getFreshMinds.com | Ideas so fresh--they should be slapped!

An idea that doubles the pleasure, doubles the fun!

There's nothing worse than coming across someone's old gum. 

Everyone has bad memories of putting our hands under the seats of the school bus when we were kids or coming across gum stuck under tables in public places.

And if we step in it... ugh.  Anyone else ever had to hop on one leg while trying to clean out a shoe tread with a stick?  It's never fun.

Most of us just think of already-been-chewed gum as something to be avoided, and something we desperately hope we'll never have to deal with.

This isn't just a modern problem either.  Not long ago, an archeology student found a 5,500 year old piece of gum in Finland.  It even had toothmarks.  Yuck.

London designer Anna Bullus, however, has done something really cool about the gum situation.  She combined bio resin with used (and sterilized) chewing gum to come up with a spiffy biodegradable gum disposal.

It's cool because:

• It's a bubble that people can put their gum in!  (Who can resist the pun?)

• Once it's filled, the whole thing is sterilized, and made into new bubblebins.

I like it not only because it helps keep people from just sticking their gum everywhere, but also because it takes a "used-up" product--that most people would just throw away--and begins a positive cycle of renewal.

Plus, it also is an eye-catching addition to the London streets.  With all the rainy weather, the bright pink bubbles are sure to make people smile.

The best part about it, though, is that Anna created something new and useful out of something that we would normally think of as trash.

Most of us see a used object as something that is finished. Kaput. Done with.  Something to forget about as soon as it hits that trash bin.

But what if there is an opportunity there?  Are we missing possibilities because we're so quick to throw things away?

Do you seize opportunities like Sam does?

From Scotland, here's a video of a seagull named Sam who has something to teach those of us who want to be creative.

You're probably thinking... "Seagulls have nothing to do with innovation!  This is crazy."

Hopefully, you're not thinking, "Great. Katie's finally lost it."

But it's true.  Sam's video is definitely worth noticing.  Why?

Because Sam the Seagull does three things that creative people should also be doing.

1. Sam looks for fresh ways to achieve his objective. (Eating Chips*)
2. Sam knows what could threaten his success and is always looking for an opening. (The shopkeeper isn't looking.)
3. Once Sam sees that the way forward is clear, he doesn't hesitate.  He waddles right in there and seizes the moment. (A bag of cheese Doritos.)

Yes, Sam is only a bag-of-chips-stealing-seagull, but he stands out because he doesn't just stand on the sidewalk hoping to be fed, he goes out there and makes it happen.

Enjoy the video below!  It's pretty funny.

* Crisps for English readers.

How would you get out of this situation?

Imagine this.

It's one of those moments.  It's late and you're on the way home.  Perhaps you're walking down a dark street, or waiting in the subway, or getting into your car in a deserted parking lot. 

But there you are. Alone in a darkened area.  With danger lurking on the edge of your thoughts.  Usually, there's nothing to worry about.  Usually. 

Those are the times when your mind starts to run wild with possibilities.  What if someone were to approach you?  What if there was no place to hide, and no one around to help?  What if your attacker was stronger and faster? What if?

What would you do?

In America, we're told to make a fuss.  To scream and run and fight if someone attacks us.  To yell "fire" at the top of our lungs because that is an emergency where people run to help.  To wear a rape whistle and carry pepper spray.

Not everyone does this.

For the Japanese, it's quite a different situation.  Many would rather avoid confrontation entirely.  "Making a scene would be too embarrassing."

So, in Japan, inventors are coming up with ways for people to escape a bad situation in a non-aggressive way.

Friday's New York Times actually had an article about the innovative products that nervous people can buy to protect themselves from street crime.

There's a purse that unfolds to look like a manhole cover.  Put it on the ground, and a wallet could easily escape detection.

Or knife-proof school uniforms so parents can breath easier about their children.

But, by far my personal favorite is the skirt that unfolds to look like a vending machine!

Take a look:

Some of those ideas sounds absolutely crazy to us.  Why would someone ever want to disguise themselves as a vending machine to escape?  And, many such ideas are crazy.

But I'm telling you about this article because it has a couple paragraphs that people who are interested in creativity and innovation need to read!

Columnist Martin Fackler reports:

“Japanese society won’t just laugh, so inventors are not afraid to try new things,” said Takumi Hirai, chairman of Japan’s largest association of individual inventors, the 10,000-member Hatsumeigakkai.

