There are some clever designers and engineers out there. Beyond tech that you can buy to improve your life, there are also plenty of awesome gadgets in the real world which make a big difference to how you live your life.

We've collected some of the most interesting designs of gadgets and gizmos from everyday life, that'll make you wonder how you lived without them.

A re-purposed phone booth

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Reddit

With the advent of mobile phones, people rarely have a need for payphones anymore.

This old phone booth has been converted into a convenient place to get some extra juice for your smartphone instead. A fairly nifty re-purposing of something old and obsolete.

A touch-free bathroom door

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Reddit

Public washrooms are potentially awash with germs. Sure you might have washed and dried your hands, but what about the hundreds of others who have passed through that door?

If you have clean hands and touch the same handle, you might as well have not washed them in the first place. This simple design gets you to use your wrist instead - for hands-free, germ-avoiding opening.

Shipping container homes

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Adam Kalkin

We're certainly a wasteful society, but there are designers and passionate people striving to make the world a better place by reusing materials and things in new ways.

Recycling and repurposing. One example of this is homes made from disused shipping containers.

Doggy dens

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wendzedin

In Denmark, they have an ingenious solution to this problem. These doggy dens prevent your pooch from being stolen and also have a built-in automatic disinfectant and cooling system. All this means you can do your shopping safe in the knowledge that your furry pal is safe outside.

A mirror that can tell you the weather

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Reddit

This hotel mirror is located near the elevators and tells you what the weather is like outside before you leave the building.

Of course, you could just look out of your room window, but where's the fun in that?

A modern phone booth

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Reddit

Libraries have always been a place for peaceful reading and quiet reflection. But in this modern age of always-connected smartphones, it's hard to avoid interruptions.

That's where the "cone of silence" comes in. This is a special booth in an American library that allows library-goers a private place to take (or make) a phone call without disturbing fellow library users.

Colourful elevator buttons

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Reddit

A brilliant colourful design appears in the elevators of UIHC Stead Family Children's Hospital. As well as numbering each floor (and providing braille) the designers here have assigned a colour and animal/object to each floor.

This means kids at the hospital will have an easier time of remembering what floor they're on when they need to get back to their room from elsewhere in the hospital.

An icy bar for keeping drinks cool

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Reddit

This nifty little strip of metal can be seen at some bars for keeping your drinks cool while they're not in use.

Apparently, if you search hard enough you can find photos of people who pulled a Dumb and Dumber and licked it only to have the fire brigade come to rescue them.

The umbrella safe

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Reddit

This is a special umbrella storage unit that allows members of the public to store their umbrellas and lock them in place so no one else can make off with them.

A key is required to remove them. Apparently, this sort of device is a common sight in Japan.

Anti-roll crayons

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Reddit

Perhaps one of the simplest designs on our list but no less awesome.

These are hexagonal crayons discovered by one Reddit user at a restaurant. The unusual shape is designed to help stop them from rolling off the table. Simple but effective.

Even the floor is educational

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Reddit

The flooring at the London Science Museum is educational. Take a close look and you'll see chromosomes starting back at you.

Mini golf fish food

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Reddit

There's a lot to like about this image. Firstly it shows a mini-golf course on a pier, that's fairly awesome in itself.

What's even cooler is the balls are biodegradable fish food. The last hole on the pier drops right into the ocean and provides sustenance to the local swimmers.

A multi-use door

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Reddit

This is an interesting door design for sure. This hotel room is designed in such a way that the door can shut off either of two different doorways. Weird and wonderful architecture. They say when one door closes, another opens. Not in this case.

Evacuation plan at floor level

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Reddit

At first glance it might look like this hotel's evacuation plan has just fallen off the wall and landed on the carpet, but it's actually purposely mounted at this level.

Why? Because in the event of a fire (and lots of smoke) the best thing to do is to hit the floor and try to find an exit. This will keep you below the smoke as hot air rises, but how will you know where to go? Check this floor level plan to find the emergency exits!

Interesting chair storage solution

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Reddit

This university has a really cool, space-saving seat storage solution which allows you to pop unused chairs in the wall. It also gives easy-access to extra seating whenever it's needed.

Spillbot

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Reddit

This is Marty. He's a special safety robot employed by Stop&Shop supermarkets to trawl the aisles in search of spillages, debris or tripping hazards. Of course, he's probably a hazard himself, but a cool and useful one at least.

Wake up call

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KristjanHrannar

This is a neat idea if you're on holiday and want to see the sights that a place has to offer.

In Iceland, there's a hotel that has a special wake-up button on the phone where they will call you if the Northern Lights are visible. Ideal if you don't want to miss out on the special scene.

Heated driveway

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thepoorgroomsbride

This person has a heated driveway that melts the snow when it's cold. No doubt wonderfully convenient, though I bet they wish it also melted the snow and ice off their car too.

TV light simulator

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skymaredreamseek

Ever left the lights on at home so burglars don't think your house is empty? Well, this gadget goes a step further by mimicking the lights and colours you'd get from a TV. Clever.

Random keypad

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celebi1023

This keypad puts the numbers in a random order each time so people can't watch which buttons you press to decipher the pin.