Let’s be clear about one thing: I love James Dyson. I love him the same way I love researchers who spend twenty years living in the jungle watching one gibbon family eat bugs and breed. There is something fascinating about such single-minded dedication. Especially when that dedication produces something that’s useful, but not so useful that we couldn’t live without it. Would I like for my vacuum to be more efficient? Sure. Would I spend decades designing prototypes in order to maximize the amount of dirt my vacuum grabs on to? Well, no. If it were up to me, I’d just stick to picking up stray hairballs and throwing them in the path of the vacuum. That’s my version of efficiency in cleaning.
While Dyson’s passionate pursuit of suction perfection eventually resulted in a pretty kick-ass vacuum, the inevitable side effect has been quite a few jokes at his expense. I mean, the man is basically a poster child for parody.
http://www.hulu.com/embed/CeRtFNSChv9PK_GqYR3QWw
And just when I thought Dyson’s delicious insanity had finally reached its peak, he unveiled this gem:
This is the Dyson Air Multiplier, or in layman’s terms the bladeless fan. While I’m sure the “buffeting” sound of a fan is very annoying to some people, I actually find it rather soothing. That aside, I’m pretty sure the billions of dollars in research spent on this project could have done massive amounts of good spent elsewhere. Like, for example, the AIDS vaccine or clean-burning fuel. But then again, if he were a “big picture” kind of guy I probably wouldn’t love him nearly as much.
After seeing the ad on tv, I’m pretty sure a slew of parodies will soon follow.
Positively Natalie 