Beautiful and bizarre things to buy: From Chiva coffee table to FoldiMate

On the go: Car seat dining tray by PropShop

Having a meal on the go? This dining tray with cup holders hangs on to the car seat’s
head rest. No, it’s not just for children. At propshop24.com; Rs400.

Chiva coffee table by BoConcept .

Hot stand: Chiva coffee table by BoConcept

A hat tip to the best of Stockholm’s minimal design, this coffee table’s veneer and glass top lifts up to reveal concealed storage inside. At boconcept.com; Rs1,09,450.

Masterpieces calendar by the Met.

Table top: Masterpieces calendar by the Met

This 2018 calendar comes with 56 rich illustrations of masterpieces from Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York. Now organize your day with Van Gogh and Paul Klee for company. At Metmuseum.org; $11 (around Rs700).

2018 Icon Planner by Once Upon a Flutter.

Paper works: 2018 Icon Planner by Once Upon a Flutter

A tasteful black book cloth cover, decorated with gold foil on the outside and a 12-month compact agenda book on the inside, to help you plan your year with love. Onceuponaflutter.com; Rs2,500.

FoldiMate.

Smart laundry: FoldiMate

This robotic laundry folding machine will easily fold your clothes into neat piles. It can fold any type of shirt, blouse, or pants. It also folds standard-size towels and pillowcases (we battled trust issues on this one too).

Estimated price: $980; shipments expected by 2019 (US and worldwide)

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UPPY! Oral Rehydration Solution.

By Invitation: Vanities

An ode to things you don’t need but must have

This week: UPPY! Oral Rehydration Solution

Given that you would have attended the Headbangers’ Ball over the last few weeks, and regretted some of these evenings later, it is only wise to be forewarned and forearmed next time. All kinds of precautionary measures are suggested. Line the stomach with cheese, they say. A friend recommended a soft bread roll, cut in the middle where you add some hot butter and a few drops of Tabasco. I can vouch for this one.

But the more grown up among us understand the chemistry of getting wasted. Alcohol is a diuretic. It dehydrates you. And then the body cannot get rid of the merciless metabolites. Then there are other slime balls called congeners. While they enhance the taste and smell of grog, they essentially bequeath a bunch of toxins to the body.

At a cruelly dehydrating wedding of two friends, a wise lady pointed me in the direction of Uppy!. Essentially, it is an oral rehydration solution complete with electrolytes, minerals, vitamins and ginger. Primarily created to counter jet lag, it also offers assistance when you are metaphorically “flying". I am told that wily pilots the world over pop one or two tablets to land as crisp as a cucumber. The sodium, potassium, chloride and citrate are compliant with rehydration-accredited recommendations. The vitamin D, zinc and selenium give a general lift to the immune system. The vitamin B and magnesium reduce tiredness and fatigue while the vitamin C lulls the oxidative stress to sleep. It has a stevia sweetener. And yes, it is gluten-free.

Two tablets in a glass of water should do the trick.

Do not get an anxiety attack in the time it takes to dissolve—the level of the recipe makes it take 4-5 minutes.

Osmolality measures the total concentration of soluble ingredients in a solution. Uppy! has an osmolality of 280mOsm/kg. Which is so very wonderful given the fact that blood has an osmolality of 280-300mOsm/kg. Which means your body effectively absorbs it.

They ship all over the world. Six tubes of 10 tablets are good for 180 hours of flying.

(Uppy! is available on Uppyflyer.com. Six tubes cost €49.90, or around Rs3,800)

Swapan Seth is CEO, Equus.