Bell-bottom jeans, the Chia Pet, and the $5 latte. What do they have in common? All were seemingly ridiculous ideas that were brushed over and laughed at in the conceptual phase. But who’s laughing now?

We were inspired by a number of events and marketing campaigns throughout the year to come up with our own list of products that we think have the potential to become the next must-haves. Move over Tickle-me Elmo.

Alas, we are not in the merchandising business. We are simple money managers. So we are making our list public in the hope that some brave entrepreneur will grab one of our ideas by the horns and run with it.

Inspired by:

Lululemon – disposable testing kits to measure the amount of seaweed and marine vitamins in your yoga wear. The last thing you want in the middle of a Bikram session is for your shirt to stop emitting those all-important amino acids into your skin.

Aquafina – ‘Olympic Water’. Apparently it’s O.K. to sell water from a tap, so why not bottle it from a tap at Whistler. Throw a pair of skis and an Inukshuk on the label, and sell to the rest of the world the water that the athletes will be drinking in 2010. Only $4 a bottle.

The U.S. housing market – a mortgage calculator (that works).

Bell advertising – a beaver trap.

Donald Trump – a Rosie O’Donnell dart board. Sales to The Donald and Elisabeth Hasselbeck alone should put you well on the path to retirement with this one.

Everybody already has an iPod, Blackberry and portable GPS. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for the next blockbuster idea, think outside the little black box in 2008.