A selfie stick is a monopod used to take selfie photographs by positioning a smartphone or camera beyond the normal range of the arm. The metal sticks are typically extensible, with a handle on one end and an adjustable clamp on the other end to hold a phone in place. Some have remote or Bluetooth controls, letting the user decide when to take the picture, and models designed for cameras have a mirror behind the viewscreen so that the shot can be lined up
The 1983 "Minolta Disc-7" camera had a convex mirror on its front to allow the composition of self-portraits, and its packaging showed the camera mounted on a stick while used for such a purpose. A "telescopic extender" for compact handheld cameras was patented in USA in 1983, and a Japanese selfie stick was featured in a 1995 book of 101 Un-Useless Japanese Inventions. Canadian inventor Wayne Fromm patented his "Quik Pod" in 2005, and selfie sticks have been available in the United States since at least 2011. The product was listed in Time magazine's 25 best inventions of 2014.