#1,464 – DoorStash

We’ve all had food delivered to us.  Pizza.  Chinese food.  Perhaps even something like Taco Bell thanks to the modern convenience of food delivery services like GrubHub and Uber Eats.  But what happens when we want to have our food delivered somewhere else?  What recourse do we have?  The sad answer is that nothing happens.  Our leftovers just get discarded.  Tossed aside.  Wasted.

I’d like to change that by doing something that a lot of restaurants do and that’s donating leftovers to charity to feed the homeless.  It’s an issue that we’re all well aware of, that we’d all like to do something about, but the problem is that there just isn’t any infrastructure in place to create a reverse supply chain.  But I think that there is.  The infrastructure already existing in the form of the food delivery services themselves.

Instead of delivering fresh food drivers would just pick up leftovers.  Delivering them to homeless shelters and food banks.  A reverse delivery service of sorts, with the pickups and deliveries getting handled through the app just like when you’re ordering a 2 am delivery from Jack in the Box.  Costs covered by the consumers who could then use the donations as a tax write-off.

Instead of DoorDash this would be DoorStash and it would have the potential to fix our logistical problem, finally figuring out what to do with all that wasted leftover food once and for all.

Is DoorStash the Greatest Idea Ever?

#1,463 – Books, Looks, and Hooks

In regular speed dating eligible bachelors play a glorified game of musical chairs, rotating from table to table in five minute increments, trying to make a good first impression while speaking about any topic they can think of.  Books, look, and hooks would be more focused.  No ice breakers necessary.  No corny pickup lines needed.  Instead, the only thing you are allowed to comment on or talk about is the book that the lady has chosen to bring with her.

If she brings Harry Potter you’ll instantly know that this is a woman with good taste, a fellow nerd perhaps, somebody with whom you’re likely to have similar interests.  A travelogue would be a sign that she suffers from wanderlust.  An Anne Rice novel that she suffers from regular lust and has no interest in a serious, long-term relationship.  Meanwhile, a true crime novel is likely to indicate what kind of shows are in her Netflix queue.  While a non-fiction book may indicate what she likes to do IRL.

The idea stems from a post I saw on Twitter a few weeks ago, where a woman noticed that men would continuously come up to her if she was reading a book about baseball.  Striking up a conversation over balls and strikes.  Hitting on her in more ways than one.  And it makes sense.  Having a shared interest is the ultimate ice  breaker.  Making it more likely that you’ll want to talk to someone you otherwise would have never had the courage to talk to.  And maybe, just maybe, it can also make speed dating a little more tolerable.

Is a speed dating event involving books the Greatest Idea Ever?

#1,462 – Pickle Bouquets

Need a gift idea for Valentine’s Day?! Then you might want to consider getting your loved one some pickles. After all, one can never go wrong with a pickle.  But, I’m not just talking about a regular old jar of pickles.  No, that would be lame.  Rather, I’m talking about getting your significant other someone more traditional. Something more in the spirit of the holiday.  Such as a bouquet.  Albeit one made of pickles instead of roses.  That’s right.  The hottest gift trend this year is a pickle bouquet!

But it’s not just pickles stealing someone’s heart.  Other delicacies and snacks are getting into the fun as well.

As USA Today puts it, “Although roses continue to be one of the top-selling Valentine’s Day gifts, other bouquets are gaining in popularity: Think meaty ones made with bacon and beef jerky, sour ones with pickles or sweet ones with candy, cupcakes and doughnuts.”

As tempting as some of those would be I think I’ll stick with a pickle bouquet!  The obvious key to anyone’s heart.

Is a pickle bouquet the Greatest Idea Ever?

#1,461 – Solgami

I want to protect the environment by making eco-friendly choices but there’s only so much that I can do.  As an apartment dweller I can’t even install solar panels despite the fact that I live in the middle of the Arizona desert.  But thanks to Solgami and their new origami-style blinds all that may be about to change.

As Fast Company puts it, “Solar on windows isn’t a new idea, and others have created coatings that can go directly on glass. But the alternatives have been inefficient and darken rooms. ‘Largely, it’s reducing the quality of your light–why would you put something in your window that’s going to cut your light by 50% just to gain a small amount of electricity?’ says [architect Ben] Berwick. Solgami’s design, by contrast, can make an apartment brighter as it works. ‘It’s a bit of a reconnection to the natural setting,’ he says. ‘It’s making your apartment a better place to be.’”

