Fans should have blades. Yeah, we said it.

No doubt, bladeless fans make for a fun exhibit at the science center. But so does that big silver ball that makes your hair stand on end. What kind of person throws down three Franklins for a magic space fan of tomorrow when they can get a high-end bladed fan for fifty bucks or less?

Innovation junkies, that’s who. The same unhinged optimists who believed that by now we’d be living in cities designed for Segway travel. Who wear those toe shoes no matter what any study says about their health effects. Who still scan QR codes.

We’re not immune to a sense of wonder. But when we put on our fan-shopping hat (a leather Trilby with a green parrot feather in the band), we’re most impressed by the fan that moves the most air for the least money.

This particular Vornado - the last model made in the U.S. before the company moved all production to guess where? - is a step down from the fancy, cutting-edge Vornado model rated the best fan in the world by the product geniuses at The Sweethome. In this case, we’re willing to settle for a little less. The Vornado 610B isn’t going to warp your perception of physical reality like a bladeless fan. It will never make you go “Whoaaa…”. It’s just going to blow a lot of air at you. You know, like a fan.