"I smell awful; would U clean my crisper and wipe me down ASAP?" Are we ready for a refrigerator that tweets its most intimate thoughts? How about, "Does my butt look big since I gained 20 lbs.?" That's right, a bathroom scale with WiFi, so you can tweet to friends about life's ups and downs.
The Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas this year was all about smart technology in the home, reports CNN. And just to make sure everyone got the message, Jane Lynch, who plays Sue Sylvester on the hit Fox show, Glee, was hired as the LG spokesperson to sing the praises of its washing machines that send text messages ("R U trying to put me through the wringer?") and ovens that download recipes and can even teach you to cook ("Add a pinch of salt and whip it. Whip it good.") The new LG fridge even keeps tabs on how fresh your food is. (Shades of Lost in Space? "Danger, danger, Will Robinson. Spoiled milk on Shelf 2!")
Seriously, these new appliances are anything but playthings. Major companies like Samsung and Panasonic are working on big-ticket items, like a $3,500 refrigerator with a touchscreen interface that lets you draw up shopping lists, get recipes from sites like Epicurious, post on Twitter, download music, and watch YouTube.
This kind of future-dreaming to make housework less onerous has been going on for decades (check out this 1956 video from General Motors on The Kitchen of the Future). The problem up until now wasn't the technology; it was getting Lynch onboard to scare the hell out of everybody into making it happen.
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