RoboMaid -- a great gift idea for under $20

My little brother got married recently and, as young couples do these days (so I'm told), he and his wife worked out a fair and equitable system for sharing the housework. One of the things on his list was sweeping the floors, so he immediately bought a couple of these RoboMaid robotic sweepers. He says the things work brilliantly, and I think they're also a great gift idea.

A RoboMaid sweeper is an electronic ball that randomly rolls around the room, inside a hat-shaped sweeper. It picks up dirt, dust, hair etc. from all sorts of smooth floor surfaces like tile, wood, and linoleum. It has a timer, so you set it for enough time to clean the room, and RoboMaid will automatically shut itself off. Its not a particularly bright robot, so it won't find its way back to its recharger, but it gets the job done, and is a bargain for 10 bucks.

I think they're a great gift for the laugh factor alone, but when RoboMaid proves its usefulness, it won't end up being "regifted" on eBay like so many other gifts seem to do these days.

You can find RoboMaid at Shop.com for $10.00 + $7.99 s/h