MSD

A man in Connecticut invented a non-tradtional alarm clock. Instead of making an obnoxious sound, the alarm circuit would activate a servo that would swing a rubber ball on a stick until it struck a person and woke them up. This, of course, was for people who didn't like the sound of an alarm clock, but presumably did not have a problem with being whacked with a racquetball on a stick.

I'll be the warning label would have read "Warning, place clock near the feet to avoid being struck in the head or groin. Ha ha, can't sue us now."

There was also a student at MIT who invented an internet-ready toaster. It would plug into your LAN, and if a button were pressed before putting in toast, it would connect to weather.com, retreive the symbol for the day's weather (sunny, partly cloudy, rain, etc.) and burn it into a piece of toast. I don't know if it's stupid, but it's pointless.