In fact, Japan produces so many unusual inventions that it even has a word for them: chindogu, or “queer tools.” The term was popularized by Kenji Kawakami, whose hundreds of intentionally impractical and humorous inventions have won him international attention as Japan’s answer to Rube Goldberg. His creations, which he calls “unuseless,” include a roll of toilet paper attached to the head for easy reach in hay fever season, and tiny mops for a cat’s feet that polish the floor as the cat prowls.

Mr. Kawakami said that while some of Japan’s anticrime devices might not seem practical, they were valuable because they might lead to even better ideas.

“Even useless things can be useful,” he said. “The weird logic of these inventions helps us see the world in fresh ways.”

Wow! This is a society that has nailed the perfect attitude to encourage creativity.

Inventors are willing to come up with outlandish ideas to solve problems that the Japanese people face--because they won't be laughed out of the room.

AND, people actually appreciate the crazy ideas because they know it's part of a process. 

Sounds like a marvelous environment for creativity. 

Where would you rather innovate?  In a place where people will tell you all the reasons your idea won't work, or somewhere that people are willing to give it a shot?

Download fearing_crime_japanese_wear_the_hiding_place_new_york_times.pdf

 

Here are a few of my favorite things...

One of the most amazing benefits about blogging is the incredible and interesting people who I meet as a result. 

Just yesterday, I ran into Chuck Frey of Innovation Tools on Facebook (many thanks to Kes Sampanthar, inventor of the Think Cube, for introducing us). 

Well, Chuck recommended a couple of his favorite articles of mine on his blog, and I thought I'd chime in with a couple of my personal favorites as well.

Chuck liked:

• True or false: Customers are a great source of ideas
• When it's not worth innovating for more features
• What products drive you insane and how could they be improved?
• Does thinking of customer service as a negative blind companies to new opportunities?

Here are a couple of posts that I love:

• How to take an idea to the next level
• Are your laptop's new features good for you?
• Can a new idea be too far ahead of its time?
• Thinking backwards can actually be quite brilliant.
• The path to failed innovations

BUT, by far, my absolute favorite posts of all time were the two where I shared your ideas for my Random Word Contest!

For those of you who weren't here, I challenged everyone to come up with ideas for how to improve a car.  But they weren't allowed to just spout off whatever ideas popped into their head--they had to draw a completely random word from my generator, and come up with ideas related to it.

I know, sounds like a horribly mean thing to do.  I even tortured contestants by giving out words like "mermaid" and "ravioli" and "bubble"!  But, just as I expected, everyone did a fantastic job.

There were so many great and fresh ideas that it took two posts to list them all.  If you get a chance, I HIGHLY recommend taking a look.

1. Ways to Improve Cars - Ideas from the Random Word Contest (Part 1)
2. Ways to Improve Cars - Ideas from the Random Word Contest (Part 2)

In fact, thinking about the contest has gotten me all excited about doing it again.  It will take me a little time to get everything organized, but look for my next contest at the end of this month.

(That will also give everyone a chance to find their thinking caps!)

By the way, if you want a special reminder from me about the contest, leave a comment below.

When an idea isn't better pink!

Over at Learned on Women, Andrea reminded her readers that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month--and that it's also the month that companies make everything in pink.

Everything?

Yes. Everything.

That, by the way, is a pink 20-gauge Remington 870 Junior shotgun.  With matching pink hat.

(From the BrandBuilder Blog.)

Products like that come about because a company decides that they want to appeal to women shoppers.   But ideas like that are designed to fail because the only thing new about them is their color.

Cosmetic changes don't get attention from new customers, or inspire renewed loyalty from loyal patrons. 

People, whether they're men or women, want to be impressed by how a new product or service will improve their lives.

Helping someone look cute out hunting is not enough incentive to make a purchase.

Helping someone be more visible (e.g. with the bright orange) so that they're less likely to be mistaken for an animal by another hunter IS a good incentive.

When companies decide cosmetic changes will make a product appeal to a new demographic, they're being lazy. 

It's easy to paint something pink and say it's for women.

It's hard to develop a new product or redesign an old one so that it genuinely benefits a different customer.

But, if creativity were easy, the benefits wouldn't be so great.

(And there would be significantly fewer pink things to buy every October!)

So, please, stop thinking pink when it comes to making things for women.  We know that it's just a layer of paint.

That goes for products for men too.  After all, how many guys want to buy traditionally female-focused products like lotions?

It takes more than a cosmetic color change to interest guys.  They want to see the specific benefits for them too.

So don't be mentally-lazy and think that easy things like changing color will make a great idea.  Start thinking of what would make people actually want to buy a product!