My sister always makes fun of me for anthropomorphizing inanimate objects but Fujitronic Manufacturing clearly understands how to grab people like me. Their I-Box refrigerator for children is a working fridge but it's shaped like a dog or polar bear and rather confusingly, includes a different virtual pet (panda, tiger, penguin, or dog) in the on-door LCD. There doesn't seem to be any connection between the fridge and the pet, so if you yourself don't partake in a substantial snack for a while, your pet will be fine. Or it may die. But not because you didn't eat, it's just because that's how those things are, they are very fragile and hard to keep alive. If the pet dies, you don't have to keep looking at its lifeless body while you reach for the yogurt, the game can be restarted. Cute, and I'd like one for my office, but it's expensive, $400. The I-Box is available in Asia, but Fujitronic is still seeking distribution in the rest of the world.

From WSJ (subscription).