It does that by reflecting light against the folds of the panel in such a way as to let more natural light inside.  An ingenious concept that could finally make it so that everyone, regardless of whether they own their own home or not, can participate in the solar revolution.  Helping to reduce our planet destroying reliance on fossil fuels once and for all.

Is Solgami the Greatest Idea Ever?

 

#1,460 – Targeted Audio

We all learned growing up that it was rude to share secrets but the time may have come to rethink our stance as secrets may soon be the coolest thing around.  The change in heart coming on account of the fact that MIT has invented a way to deliver a targeted message to someone that only the recipient can hear.  Using lasers!

As Futurism puts it, “Scientists have figured out how to use a laser to transmit audio, ranging from music to speech, to a person across a room without any receiver equipment — a potential breakthrough for the future of audio and communication.

‘Our system can be used from some distance away to beam information directly to someone’s ear,’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology research Charles M. Wynn said in a press release. ‘It is the first system that uses lasers that are fully safe for the eyes and skin to localize an audible signal to a particular person in any setting.’”

The possible use cases of this technology are plentiful.  You could use it to communicate secretly with hostages or disaster recovery victims to let them know that help is on the way.  The police or military could use it to coordinate their maneuvers during a raid.  Football teams could use it to call in plays to the quarterback without fear of having their signals stolen by the other team.

The same goes for baseball teams as hand signals would become obsolete.  Meanwhile, TVs could use them to make it so that someone can watch their favorite show without bothering their partner who would rather be reading a book.  Stores can use them to push out customized advertisements to shoppers as they walk by their displays.  Cubicle dwellers can use it to listen to podcasts without their boss even realizing it. Headphones and earbuds would be out.  Laser based technology would be in.

It would be absolutely amazing.  Everyone doing their own thing, unbeknownst to anyone else, no ambient noise to worry about.  Never again would you have to roll your eyes at the annoying strap-hanger who was playing their music too loud on the subway.  Since only he can hear the song you wouldn’t even know that he was listening to music.  This is an absolute game-changing technology that can completely revolutionize society.  The age of secrets is almost upon us.

Is Targeted Audio the Greatest Idea Ever?

#1,459 – Aura Band

There are a lot of ways that you can go about monitoring your health to make sure that you stay fit.  You can weigh yourself, monitor your blood pressure, or use a fitness tracker to track your steps and heart rate but at the end of the day you probably still wouldn’t have a complete picture of your health.  For that you would need the Aura Band.

As the Daily Caller explains, “The body is divided into four main components, which includes fat, muscle mass, minerals, and body water. The Aura Band Smart Fitness Tracker will tell you exactly how much of each component is present in your body. From all the measurements, this fitness tracker can calculate your hydration level, fat percentage, and muscle percentage. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Aura Band is your one-stop shop for monitoring sleep efficiency and stress levels as well.”

But that’s not all.

According to Mashable, “Using the health data it collects and analyzes, the AURA will also make personalized recommendations based on your specific goals. And guess what? Once you meet said goals, you’ll be rewarded with coins that can be redeemed for free attire, workouts, health consultations, and more…”

One stop-shop indeed.

Is the Aura Band the Greatest Idea Ever?

#1,458 – Refridgerdating

Samsung has unveiled a new dating app, for their $4,000 smart fridge, that lets people find their soul mates based on expiration dates.

Even if you don’t have the smart fridge you can still participate.  Just download the Refridgerdating app, take a picture of your latest groceries, and start swiping away, left on people who have open cartons of left-over Chinese food populating their top shelf, right on people who look like they actually know what a food pyramid is.

As CNET puts it, “The idea is that what’s in there, whether it’s moldy leftovers or an enticing collection of craft beer, could provide a more authentic look at who you are and how you live. And ideally, keep you far away from those monsters who refrigerate their honey.”

Personally, I love this idea.  I’m all for creative ideas, outside the box thinking, and modern ingenuity no matter what form it takes.  Even if that form is yet another dating app.  Even if that dating app is one that lets users swipe right on a slice of bologna.

That’s because I think this concept could lead to a host of other themed dating apps designed to get people to show their true selves, not the Instagram Influencer versions of themselves that they currently project out into the sordid world of online dating.  This means that we may soon be swiping right on pictures of each other’s cars, wardrobes, DVR queues, and home décor.  Anything that can be used to measure who someone really is and what they’re all about.  For now though, we’ll just have to settle for swiping on bottles of wine, cartoons of milk, and jars of pickles.

Is refridgerdating the Greatest Idea Ever?