📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

This Unassuming Kitchen Tool Blocks Wi-Fi So You Can Take Back Mealtime It looks like a pepper mill but it's really so much more.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Dolmio Australia | YouTube

Sick of family members blankly staring at their smartphones at the dinner table? Give them the grind -- the anti-tech pepper grind.

Sourced from: Dolmio Australia | YouTube

The creative masterminds at Australian pasta sauce maker Dolmio have cooked up a pepper grinder that looks like your standard wooden pepper mill, only it does something way better than crush peppercorns -- it crushes Wi-Fi. With a quick turn of the clever spice mill, the surrounding Wi-Fi signal is killed, allowing you to stealthily take back family mealtime or any other precious human interaction time that electronics have hijacked.

Related: This Gadget Makes Your Entire Kitchen 'Smart'

The sneaky Dolmio Pepper Hacker, modified with special electrical components stashed inside, doesn't just shut down area Wi-Fi. It also disables nearby TVs, smartphones and tablets. Evil, right? Evil genius, we say. All the while, it spices your food to help keep up the ruse.

The grinder's creators invented the Wi-Fi killer to bring technology-addicted families back together. In other words, less Facebook, more facetime. And drumming up some press doesn't hurt, either.

Related: Modernist Cuisine's Food Lab and the Science of Flavor

Check out the grinder in glorious action:

Instead of a kill switch, the pepper grinder has a kill twist. A quick twist of the crusher shuts down devices for 30 minutes, enough time to break bread and catch up with your fellow humans minus the gadget gazing. To pull off the covert trick, the pepper grinder works with an app called AirWatch, which remotely switches off devices.

While you're probably salivating over the opportunity to buy one, these handy devices aren't available to the public just yet. Dolmio produced only a limited number of the tricksters for testing. Still, it's a cool concept -- nothing to sneeze at.

Related: OMG Yes: A Smart Mattress Cover That Can Brew Your Morning Coffee

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business Culture

Avoid These 4 Blunders When Creating a Company Culture

To get a complete picture of whether your brand's atmosphere needs work, observe factors like absenteeism, participation, and body language.

Data & Recovery

Manage and Share Files Easier with a Great Deal on This Cloud Storage Subscription

Save 68% on a FolderFort subscription — the best price online.

Money & Finance

This Toxic Money Habit Is Becoming More Common — If You've Picked It Up, Your Finances Are at Serious Risk, Expert Warns

Kaitlin Walsh-Epstein, chief marketing officer at digital banking platform Laurel Road, reveals the frequent mistake.

Starting a Business

They Sold the Legendary CRUMBS Bakeshop and 10 Years Later Bought It Back for Just $350. Now the Company Is Cooking Up $1 Million in Sales.

Founders Mia and Jason Bauer discuss the birth and rebirth the bakery brand that launched a global cupcake obsession.

Marketing

How to Combine Your Online Marketing Tacts With In-Person Marketing

Here's how to combine offline and online marketing approaches for a better outcome for your business.