“Beep! Beep! Uhooogah! Warning! Warning! Water level too high! Do not flush! Repeat! Do not flush! I warned you. Blub-blub-blub.” It’s dark, you don’t think to check, but that sucker’s already backed up. It’s times like this you wish there was a Tidy Bowl Man — or a device — that bullhorned a warning.
Wouldn’t it be nice if politicians could pay a price for distorted campaign ads? Besides tossing them in the clink for deception (the best idea), how about you take away one vote for each time a voter might have seen that lie? One lie broadcast 50 times to 200,000 homes would be a loss of 1 million Read More …
Someday, just as computers have virus and spyware scans, maybe neural-computer hookups will be able to scan your brain for fallacies. Find that one stupid assumption that’s been screwing up your life. Be nice if this kind of hunt didn’t take a guy 35 years. Of course, the fear is futurist brain hookups will download more fallacies (thanks to Big Brother) Read More …
These book ideas I wrote down years ago might not be worth stealing, but maybe they’ll help you fire up a better one. Where’s Jesus? Like Where’s Waldo? but for religious types. Helpful Hints From O.J. Simpson Chapters (without admitting anything!) include How to Cut and Juke Your Way to Freedom, How to Hide Incriminating Knives, How to Read More …
To blog about one’s one opinions can be daunting. I mean, to be a reasonable, thinking person often means to be unsure, to see both sides. So how about a blog with a name like cuddafooledme.com, wudooiknow.com, or notsureaboutmuch.com? (These names were still available at the time of writing. But amazingly, idonotknow.com, idontknow.com and whatdoiknow.com were Read More …
Posted this idea on the Millions of Hundred-Dollar Ideas website, because its madcap maven, Drew Anderson, was nervy/nutty/nice enough to invite some folks to do a little ghostbloggging while he was on a trip.
That’s my new guidepost as I refine some board and card games I’ve designed. For an idea to succeed, it has to be simple enough to immediately grasp. And not just grasp the concept, but what it offers the user/player/buyer. It’s OK if complications ensue. Take Monopoly. A game of buying and selling real estate. Promises you’ll Read More …
Goofy idea. You know how deceased TV series have reunion shows? Of course, you do. Well, how about a reunion of deceased TV characters? Characters that got bumped off, rubbed out, erased, scriptwise and screenlifewise. Mrs. Hoober(?) from Desperate Housewives, George’s fiancee from Seinfeld, Shannon from Lost, the possibilities are many. They’d meet in some Read More …
Say an upscale mall wants to distinguish itself, attract visitors lost to megamarts and the Internet. Provide a way for shoppers to try and use Segways for free. Maybe there’s a track or strip just for Segways. Maybe it goes out to parking as well as inside. Read an interesting post about this at segwaychat.com that Read More …
Think about it. On TV, if you see two people who are happy, they’re probably eating, drinking or having sex. Maybe this is part of the obesity epidemic. Who shares the message: Feel lousy? Be patient. Sigh, suffer and cry, if you need to. The rottenness will pass and you’ll feel better. Trust me. It’ll happen. Or, Read More …
Want to outdo the Truth Booth? Right next to it, set up the Praise Chaise. (OK, I’m committing another Rhyme Crime.) Anyway, a silver-tongued host stands by a lounge chair, and invites people to lay back and relax, while getting effusively flattered (an ego massage). Bet this would do better business than the Truth Booth, but they might complement (and Read More …
More networks are dispensing their shows online. (It’s a desperate attempt to build audience for lame shows, says Philadelphia Daily News.) Well, if shows are so lame, why not let the nation’s amateur online talents have a crack at improving them? Lots of people make YouTube videos. And lots of people do some funny PhotoShopping Read More …
Caricatures. Palm readings. Balloon-tying. Face-painting. And once upon a time, kissing. Many are the arts and gimmicks people have provided in booths at fairs and malls, for profit and nonprofits. But how about a Truth Booth? Basically, somebody sits there and when someone pays a buck or two, gives a truthful answer to a question. Could be about the asker (“Is Read More …
Expect more and more products to serve the short-term memory-challenged and/or absent-minded scatterbrains (like me) as more boomers board the geriatric bandwagon. I’ll get out a prescription, get distracted, then forget: Did I take that pill or not. Sure I could use those multibox thingies with several compartments for each pill. But that would require me to be Read More …
It’s a dream of mine to design a miniature golf course and make it as unusual as possible. One simple but diabolical idea is to have a circular green that rotates with the hole simply in the center. Better not hit it straight toward the hole. So do aim left or right, to allow for your angular Read More …