As far as necessary tasks go, unclogging toilets is without question one of the most unpleasant. Which is why South Korea's fully sealed, minimal-contact alternative is a stroke of genius.

The only thing worse than getting on a full subway car where there's no place to sit, is getting on an even fuller subway car where there's no place to brace yourself. But here's a brilliant hack that not only guarantees you've always got something secure to hold onto, but also something no one else has put their…

Rising from the murky bowels of your toilet bowl, the "Octopus" plunger concept from designer Art Lebedev blends form and function. The bright orange tentacle is pliable but firm enough to leverage against the large suction cup foot when battling clogs. And it won't need to be hidden away behind the commode when not…

An iPhone 3GS, standing proudly in portrait mode or kicking-back in landscape. Unlike its boxy-successor, its edges are rounded, so something must be holding it up. But what? The iPlunge, a kickstand ingeniously designed to look like a miniaturized plunger.

Using mysterious-yet-well-known medical knowledge about negative suction healing and a $3 plunger I swore I just helped my friend buy for his new apartment, MIT Grad Student Danielle Zurovcik may have invented something truly special.