I understand that there are many people out there who can't face the day without a cup of coffee. Hell, I'm guzzling a black coffee down as I write this. However, I draw the line at having an emotional, "intimate" experience with my delicious bean-based beverage—the kind of experience that the HeartBeans grinder promises to deliver. According to the project page, HeartBeans utilizes a motor inside a mahogany shell that measures the pace of the user's beating heart. By operating in sync with the heartbeat, it is intended to "induce an experience of intimacy with the process of making coffee" while producing a different flavor with each use.
If that wasn't hilarious and/or frightening enough, the designers compare holding the device to holding a baby or a musical instrument, i.e. "very affectionately." In doing so we bring about the same closeness for the grinder as we do for the other things we care about. Hmm...baby or grinder...baby or grinder? I mean, I love my kid but this is coffee we are talking about here! All joking aside, this crazy-ass piece of equipment is only a concept, so don't expect to see it advertised at your local Starbucks anytime soon. [Nastypixel via Born Rich]