When I used to play Monopoly as a kid, I always seemed to end up being the iron. I have no idea why. My older brother would always grab my favourite first - the sports car. I'm not really a big fan of sports cars; it just seemed to be the only practical method of travelling from street to street available in the game. My second choice was the iron. I suppose it was because it was such an odd thing to be. An iron! In my harder to impress adult life, the iron is a far less interesting object. It stands for time-consuming boredom. Gratefully, design student Mary Hackney has taken steps to revitalise the universally despised item, whilst sparing a thought for the difficulties men have with them. This new improved iron caters for the fact that many men have problems when using their larger hands with small handles and dials. Other features include a "go-faster stripe" and a scanning device to recognise the fabric being ironed in order to adjust the temperature accordingly. Hmm, I think I'd still rather have the sports car.

Via BBC News.