Need a little more music in your water-boiling routine? Check out the delightful Alessi 9091 kettle, which sports a brass whistle that produces a pleasant little melody when the water's ready, rather than an ear-piercing screech.

The thing is, it's not really all that good of a kettle, as these things go. It's certainly very solidly constructed, maybe even indestructible, but there are tradeoffs: the kettle is quite heavy even when empty, and it takes a long time to heat up. It's also pretty expensive, at $330.

But, I argue that you don't buy something like this for practicality anyway. You can use it just like any kettle, but we already have the Bonavita variable-temp gooseneck for such things. The Alessi 9091 is more of a fun collector's item from the 1980s—a quirky art piece you can show off to your friends and family.