'Tis the Season for Horrible Gift Ideas

I was in Georgia yesterday. After speaking to the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers (nice meeting you, we’ll have to do that again), and playing a ridiculous game of telephone trying to keep current with Above the Law (an HLS grad set S&C on fire on a $7,500 dare?), I was looking forward to a relaxing plane flight home.
Some years ago, my wife introduced me to the hilarity of the in-flight Sky Mall magazine. There is perhaps no finer collection of totally useless items. I wasn’t in “ATL-mode,” but this particular gift made me want to violate FAA regulations and post from the runway:

Passing the Bar
The perfect gift for law students
A great gift for law students, both throughout law school and to help prepare them for the Bar Examination. With “Passing the Bar” flashcards, your favorite law student will spend more time studying, in an enjoyable, fun setting. Fun for lawyers too!
The game includes 350 Mulitstate Bar Examination (“MBE”) Cards (featuring legal questions modeled after the MBE), and 100 Justice Cards (featuring celebrity run-ins with the law, movie quotes from notorious and gripping courtroom dramas, outrageous verdicts and alike). Additional game cards (sold separately) includes 450 questions from previous Bar Examinations, released by the NCBE.

Not cool, man. Not cool.
Tipsters weigh in after the jump.


I wasn’t the only airborne person that noticed this “game.” This morning, a tipster emailed me the link to Passing the Bar, with this commentary:

Saw an ad for “Passing the Bar,” a Monopoly-like game targeted at law students & lawyers, in SkyMall. My favorite part is the “justice cards,” featuring celebrity run-ins with the law, movie quotes from notorious and gripping courtroom dramas, outrageous verdicts and alike.

Needless to say, if anyone tries to buy me this for Christmas, they’re in trouble.

I thought turning learning into a game was something only elementary school teachers did for ADHD kids who are saddled with parents that won’t whup their asses. Soon-to-be legal professionals shouldn’t need to be fooled into studying for the bar.
And while we’re here, what in the world do “celebrity run-ins with the law” and “movie quotes” have to do with passing the bar? That’s my job.
Just to be clear, do not purchase this gift for the law student in your life. Instead, consider this:

Tranquil Sounds Oxygen Bar
Work, stress, drinking and environmental factors deplete our oxygen and affect our health. This device helps you feel rejuvenated and relaxed. Breathing 30% oxygen-enriched air from the included headset gives your body the clean, fresh oxygen it craves.

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Now that sounds like what people need when they are studying for the bar exam.

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