Inventive Memorial Day Barbecuing

Nothing says summer quite like the aroma of food on the grill, a refreshing, cold drink in the hot sun, ?and the gathering of friends and family to kick off the season. ?

The Memorial Day barbecue is almost as ubiquitous as the flag we honor and the memes that remind us of the real purpose of Memorial Day: to remember those who fought and gave their lives to preserve our freedom.

As COVID-19 continues to morph into more contagious variations, social distancing is still a safe bet, and many will once again opt for a quieter Memorial Day gathering limited to immediate family. ?However, with a little creativity, and some help from clever inventions, you can enjoy the fun and sense of community that comes with grilling with your friends and loved ones while still keeping yourself and others healthy.?

For the Picnic

1. The Looft Lighter

"Mmm! I LOVE the taste of lighter fluid on my burger!" -NO ONE ever?

The Looft Lighter has the solution. Whether you're using wood or charcoal, this electric lighter uses superheated air to ignite any fuel in 60 seconds or less. You get all the natural flavor of wood or charcoal without the lingering aftertaste of starter fluid, plus it takes the tedium out of waiting for your fuel to fully ignite. If you've got an electrical outlet and a grill, hibachi or smoker, you've got the first steps to a delicious barbecue!?

2. iGrill Mini

No one likes to pull the chicken off the grill too early (salmonella, anyone?) or the steaks too late. (In many restaurants, ordering a steak well-done is taken as an open invitation for the chef to prepare the worst cut in the house and charge you for the privilege of, in essence, eating the restaurant's garbage.)??

But if you use an Apple device, there's now a thermometer and corresponding app that will tell you when your meat has reached optimum internal temperature. ?

The iGrill Mini from Weber is a Bluetooth-enabled probe thermometer. Simply tell the app what kind of meat you're cooking, and it will alert you when it reaches the right temperature, taking the guesswork out of when to separate meat and heat for a perfect, made-to-order cut of meat every time.?

3. Grillbot

You've seared off the meat, piled the plates high, the drinks are flowing and you're thinking about the softball game after the barbecue. But wait! You still have a grill face to clean. What a bummer!??

Luckily, the Grillbot has you covered. It works on the same principle as a Roomba: just set it, let it go, and forget it. It will sound an alarm when it's done, leaving you a pristine cooking surface for your next grilling adventure and letting you get on with the fun part of the day.?

4. Cooper Cooler Rapid Beverage Chiller

Who really prefers warm beverages in summer when they can have them ice-cold? If you need to chill drinks fast, the Cooper Cooler Rapid Beverage Chiller is your new best friend. You can cool individual cans and bottles of soft drinks and beer in around a minute, or if you're serving up white wine, you can chill a bottle of your favorite vino in about 6 minutes. Try doing that in your freezer!?

5. Coolest Cooler

If you've ever arrived at the party and realized you were missing something essential like utensils or a way to play your favorite tunes, you know how frustrating it can be to MacGyver a solution. Here’s a product that covers multiple needs, making your picnic packing list a lot shorter.?

The Coolest Cooler is a basic cooler at heart, but it also doubles as a Swiss Army barbecuing tool, incorporating a Bluetooth speaker, phone charger, blender (natch!), and serving utensils. The price point's a little stiff, but for everything you get, it's hard to argue that the Coolest Cooler wouldn’t make your backyard (or any other barbecue location) the hot spot in your neighborhood!?

For Keeping in Touch

While we’re trying to dodge new variants, there may still be friends and family members we won’t see in person on Memorial Day.

Thankfully, modern tech has served us well over the past couple of years, helping us stay connected and enjoy time with loved ones from a distance.

Some of these options work better at home than in remote areas such as on the beach, especially if you're on a limited-data mobile plan. So, if you want to reach out to Grandma with a video call from your picnic in the park's a good idea to test your communication tools beforehand to make sure they hold up in the environment where you're planning to use them.?

6. Zoom

Zoom has become one of the undisputed Titans of remote video conferencing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This feature-packed platform offers video chat that’s fairly stable and robust and can accommodate up to 100 participants for a 40-minute "meeting" on the free plan. ?

While the platform has suffered in the past from a plethora of security issues, including exploitable vulnerabilities, Zoom stepped up and corrected a lot of issues overall than some of its competitors. You probably won't want to share Aunt Mary’s super-secret potato salad recipe over the platform, though...

7. Skype

If you're doing a smaller, more intimate get-together, Skype's video conferencing program has stood the test of time. Connect with up to 50 contacts through your mobile app and enjoy the time together without a subscription. ?

Even better, if the call drops because of glitchy or dodgy cell service or WiFiWi-Fi, anyone on the call can reinitiate the conversation.?

8. Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts followed the lead of apps like Zoom, making their premium messaging and conferencing services more broadly available to anyone with a Gmail account. (Playing the odds, it's a fairly safe bet that almost everyone in your social circle has at least one Gmail account. Anyone who doesn't can't set one up in less than three minutes.) ?

While Google Hangouts is a bit more limited than Skype or Zoom (including the fact that it only allows up to 25 participants on a call, doesn't allow recording, and doesn’t provide customer support unless you have a G-Suite subscription), it's still worth considering for smaller get-togethers.?

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About the Author

John Rizvi is a Registered and Board Certified Patent Attorney, Adjunct Professor of Intellectual Property Law, best-selling author, and featured speaker on topics of interest to inventors and entrepreneurs (including TEDx).

His books include "Escaping the Gray" and "Think and Grow Rich for Inventors" and have won critical acclaim including an endorsement from Kevin Harrington, one of the original sharks on the hit TV show - Shark Tank, responsible for the successful launch of over 500 products resulting in more than $5 billion in sales worldwide. You can learn more about Professor Rizvi his patent law practice at?www.ThePatentProfessor.com

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