At the talk I went to with one of the architects on the Space team at Continuum, he mentioned his experience helping design the Swiffer.  There was a big need for a product like this because previous cleaning appliances like mops would just push around the dirt into the corners of a room.  This product is small, engineered well, clean looking, easy to use and effectively cleans floor.  The Continuum employee said that there was a real need for a product in this space because people really cared about clean floors.  They asked real people if they could bring in a team to watch an ordinary person clean their floor.  When Continuum showed up the person had already cleaned their floor!  This was a place that had a lot of potential, and the Swiffer successfully filled the void.