an afterthought in the pop culture world, which is why I was so pleased to discover the good people at FootCardigan.com, and their delightful sock subscription service. For only $9 a month, they’ll send you a new pair of unique socks every month. You have no idea what’s coming, but rest assured, it is not a pair of plain ol’ whites. I know, I know: Gambling on the unknown can be risky, but what pushed me over the edge into signing up was seeing this pair of X-Files socks:
If a whopping nine bucks a month is too much commitment for you, they also offer regular limited-time single-pair purchases. That way, even those of you gun-shy about getting socks you haven’t approved ahead of time can feel comfortable. But come on, guys: It’s socks. Relax. [Alex McCown]
Trivia Crack
Caitlin PenzeyMoog’s Staff Pick on QuizUp got me hooked on that trivia-quiz app before I even worked here. I thought that was bad (I currently rank in the Top 10 in Illinois in “TV Dramas” and “Cereals”); then I discovered Trivia Crack (Etermax). Basically a phone version of Trivial Pursuit, it enables you to play against strangers or friends in six familiar categories. It also ranks your correct-answer percentages and offers you valuable points for your wins. You can even rate the trivia questions or submit your own. Trivia Crack doesn’t quite offer the breadth of QuizUp (which enables you to take specific quizzes in everything from Aquatic Animals to Game Of Thrones). But there’s something about winning those six crowns per game that is so damn satisfying, resulting in a very appropriately named game. [Gwen Ihnat]
Omega J8006 Juicer
Buying a juicer is something I never thought I’d do, if for no other reason than it seemed like a prohibitively expensive kitchen item that would probably collect dust instead of meeting its intended use. Then a month ago, I saw Amazon was running a rather aggressive sale and, lo and behold, I own a juicer (that doubles as a pasta maker and coffee grinder). I’ve never been a particularly healthy eater, and though I’ve got no problem eating my veggies—having been a vegetarian in my younger years—there’s something easier about having all those leafy greens in a sippable form. Since my Omega has arrived I’ve taken to juicing two to three times a week, and since it’s a masticating juicer, which moves slower and mashes everything, it’s proven to yield plenty of juice without any mess or arduous clean-up. I now make decent-sized batches of green juices and, most recently, cucumber-apple-lemonade-type fruit juices that sate my need for veggies and quench my thirst on sticky days in the city. With a pair of handy, resealable bottles containing my juices for their 72-hour lifespan I’ve become one of “those people,” always talking about juicing and telling you how great it is; an overly enthusiastic Amazon review come to life. [David Anthony]