8 Cool Products From Movies and TV That Actually Exist Now

sex panther cologne

Cool products that are available in real life, all thanks to their on-screen counterparts.

Major brands pay big money to have their products showcased in movies, but every so often the tables turn and a little thing called “defictionalization” happens: Cool products from movieland become products in real life – and personally, I couldn’t be happier. Here are 8 cool products from movies and TV to call your own:

1. Dunder Mifflin paper (“The Office”)

As a fan of both “The Office” and stationary supplies, I ended up all verklempt when I found out that Dunder Mifflin paper was an actual thing. The packages even feature their hilarious slogans like “Get Your Scrant On” and “Our motto is, Quabity First.”

2. Nikki Heat books (“Castle”)

I have to say, out of all the TV-inspired cool products that have been created, the Nikki Heat book series written by Richard Castle is effing genius. Although we know Richard Castle isn’t really the writer behind the series, there was nothing cooler than watching him pump out the prose during the first season of “Castle”, and later learn his first book, “Heat Wave”, became a New York Times bestseller IRL. Even the dedication and acknowledgments are written in the character of Castle.

3. Gobstoppers (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”)

The best way to feel like a kid again is to buy a box of Everlasting Gobstoppers, which are only the best candy ever. Based on the fictional candy in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, it was introduced in 1976 by Chicago candy company Breaker Confections (and is now owned by Nestlé). Unfortunately, they’re not everlasting like the ones in the book and subsequent movie, but they still hit the spot.

4. Fingerprint scanner (“Diamonds Are Forever”)

Tiffany Case’s biometric scanner in “Diamonds Are Forever” may have been fooled by James Bond’s fake fingerprint, but don’t expect your iPad to be. First available on the iPhone 5S, and coming soon on the iPad Air 2, you’ll use your fingerprint instead of a pin number to unlock your precious cargo. I’m sure there will be kinks to iron out in the system, but I’m looking forward to the day I won’t have to keep track of thousands of passwords anymore.

5. Sex Panther cologne (“Anchorman”)

Sixty percent of the time it works, every time… whatever that means. Sex Panther cologne is an officially licensed product inspired by “Anchorman” – and yes, it even growls when you open it!

6. Personalized billboards (“Minority Report”)

In “Minority Report”, there are mall billboards that recognize people individually and offer them products they might enjoy. In 2010, Japan’s NEC Corp. created a digital billboard that recognizes your age and gender and offers custom shopping suggestions. In the meantime, we’ve got Google ads casually suggesting ways to empty our wallets.

7. Shoes with self-tying laces (“Back to the Future”)

Word on the street (or rather, in the New York Post) is these babies are coming in 2015, courtesy of Nike – eeek!

8. Robot vacuum cleaner (“The Jetsons”)

Okay, so the Roomba and other robot-style vacuums have been around for about a decade, but in 2015 Dyson will be joining in on the action. While it’ll be a while before we have an adorable robot named Rosie who cooks our meals, folds our laundry, and keeps our floors clean a la “The Jetsons”, with what Dyson’s brought to the table in the industry so far I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re the ones to make our dreams come true.

What cool products do you want to see defictionalized?

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Krissy Brady

Krissy Brady is a women’s health + lifestyle writer who’s so out of shape, it’s like she has the innards of an 80-year-old. Instead of learning how to crochet, she decided to turn her emotional baggage into a writing career (genius, no?). You can follow her shenanigans on Twitter (you know, if you want).