Here's a great example of re-thinking an everyday object and using a little science to improve the user experience:

The shape of your basic cooking pot hasn't changed much since its invention, though nowadays we use metal drawing rather than hand-hammering. But an unnamed Japanese inventor has been prototyping pots with Bundt-pan-like fluting in the sides, angled in the manner of a helical gear. The reason? When heated up, convection causes the liquids within to move (hot water rises to the top), and the vortex shape channels that movement into a fixed direction. The result is a pot that essentially stirs itself!

A Japanese company called Watanabe Co. Ltd is currently seeking a manufacturer for the device, called the Kuru-Kuru Nabe ("Round and round pot.")