Many of humanity’s worst inventions come from a desire to get fit without really trying, and the Hawaii Chair is no exception.
What is exceptional is how absolutely ridiculous one looked while using it.
What was it?
T&L Perfect USA debuted a motorized office chair designed to give you the six-pack of your dreams. The seat swiveled around thanks to a patented 2.8k-rpm motor, causing the user’s hips to gyrate in what Time noted was an “oddly erotic” fashion.
T&L could have thus called it the “Elvis Chair,” but went with Hawaii to play off the sacred art of hula dancing, which one reporter noted was kind of offensive.
The idea was that consumers could tone their abs, waist, and thighs, all while plugging away at their desks, per this infomercial.
But when Ellen DeGeneres trialed the device on her show, she demonstrated how users looked more like someone desperately trying to avoid getting thrown off a mechanical bull, especially at the chair’s higher speeds. She also failed miserably at pouring water.
But did it give you abs?
Unclear, honestly. Most people seemed more hung up on how silly people looked while rotating uncontrollably in the $350 (~$519 today) chair. Per the Museum of Failure, the chair only lasted until 2010.
Dr. Steven Blair, a professor of exercise science, told ABC News he was dubious, noting that you could “twirl around” in an office chair, take a walk, or stand and also burn calories… for free.
BTW: Please enjoy this 15-year-old video of a radio newscaster attempting to share the news while sitting in a Hawaii Chair.
