Culture
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Background: The specific etymology of most food names is lost in ancient history. But a few foods are named after specific people. One of the most notable is the food/concept of a “sandwich,” named after “John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Montagu,_4th_Earl_of_Sandwich). Proposal: This opens up a new possibility for gaining personal fame and fortune:…
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Background: In English, there are names for days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, …) and months (January, February, …). The Issue: But it is not actually necessary for weekdays and months to be named—it’s just a bunch of extra words that serve no purpose! Many other languages (e.g. Chinese) manage with days named “Day #1,…
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The Issue: Two elements are important here: 1. It is generally the case that if a person expends more effort in an endeavor, the person appreciates it more. See also 2017’s Art Obstacle Course proposal. (Incidentally, this is also described as a factor in the popularity of hazing and initiation rituals in the “purpose and…
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The Issue: After a person purchases a gigantic (yet economical) tub of snacks, they’re probably doomed to devour them in short order. But what if there were a way to harness human laziness to prevent devouring of junk food? Proposal: Behold, the solution! Just put an excessive number of binder clips on the container that…
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Background: When specifying a time, some positions may have either one or two digits (e.g. “1 PM” vs “11 PM”), but other positions always have a leading zero, no matter what (e.g. “1:01” and “1:11” both have three digits). Proposal: The inconsistency in digits is unnecessary and leads to weird sorting behavior. For example, if…
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The Issue: In some climates, outdoor swimming pools (Fig. 1) are kept filled with water year-round, but are covered during the colder months. These covered-up pools waste a lot of outdoor real-estate that could be put to alternative use. Proposal: The pool will need to be covered anyway, so we can take advantage of this…
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Background: With the advent of “the Internet of things” (or “IoT” if you prefer), it has become possible to put electronic gizmos in nearly any consumer product. If you ever wanted to add a speaker, some LED lights, or a GPS tracker into a some random household object, now’s the time! The Issue: Strangely, despite…
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Background: Most musical instruments are capable of playing more than one note a time. This is typically referred to as a “chord.” The Issue: Unfortunately, the list of chords is relatively small and well-understood (Fig 1): once music students learn them, they won’t have any more aspirational chord-learning goals, and will surely become demoralized. Proposal:…
WorstPlans: updated every Monday since July 2014! 