While recent decades have had their share of odd and failed inventions — looking at you, Google Glass and Apple Newton — the 1980s certainly weren’t spared from questionable creations either. With a focus on both style and supposed functionality, the tech landscape of the '80s birthed gadgets that promised more than they could deliver, sometimes raising safety concerns along the way.
From a cassette player with a built-in calculator to the awkward, eye-straining design of the Private Eye, the era is packed with bizarre and head-scratching devices. Dive into these 14 curious inventions from the 1980s that had their moment but left us wondering how they ever existed in the first place.
Related: 8 Weird and Wacky Failed Inventions from the Past
