17 ridiculous 'smart' gadgets that really exist

QuirkyEvery day, there's a new connected home gadget claiming to make life easier.

Some of these gadgets are easy sources of skepticism, but others can be worth buying. The Amazon Echo has genuine, if simple, uses. Roombas, smart lights, and WeMo switches have their virtues as well.

With some other products, it's harder to see the mass appeal.

The past few years have brought a wave of self-proclaimed smart devices that take the "things" part of "Internet of Things" very seriously. Sometimes, these go past the point of utility and into the land of cynicism. They're often overpriced. And few companies ever seem to care about keeping them secure. (Sometimes, to disastrous effect.)

To illustrate just how far the tech world is willing to go to make anything and everything connected, let's look at a few of the more out-there smart gadgets we've seen recently: