A cut above

Not a gizmo, but a US study found that the now very trendy avocados caused about 8,900 A&E visits in a year – that’s 24 every day. But how on earth could a simple fruit give us so much pain?

There’s a knack to cutting an avocado, but the knife can slip through the flesh or off the stone and into your hand or fingers. You’ll get a nasty stab wound and, depending on how deep it is, it could be serious. A plaster or a few stitches might do the trick, but in severe cases the cut damages tendons, nerves or muscles and you’ll need hand surgery.