Wacky Apple iPhone cases for all ages

We have a saying in the media business: Find three examples of anything and you've got yourself a trend. And so, we feel confident in officially declaring that iPhone cases are most definitely getting more insane.

See below for the definitive proof.

1. Opena: When an iPhone case is also a bottle opener (pictured above).

How to explain the thinking behind Opena, the iPhone case that can be used to both protect one's iPhone, and...open bottles! The company's tag line is: "The world's first iPhone 4 case with a slide out bottle opener included in the back." Superfluous? Yes. But there is logic behind the madness. As the Australian founders of the company say on its website: "If you're anything like us you like to travel light. The one thing we always have on us is our phones. The one thing we always seem to be looking for is a bottle opener." And apparently people on the Internet agreed with them. The company reached 188% of its initial funding goal on the website kickstarter.com in less than a month.

Price tag: $39.95.

2. Talk about an earful! 

What's not to love about this impractical, totally ridiculous, way-too-embarrassing-to-even-contemplate-using iPhone case? The name of the product -- Through the Ears -- is almost as cumbersome as the product itself. It's available for purchase at Urban Outfitters' website, where a sage and balanced reviewer who received it as a birthday present said that it was an instant and hilarious hit with friends and family, while also acknowledging that when it came time to actually use the phone, "those who were on the other end of my calls often could not hear me and I would end up removing the ear in order to speak to them, leaving my phone temporarily unprotected and eliminating the effect and purpose of the ear."

Price tag: $16.

3. The iPhone as teether case.

A Fisher-Price iPhone case for baby? You know it! Search the Fisher-Price website and you'll find the "Laugh & Learn Apptivity Case" under baby items. According to the company the case is dribble- and drool-proof, and compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and the second, third and fourth generations of the iPod Touch. Fisher-Price also makes apps for baby.

Price tag: $15.

Looking for something slightly more practical? See more iPhone cases in the gallery below.

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Images from top to bottom: Opena, the iPhone case that is also a bottle opener, with image courtesy of Opena; Through the Ears giant ear iPhone case, with image courtesy of Through the Ears; and Fisher-Price's Laugh & Learn Apptivity Case, with image courtesy of Fisher-Price.