Clogged drains are really annoying, especially when it becomes a chronic problem. Our current apartment has been great so far, no complaints. Recently however, the drain for our bathtub was getting slower and slower; so much so that by the end of a shower we’d be wading in an ankle high puddle. After some searching and trying a handful of products, we finally found something that worked!

BABOON is a hip startup that sells travel bags. I was drawn in by the bold art direction of the photos/illustrations (good-looking models in strange David Lynch-esque situations and funny mashups like monkeys and dinosaurs) and cool interactions on their website and decided to get one. It was as impulse a buy because I didn’t really need a bag, but the prospect of getting something super new with some funky design details sounded like a good use of personal funds.

Check out the copy they use on their website for the bag I bought, the Go-Bag — Small in Blue + Dinos in Paradise ($175). Some might say it’s trying too hard. Others might find it entertaining. I think I was in the latter category:

The car pulls up at around midnight. Your phone lights up. The bag is at your feet, and it seems to have a glow to it. This bag tempted you to say ‘fuck it, I’m out.’ Roommates are sleeping, cat is sleeping, the whole world is sleeping. You’re a loon on the loose, a modern day trailblazer, a contemporary pioneer. Or at least a temporary pioneer. We’ll worry about the 9-5 in about 9 or 5.

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I got hit with a Facebook video ad a couple months ago. It was for a pillow that’s unlike any other pillow out there. They likened it to sleeping on the tummy of a jolly fat man.

The timing of this ad couldn’t have been better for the advertiser. I had been struggling with a sore neck for the past three weeks. I’m pretty sure I dinged it when I was working out at the gym. My neck got progressively worse over the next week. My pillow, the highly-rated Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury Bamboo Shredded Memory Foam Pillow, felt like it was making my neck even worse. I had several nights in which I reshaped the pillow all kinds of ways, turned it over and over several times, and even tried sleeping without one. I was fed up and grouchy from my uncomfortable sleep and sore neck.

That’s when the Purple Pillow came into my consciousness through a clever ad. It’s an entertaining one that’s worth watching just for laughs. The promise of a cooler pillow with amazing support felt like a silver bullet. I immediately clicked through and read about the product before placing my purchase. At $99, it was almost double the price of the Snuggle-Pedic, so I had some high hopes. They did have free shipping as well as a 100-night risk free trial offer, so worst case was that I would be able to return it if I hated it.

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I distinctly remember the feeling. After an 8-mile run on a Sunday evening, I stood in my shower and felt a prickly sensation on my nipples as the water ran down my body. Ouch. I looked down and saw that my nipples were reddish and looking raw. On previous long runs, I had worn a tight Underarmour shirt that had zero sway with my movement. This time around, I had on a looser shirt and I paid the price. The running had caused some major nipple chafing.

I knew I didn’t always want to wear a tight spandex shirt to run, so I looked for options on ways to prevent nipple chafing online. Vaseline seemed to be a popular method, but I didn’t particularly find the idea of applying the greasy and oily substance very appealing. I read up some more and came across Body Glide Original Anti-Chafe Balm. They sell what looks like a deodorant stick that you can apply on various parts of the body to prevent chafing.

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