magic 8-ball

How do you get from point A to point B without your favorite backseat driver spewing commentary and driving tips? Well, now you can enjoy that familiar nagging even when you're alone in your car.

The new Mary On Board, a humorous dash-top device, gives criticism, driving tips, and navigational "advice" in two languages.

Mary On Board creator Dan Finkelstein said he was inspired by his wife (named Mary) to create a device that would "backseat drive" for him when she wasn't around.

Finkelstein explained that he was distracted by a phone call one day while driving, only to be reminded to move into the right lane by his wife, who was "motioning wildly and saying repeatedly, 'right lane!'"

So Finkelstein, who had been laid off from Unisys after 25 years, took on the task of inventing Mary On Board. The device was developed through the aid of a Utah-based company, Design My Idea.

The device is about as helpful as a Magic 8 Ball when it comes to dispensing actual directions. Instead, it offers about 15 preprogrammed sayings in English or Spanish, including "I so need a brake pedal on my side," "Admit it! You're lost because you wouldn't ask for directions," and "Don't you think you should slow down?"

The gadget retails for $19.95 on the company's Web site and through Things You Never Knew Existed. For every unit purchased, $1 will be donated to the National Kidney Foundation, Finkelstein said.… Read more