The 5 Stupidest Ideas from the World’s Stupidest Hackathon
Day in, day out, we hear of new tech products and services that are, basically, just stupid. Normally we don’t share those with you here on Yahoo Tech.
But the (cough) innovations that emerged from a hackathon this past weekend are supposed to be stupid — that’s why it’s called the Stupid S*** No One Needs & Terrible Ideas Hackathon.
Normally, a hackathon (or hack day, or similar) is a limited-time event that supposedly squeezes fresh creativity out of code-jockeys who have to come up with something in, say, 24 hours. It’s a particularly trendy maneuver among tech firms that revel in a cutting-edge, try-something-new mentality as a path to true innovation.
This hackathon is different. Organized by Sam Lavigne and Amelia Winger-Bearskin, it’s an event that specifically “asks participants to produce projects that have no value whatsoever.”
Still, the people who participate are actually quite talented and clever, and of course the real point of the event is to produce ideas that are stupid in interesting, amusing, and maybe perversely insightful ways.
Below, a few favorites.
(All images and videos via the full rundown at Lavigne’s site, which you can peruse here. But be warned that a number of the ideas I’m leaving out of my short list are not only stupid but also obscene and possibly NSFW.)
1. iPad on a Face
Ever fantasize about getting one of those “telepresence” robots that scoots around your workplace and represents you — while you loiter in front of your computer at home, broadcasting your face onto the robot’s by staring into your webcam?
Well, Cheryl Wu offers an alternative, iPad on a Face:
“Represent your physical presence, as if a real person was there. Because there is. It’s just not you. All you need is the award-winning, handcrafted holsterHat™, an iPad, and any random person on location (not included).
(Note: Not to be confused with this actual Kickstarter project involving attaching an iPad to your face.)
2. Emoji subtitle generator
Emoji Subtitles from Ross Goodwin on Vimeo.
Made by Ross Goodwin and Seth Kranzler, the Emoji subtitle generator is designed to, well, generate emoji subtitles. (Those aren’t really emoji, but close enough.)
3. Rearview Mirror
What amazing worlds can you explore with the virtual-reality Oculus Rift headset? Who cares? Why not just look at what’s immediately behind you! That’s what Rearview Mirror, created by Matt Romein and Sam Sadtler, enables.
4. Stupid font
Stupid Font, by Laura Juo-Hsin Chen
To create Stupid Font, Laura Juo-Hsin Chen traced, by hand, what she identifies as the most expensive font in the world (evidently that’s TEFF Lexicon). You can download it and a couple of other Stupid Font variations (one of which replaces the typed phrase “I’m smart” with “I’m stupid”), here.
5. Tweet from Your Food
Tweet from Your Food from Matthew Kaney on Vimeo.
Denny George and Matthew Kaney came up with this idea to “attach electrical leads to your food so that the precise instant” you take a bite, “it automatically sends a Tweet to let everyone know what you’re eating.” Pretty stupid! But is Tweet from Your Food really that much more stupid than, say, my own tweets? Your call.
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