By Lorraine Welsh

THE shower radio has come out on top of the worst household gadgets of all time. The little battery-operated wireless that people sing along to in the morning has been branded "pointless" by half of the 3000 women polled by insurance company Sheilas' Wheels.

This was closely followed by electric candles at number two and the electric nail file at number three.

First patented in 1985, the shower radio was invented and designed by Paul Siegel of Ridgefield, Connecticut,who was paid just one dollar to sign over all rights on the patent, and received no royalties on the hundreds of millions sold.

Since then, it has come in all different shapes, sizes and designs, including ones which hangs from the shower head, or stick to your bathroom tiles.

Other useless items on the top 20 list included a deep fat fryer, hair crimpers and an electric can opener.

Jacky Brown of Sheilas' Wheels said: "Women love trying out time-saving gadgets that can help them to tackle the daily challenge of juggling careers and family life.

"But many new gizmos which appear incredibly useful at purchase, just end up collecting dust and taking up cupboard space before too long.

"An unused gadget is just as much part of a contents inventory as the most relied upon appliance. You may not use it but you should still include it for insurance."

Some of the best gadgets ever invented, according to six out of ten women, were the microwave oven and the vacuum cleaner, which were dubbed "essential". They also agreed the DVD player was the one of the best inventions, while 53 per cent praised hair straightners.

Other items to feature highly on the "best" list were landline phones, mobile phones and laptops.

It's thought the life cycle of the average gadget is just over one year, mainly because more than 60 per cent of people find some gadgets they've bought are a waste of time once they have brought them home.

We asked the people of Glasgow which objects they considered useless, and if they had any gathering dust in their homes... Which gizmo do you reckon is just a waste of time and space? CORAL BEVAN, 19, student, Glasgow "Electronic books. Why can't people buy real books?" DANIEL McKEAN, 68, retired, Paisley "A cigarette holder ... if you don't smoke." KIRSTY FAULDS, 46, shop worker, Glasgow "My mother once bought a juice extractor. It lasted a week before the novelty wore off." DARIO CACIOPPO, 19, student, Glasgow "I had a random toy aeroplane gadget that lay in my wardrobe for nine years." LOUISE McDAID, 26, recruitment agent, Glasgow "My sister got two electric naildryers for Christmas - they were pretty useless." CRAIG McKAY, 21, storeman, Glasgow "I think iPods are pretty useless. I have one, but my mobile phone can hold all my music." RYAN DUNCAN, 26, recruitment agent, Glasgow "I'm blowing dust off my Nintendo Wii. There's no good games for it anymore." JACQUELINE McMILLAN, 61, retired, Glasgow "I have an electric whisk. I never use it - it's still in the box."