I recently stumbled across a neat website that posts a new and interesting product each day -- the Daily Grommet. At first, I didn't think too much about the name, because I was immediately drawn in by that day's product: an energy efficient home composter. Although it was way out of my budget and something I wouldn't rush out and buy, it was still a cool find. (And don't worry, the site posts some budget friendly products too.) What I enjoy most about this site is that in addition to simply advertising a product, it often describes the story that led to the creation of a product, as well as some useful info about the person or company that made it.  For the past couple of weeks, I've been checking out the "daily grommet," wondering what fun product it will be advertising each day... And then I started wondering, what is a grommet?

I looked up the meaning of "grommet" on dictionary.com and found a few different definitions, all of them relating to something ring shaped. The first definition was "any of various rings or eyelets or metal of the like." The rest of the varying definitions all shared a similar meaning but differed in the use and type of material: i.e.  machinery, nautical, military. For function, it is described as "an insulated washer of rubber or plastic, inserted in a hole in a metal part to prevent grounding of a wire passing through the hole." Then I went back to the Daily Grommet site and  tried to figure out the relationship between the dictionary's definition of "grommet" and the use of "grommet" in its title.

At first I had some trouble, and honestly I was about to give up this morning. I looked once more at the definitions the Daily Grommet provided: it is "a wonderful product still waiting in the wings, just ripe for discovery;" "it has great utility, or style, or invention. Or very often has all three;" and, "like any intelligent or beautiful product, it has a great story ready to be told." (Be sure to check out the website to see a complete list of all the meanings for "grommet.") As I was about to give up on finding a connection, the word "utility" suddenly jumped out at me. Although this is just one possible connection, I feel that a grommet possesses a great deal of utility, and that is something that both definitions share. Maybe you can think of some more appropriate or creative similarities, but hey,I think I'm off to a good start.

And when it comes down to it, I don't think it matters too much what an actual grommet is. All that really matters is that the Daily Grommet provides a great space for unique products to be discovered. And as consumers, we also have the wonderful opportunity of learning about a product and understanding where it comes from.

When you have a few minutes, check out TheDailyGrommet.com and find out what today's grommet is all about.