The World’s Smallest Automatic Umbrella

The Weather Channel reporters, with all their talk of Doppler radars and satellites and fear mongering weather graphics, are, in the end, just a bunch of liars. They may say you're in for sunny skies, but just hours later you'll find yourself beneath a torrential downpour, umbrella-less and unprepared. Hammacher Schlemmer has finally found a solution to the unreliable virus that is The Weather Channel in the form of the pocketable, keep-it-with-you-at-all-times World's Smallest Automatic Umbrella.

Measuring in at a mere 8 inches long when fully closed, the teeny tiny umbrella can actually open up to a full 40 inches in diameter, shielding you from whatever the heavens hurl your way. And from the look of its guts, small doesn't have to mean flimsy; it's packing a steel shaft, ribs, and stretchers that have—supposedly—been tested to withstand winds better than other, even larger compact umbrellas. Although, given some of the crap out there masquerading as rain protection, that may not be saying much. Still, $30 isn't bad for a fully automatic, pocket-sized umbrella that you can keep on your person at essentially all times. More here.