Our Most Useful Objects

In our final part of 2020’s The Wisdom of Crowds series and just in time for Christmas, we take a look at the objects this year’s interviewees and interviewers find most useful. What about yours? Which object has helped you the most? Leave your recommendations in the comment box below!

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In our final part of 2020’s The Wisdom of Crowds series and just in time for Christmas, we take a look at the objects this year’s interviewees and interviewers find most useful. What about yours? Which object has helped you the most? Leave your recommendations in the comment box below!

Q: Which is the most useful object you’ve ever owned and why? 

Siddharth Mazumdar, 17-year-old inventor:
My Philips Beard Trimmer, rather nice to trim the beard rather than shave it all off.

Yip Yew Chong, a muralist:
Perception of useful objects change through time, nothing in particular I favour. But if you mean relating to my most recent ventures, the iPad with the Procreate software helped me kick-start my digital drawing adventures in 2018. 

Cho Jun Ming, N-Level student and film-maker who lost his father early:
My phone. Because with a phone you can do anything you want or that you can realistically think of. For example, with an internet phone you get to use Google, you get to learn things, you get to interact with people, create videos, do all sorts of things so I think a phone is the most useful. To me. Besides money.

Victor Fernando R. Ocampo, speculative fiction author:
My phone to survive in modern society, as well as a notebook and a 2B pencil to escape it.

Kauai, 2020 LUCK-IT Interviewer: 
iPhone! Just can’t get rid of it. It makes life much more convenient.

Desti, adult colouring book designer
The laptop is definitely the most useful object; I get lots of use from it, you can do anything from work to communication to leisure on it.  

Choo Bin Yong, game designer who runs solo:
My desktop computer is probably my most useful object I own. I have been using a computer to do all of my works so it’s something very important to me.

Cedric, child-free by choice:
Probably my computer—I make music and browse Reddit on it. 

Leanne, popular Instagrammer:
Mobile phone. Doesn’t sound like a poetic answer but it is what it is haha! It’s very functional and does almost everything. Or maybe a perfume. Besides improving well-being, it makes the first and the last impression.

Tony, 80-year-old blogger:
My smartphone is certainly the most useful object I have ever owned. It’s like science fiction. If I am going to ride my bike, I check the radar on my phone to see that there are no storms coming. I get phone calls on it, send/receive emails, follow the stock market, take pictures.  Remember, I was nine years old in 1949. We got the first tv in the neighborhood. It broadcast three hours a day and we had people over every night to see it. That is an amazing contrast to experience in one life.

Joan, a minimalist:
Many things I own are useful otherwise I won’t be owning them. However, I must say the 3 most life-changing things I’ve owned are:
1. Menstrual cup: I know they are expensive but in turn, mine has lasted me over 5 years. I have not turned back since. I have super heavy periods and this cup has cut down my waste and expenses on buying disposable pads.
2. Kettlebell: Ever since I was diagnosed with TMD (temporomandibular disorder), I had to cut down on lifting weights to only 5KG in total. My fitness took a real hit. I now own a gym mat, an exercise band and a 6kg kettlebell. These 3 items are really versatile, portable and help me to keep as much muscle as I can afford to build right now.
3. Handheld Glass Massager: Came as a free item from Sephora. However, it really helps to get the pesky knots out of my shoulder and jaw. Haven’t had a locked jaw episode since I added daily self-massages into my routine.

Ms Lena Lok, founder of an art school:
I have a Wacom Tablet that has been with me since I was 19 years old! The tablet is now 14 years old and still works very well. It has helped me design and illustrate many things including my two companies’ logos and marketing materials, my wedding invitation card, my book ‘ABCs of Singapore’ (written by my twin sister Lydia Lok) and even a Christmas packaging for Doki Doki- a fruit juice company. If only all electronic products can last as long, haha.

Simon Templar, retired US Marine:
A Leatherman tool (made in USA).

Jason Koh, dungeon master:
Probably all the notebooks in life. I always have one lying around to scribble fresh ideas in.

Kinge, who quit social media:
A mountain bike. I learnt many virtues such as patience and gratitude waiting to own one but most importantly are the fond treasured memories of my parents that I strive to keep alive every day.

Dr Bob Rich, author of 18 books:
Little Bob. He is not exactly an object, nor a person, but a sort of a leprechaun that lives inside my head. You can inspect him here.

Norsham Mohd, a former Muslim:
Most useful object: A gold pendent given to me by a patient. I was a hospice volunteer nurse with the Singapore Hospice Society. This girl had been under my care from the day she was diagnosed till her last breath. It was a journey I went through with her… from the day she said she was afraid till the day she said, “I am ready to go.” After her death, her brother gave me a pendent. Said it was instructed by his late sister to give the pendent to me as a memory with an inscription at the back: ‘Love from XXXX’.

Sean Munger, a former Atheist:
That’s hard to answer because I don’t really think of the world in terms of material possessions. I’ve had the same pair of shoes for 3 years and they haven’t worn out, does that count?

Sy, who runs LUCK-IT:
A yearly journal in which I jot down everything I do every day and lessons I learn along the way. Before I began journalling daily, life felt like just a fuzz of days with no solidified destination—you come up with goals, you forget them, you operate on pure instinct. Having goals and progress written down on paper really helps me see the bigger picture of what my life is about, not just now but years down the road, and helps me understand better what I should be doing next to make the most of this life.  

Oliver Chong, a theatre practitioner who has schizophrenia:
My mind. I think, therefore I am. 

More in The Wisdom of Crowds series here.

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