Gearfuse

Credit cards don’t mean much these days. For awhile they were so easy to get and use, despite your financial situation, that they have become a second currency, albeit a worthless one. Made using thousands of credit cards, freecards, discount carts and gift cards, the Credit Card Rainbow displays the varied colors of debt, in all of its majesty.

Commissioned by Graphic Design Museum in Breda, the Netherlands, the rainbow will be on display until September 2009. So, this is how worthless our credit system has become. But hey, at least it’s pretty! Close-ups after the jump.

(more…)

Lord knows we could use a tool for saving the contents of our wallets. Though, alas, the Tool Logic Credit Card kit isn’t so much a financial aid as it is a personal survival tool.

Included in the super-compact Tool Logic Credit Card is a full two-inch serrated blade, precision folding scissors, an 8x magnifying lens, a compass, tweezers, a flat screwdriver, a toothpick and a combination awl/can and bottle opener. The whole tool weighs 1.3 oz and fits snugly in your wallet’s credit card holders.

Link [via]

Yes, you read that correctly. I’m talking about using PayPal to scam a scammer, not vice versa. Surely you’ve clicked an ad that stated you could receive a free iPod/TV/PS3/Xbox 360/Wii, etc. When you visit these websites, you usually have to sign up for online offers with your credit card in order to claim your prize. GearDiary has explained how you can use PayPal’s credit card generator to sign up temporarily for these offers, eliminating the risk and delivering the goods.

The only downside is that, well, you kind of need a PayPal account. While I refuse to use PayPal and eBay, I know plenty of people still do and this is a great way to beat the scammer at their own game.

Link

Not a lot of people use shoe horns nowadays, a lot of people don’t even know how to use one (they don’t have to). Supposedly they’re invented in the 15th century, it’s a tool (first class lever) that holds the end of the shoe open for your heel to slide in more easily and smoothly. The Japanese use shoe horns pretty stringently, as it’s common practice to take of their shoes whenever they’re in house (same for a lot of other Asian countries, but none of them use shoe horns as much). Anyway a Japanese company has started selling this super-pockectable shoe horn that can be slid into your wallet right next to your credit card, but we figure by the time you’ve dug the card out, your shoes are already on. It’s a nice touch none-the-less, 15USD for looking slightly more elegant. –Sam Chan

Card sized shoe-horn [Touch of Ginger]

It’s a problem rampant in every major city of the world: pickpocketing. When it happens to you (if it’s ever happened to you), it makes you feel like the biggest idiot because most of the time, you know when it’s gonna happen. The No Touch Alarm Card takes care of this problem by blasting out an alarm when it’s light sensor is set off. Why? Because in your pocket or purse, there is no light; light is only out in the open, where a pickpocket would move your wallet before stuffing it into their own pocket. The No Touch Alarm is the size of your average credit card, so it won’t become a hassle for you in your wallet.

So maybe walking the streets of a city isn’t your thing, but what about at work. You know that the guy across from you has creeped you out for a while. Why not stick a No Touch Alarm in your desk drawer to let everyone know that he is the one who stole your red stapler last week?

(more…)