In the Garden of Gadgets

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Jan. 12, 1998 | 10:07 a.m.

They could keep their state-of-the-art software, thumpty-thumping car stereos, do-it-all pagers and compact cell phones.

It was the offbeat gizmos this reporter was after.

But first, I had to muddle through a healthy chunk of the aforementioned hi-tech gadgetry that was on display at the 1998 International Consumer Electronics show.

The monstrous annual, closed-to-the-public trade show wrapped up its four-day-long run Sunday at various convention facilities around town.

Luckily, my search didn't take long: The gems I desired were, for the most part, lying in wait in the belly of the Sands Expo and Convention Center, which teemed with unlikely -- and many not-so-electronic -- treasures.

Creature feature

Beating Hollywood to the punch, the star of San Francisco- based company OSHI/Pacific's booth was "Prazilla."

Timed perfectly to cash in on the marketing hoopla sure to surround the release of the "Godzilla" flick in theaters this spring, "Prazilla" -- who dons a pink feather boa and way too much jewelry -- is a drag queen version of the '60s movie monster.

Still in the prototype phase, she's due in stores this March.

Much like her wildly popular, plastic amphibian cousin "Rudy Ribbet" -- an electronic frog that goes "ribbet" when its sensors detect someone or something in its presence -- "Prazilla's" eyes will flash and she'll "make some god-awful sound" when her electronic path is crossed, according to company representative Richard Nodine.

OSHI/Pacific's entire line of "talking" critters, which includes ducks, cows, pigs and dinosaurs -- has proved popular with small shop owners, who put them by the front door to alert them when customers enter. They retail for upwards of $10 each.

Besides "Prazilla," the line's latest edition is "Harold Hoot," an owl that frightens unwanted birds away -- kind of a '90s version of the old-fashioned scarecrow.

"People have been making molded owls for a long time," Nodine said. "The problem with them is that birds get used to seeing them and realize ... they're not real." The sound and animation of Harold is sure to throw them for a loop, he assured.

Bug off

Repelling pests is apparently big business.

Virginia-based Continental Marketing, LP, had on display not one, not two, but three devices to make rodents retreat.

"The Original PestContro" and "PestContro 2000," which retail on home shopping networks for around $40, use ultra-sonic sound (inaudible to humans) to send little buggers -- both inside your home and out -- scurrying.

Don't be fooled by the name: The Sonic Mole Chaser, also available via home shopping channels, not only chases pesky moles from your yard, but also gophers, ground squirrels and pocket mice. Slide it into the hole they've burrowed and say bye-bye.

If that doesn't work, you can always clock the furry guys over the head with the Stiguard, a multi-function walking stick, which Continental also markets.

Tested to support up to 800 pounds, the cane features a spotlight which illuminates a path 6 feet ahead of a walker and a wailing alarm in case of emergency.

And, should a pinched nerve act up mid-stroll, the anatomically-designed handle kicks into electric massager mode for an on-the-spot rub. How's that for convenience?

Wait, it gets better.

Pull out a chair

The days of rearranging your heavy living room furniture are over: Introducing ... it well, it doesn't really have a name. But people in the know are calling it Inflatable Furniture.

For obvious reasons. It seems these clear plastic chairs, which retail for upwards of $30 and rely on a pair of healthy lungs to stuff them, are THE hot home decor item.

Just why is anyone's guess.

"It's a very hot commodity right now," said Arthur Rosenthal of Chatsworth, Calif.-based Hoffman Products International, Inc., which markets the furniture, among other quirky tchotchkes like electronic seashells (hold them to your ear and hear a digital ocean!).

"First of all, it's a real inexpensive way to furnish a dorm room or a kid's room," Rosenthal explained of the squeaky, thigh-sticking chairs. "It just fascinates people."

Accessorize your plastic room with one of Hoffman Products' "Moonlights," eerie globe-shaped lamps that glow in hypnotic, out-of-this-world patterns and colors ($59-69), or with a "Luminglas," a flat version of those cool orbs with the electric currents running through them ($125 for the 12-inch size; $200 for 20-inch). Both products are available at Spencer Gifts stores.

Smart steppin'

Judy Harris' product may not have had all the bells and whistles as most of the other CES doohickies, but she knew it was something most attendants would be aching for by the show's end.

Harris is the vice president of Action Orthotics, a local company that produces custom arch supports for shoes. The $200-plus per pair price tag includes a lifetime guarantee.

Using measurements and an image of an individual's foot, a vinyl arch is is altered to custom fit each customer's foot.

And at huge conventions like CES, Harris assured that there's plenty of tired tootsies to go around. She also manned a booth at the gigantic Comdex convention last fall. "We did fantastic."