FireFly

Strange and unusual new products that might be great to have -- and how to get your hands on them.

Our lives are just a bit too crazy these days. It's multitasking all around. We try to find ways to escape and ease the stress -- if only for a little while.

Enter Crazy Stuff -- 400-plus pages of wonderfully offbeat things perfectly suited to hectic schedules and wandering minds. Some of the stuff is plainly practical and bargain-priced, while some is outrageous and extravagant. The items range from low-tech goofiness (the "that's ridiculous" and "that's hilarious" thingamajigs) to high-tech contraptions that make life easier (the "why didn't I think of that?" and "I want one of those" treasures). All of them leave us admiring the quirky and sometimes questionable minds that dreamed them up in the first place.

Crazy Stuff is a great tongue-in-cheek-serious, buy-for-myself treat. It's also a fun gift item. And it's sure to be a popular impulse buy for the holidays.

All the items in the book are real. Each is presented with a color photograph and complete description. Suggested list prices and manufacturer's websites or other purchase information are all included:

• Need a little boost in self-esteem? How about your very own action figure? Looks like you, dresses like you, it is you (only smaller). Too bad it doesn't pay your bills.
• Is the snooze button your best friend? You need an alarm clock that wheels itself across the room and hides. The way to muzzle it is to get up and turn it off. But remember, it's meant to work -- don't smash it!
• Who likes luggage? Nobody we know. Enter Fido, the loyal robot suitcase that heels, following you around obstacles and through crowds. Should you get lost, Fido's GPS will find you. At least if you get lost, you'll have company.
• Need a break? Tickets for the maiden flight of Virgin Galactic into space are only $200,000. Sorry, one-way not available.
• Bummed-out basset hound? Get him a Doggy Smile Fetch Toy for $30. Your pooch will wonder why his pals at the park are howling with laughter. Available in two styles.
• Really, really have to go, do you? Can't find a clean toilet? You should have brought along The Gotta Go Briefcase. Elegantly appointed in mahogany leather with a toilet paper dispenser and a magazine holder. The only thing it lacks is air freshener.
• A bit too competitive, are you? Settle it once and for all with the Funtrak Paintball Panzer Tank. Yours for $20,000. That'll show 'em.
• Need a nail file? It's got it. A fish scaler? Got that, too. Can I offer you a cigar cutter, a can opener, a laser pointer...? From the designer of the original Swiss Army Knife comes the Giant Knife 2007: 87 different tools, 141 functions.
• Got the white Christmas blues? As in, it's always green. Guarantee a white Christmas with non-toxic Insta-Snow. For $20, it will cover a small front yard.
• Ladies, the tables have turned, sort of. Introducing the Inflatable Boyfriend. Popular with urban women fearful of driving alone at night, Mr. I.B. is easy to use. Just plug him into the cigarette lighter, watch him grow, and you're off.

For pure fun and pure fantasy, Crazy Stuff delivers.

Nicolas Marçais runs a Paris-based publishing company that specializes in innovative illustrated books. His extraordinarily broad range of interests -- everything from Italian design to Spanish movies to soul music -- is evident in the selection of crazy stuff that he's unearthed.

Philippe Marchand runs a Paris-based publishing company with Nicolas Marçais. He has a background in design, having worked as art director for some of the largest publishing companies in France. His interests are eclectic.