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Humans have appreciated innovative interior lighting since the first cave dweller backed into the fire, torching his loincloth. I grew up when it was considered stylish to have a pole lamp in the living room. The lamp was made of a metal pole with spring-loaded top and bottom caps that held the pole between ceiling and floor. Any number of bulbs set in cones sprang like crazy branches from this lighting tree.

Hence, I have a wide bandwidth of appreciation when it comes to odd lamp designs.

Unique drip-lighting

Photo by Yanko Design

Perfect for the stay-at-home person in your family, this lamp looks great when set beside the couch where your potato surfs the channels all day and night.

Teetering at the delicate edge of taste

Photo by Home Design Imperial

You know who you are. When you drive anywhere, your dachshund has to sit on your lap.  It doesn’t matter if you have a short-haired, wire-haired or long-haired wiener dog, this is the lamp for you.

Don’t do it!

Photo by Toxel

London’s Play Collection offers this Martyr Lamp made from stainless steel. It strives endlessly to pull out its own plug and descend into darkness.

Up, up and away

Photo by Generate

Ballooning isn’t just an outdoor pastime. Designer Kouichi Okamoto created this balloon lamp – available in a host of colors – that adds gaiety to your room for $29. Lamps are powered by a lithium coin battery and LEDs.

Which came first?

Photo by Ontwerpers

The idea for this curious piece came from fish that swim in the deepest depths of the sea, light-emitting filaments on the tops of their heads. The Light-Up chair is made from fiber-reinforced artificial resin and steel. Ontwerpers has the goods on this curious hybrid.

It’s time again for a roundup of tools and appliances that manufacturers have recalled thanks to pressure from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In rounding up this installment, I discovered that the CPSC actually has some muscle. In negotiations with the watchdog, Hewlett-Packard Company has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $425,000 for not reporting hazardous defects in lithium-ion battery packs.

According to the CPSC, HP released 32,000 lithium-ion battery packs (since recalled) knowing that there were defects that caused hospitalization. And now, onto recent recalls:

Trimmer tool with a vengeance

Photo by CPSC

American Honda has recalled more than 17,000 model number HHT35SUKAT gas trimmers after receiving consumer complaints of broken or cracked shafts. Once the shaft is broken, the CPSC says, all bets are off as to whether garden plants or human flesh gets trimmed. New license plate: Guns don’t kill people; garden tools kill people.

You’re fired

Photo by CPSC

The roofing industry has recognized the green building trends across the country and some products are truly welcome with consumers. Not so, however, with Suntech America’s SolarBlend roof tiles. The CPSC reports that connectors between the heat-gathering tiles and the wiring to the systems can come loose, creating fire hazards. The systems cost between 15,000 and $100,000, depending on the size of your home. Check with Suntech to see if your tiles are involved in the recall.

STIHL crazy after all these years

Photo by CPSC

Talk about garden tools on the warpath, Stihl’s MS 391 chain saws have been recalled after it was discovered the unit’s flywheels have a tendency to crack and go airborne. At that point it’s not necessary that they strike anyone, since their freedom was not part of the mechanical considerations in designing the saw. Check for your model’s serial number at the CPSC report page.

Whew. Home chores and improvements are hard enough without the tools turning on you!