Forced, boring conversations are a painful necessity. You might even be having one on the phone right now! But some designers fear the awkward conversation is a dying art—so they made a digital aid to feed you material.

Called the "Personal Adviser For Reintegration," (re-integrated, perhaps, after so many years of coasting by with discomfort-free IMing and emailing), the satirical concept device will ease you back into the weird, dull world of human contact. Just strap it around your neck, and start talking to your mailman/uncle/professor, etc., with ease. According to the students at the Royal College of Art behind the project, the Adviser "tracks conversations, giving hints about open questions, accepted comments, answers, and expressions. It brings the awkward pleasure of small talk back to those who no longer interact with others for no reason." [Creative Applications via CoDesign]