SkyMall Follies: "brightening the room" with WWII Chess

Plenty of reasons to hate domestic travel in the US - age of the aeroplanes, on board food (or lack of it), the "no way am I going to pay $25 to check this, it will fit in the overhead locker" attitude that has added 25 plus minutes to the boarding process etc. But I love reading SkyMall. This is the ubiquitous and free magazine that contains 200 plus pages of junk, crap, stuff, items for the discerning consumer.

I love this magazine because (much like Las Vegas, K-Tel and un-missable DVD collections of the Dean Martin Show) it shows that human beings can come up with just about anything to take money from you. In between this busy week of PhoCusWright posts and activities I am going to share with you three or four of my favourite SkyMall items. The ultimate in discerning items for the ultimate in discerning customers.

SkyMall Follies Item number 1 - WWII Chess Set and Storage Box $219.99.

Themed chess sets are nothing new. From Elvis to the Simpsons and everywhere in between companies have been reinventing the look of chess through replacing typical black vs white and rook and pawn with multi-colours and character pieces.

But now I have seen - through the magic of SkyMall - a remodelling of chess that not only breaks the rules of neutrality in the two sides of the chess game but carries a level of insensitivity that even a mindless kitsch product developer should have picked up.

In the spirit of "brightening the room" (their words) and "fun to play" (again their words) with the WWII Chess Set you can elect to either lead Franklin D Roosevelt (white king) and the American Military or Adolf Hitler (black king) and his German Troops. That's right for just $219.99 plus tax and delivery you can relive your fantasy of leading a "hand painted" and "detailed" 3.25 inch Adolf Hitler into strategic battles against the forces of freedom. Bargain. Staggering. Madness. A classic SkyMall folly. More to come