Household
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Background: Residential homes are often protected from burglary by locked doors and locked windows (Figure 1), and occasionally by more substantial measures such as barred windows (Figure 2). The issue: However, none of that helps once an intruder breaches the perimeter of the home: once they’re inside, they are free to loot at their leisure—an…
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Background: Most kitchens contain a countertop and overhead cabinets. The doors on these cabinets generally swing open. The issue: An unlucky individual may stand up underneath one of these open cabinet doors and injure themselves on the edge. Although this situation may seem unlikely, it can arise when a person bends over to pick up…
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Background: Diet fads come and go, but most have at least one element in common: the requirement that individuals be deliberate about what they eat (rather than ravenously consuming everything like a starved beast). The issue: Unfortunately, it’s difficult to have self-control when food is delicious and plentiful. Thus, most people eat larger portions of…
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Background: It has been demonstrated that people tend to over-eat in situations in which they can quickly consume a meal. If a person has to consume a meal more slowly, they will (generally) realize that they are full and eat less. The issue: Unfortunately, in today’s decadent world, nearly every meal can be quickly devoured.…
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The issue: Sometimes, it’s hard to get out of a comfy bed and face the cruel and merciless world. Proposal: We can solve this problem by making a bed that becomes progressively less comfortable as the desired wakeup time arrives. Certain mattresses already have the ability to dynamically adjust their firmness (for example, the “Sleep…
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Make microwaving even easier with a synchronized-turntable solution that prevents you from ever having to reach all the way into the back of the microwave to get your reheated beverage! The true chef’s choice.
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Background: As civilization reaches an apex of decadence not seen since the days of Caligula, new and exotic labor-saving schemes have arisen. Specifically, you may soon be able to order food directly to your refrigerator, thus saving you from having to be present for delivery. Deluxe! The issue: While the process of delivering food directly…
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Background: In order to support technological progress, many people are willing to endure great hardships. The issue: For example, most Americans are willing to drive for 30–60 minutes every day on their commute, just so that they can help create a market for new types of transportation [*]. One might imagine that a person in…
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TITLE: Never be annoyed when emptying an over-full trash can again, with this new “screaming trash can” technology! The Issue: In shared-living or office situations, there is a strong incentive to wait for someone else to empty a full garbage can: the person who discards the last piece of trash has only contributed a tiny…
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The issue: Once in a while, people accidentally forget to turn off a water faucet (e.g. a bathroom or kitchen faucet) and leave it running all day. This wastes water, and is unacceptable. Proposal: There are existing solutions to automatically turn off faucets, but generally they are either incredibly annoying (the motion-activated faucets that work…
WorstPlans: updated every Monday since July 2014! 