Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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EnvelOpen

 ripening envelopes
  (+2)
(+2) 		  [vote for,
against]

(note: in the UK, utilities etc. tend to send one normal bill for their service and then, when it becomes clear that you haven't been bothered to pay it, they send another 'red' bill, before they terminate their service to you).

I'm suggesting instead they send out just one bill, in an envelope (and text) that 'ripens' red, as it gets nearer the time to pay the bill. That way, even if if the bill is lying on the mantelpiece with all the others, unopened, you'll know that you should get 'round to paying the bill.

P.S. the title's obviously a misnomer, I just can't think of one that fits the ripening concept.

(was Anvilope : that's a weight off my mind.)

—neilp, Nov 22 2003

inspired by [skinflaps] http://www.halfbake.../idea/Thumb_20flash
the thumbflash made me think of this.. blame the thumb flash :) [neilp, Oct 17 2004]

triceroticissyitops, buggar - dinosaurs http://www.wa.gov.a...uketin/herbivor.htm
[po, Oct 17 2004]

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       I've noticed that heat printed receipts fade after a couple of weeks in my wallet. I'd like a bill that did this, instead. Leave it on the windowsill for a couple of weeks, and bob's yer uncle.
—Fishrat, Nov 22 2003
   

       Something similar happens in the game The Sims. Unpaid bills rot into gradually more threatening shades for every day they are left ignored on the coffee table.
—meow, Nov 22 2003
   

       the title for your concept could be "ripenink"?   

       back to the idea. I like it, but agree with correspondent [meow] that this had been sort of baked in Sims.
—jonthegeologist, Nov 22 2003
   

       hmmn, so half-half-baked in the Sims.. but not in real life, those pesky little people.
—neilp, Nov 22 2003
   

       I was invisioning an evelope thats made out of lead and weighs 40 pounds from the ACME corporation
—Letsbuildafort, Nov 22 2003
   

       Pushing the anvilope?   

       Credit card bills (in the US) should turn red a few days before the due date and develop some odor so you can just sniff a pile to see (I mean, smell) if any bills need attention. That way you can avoud those horrendous late fees (one reason why they won't do it).
—kbecker, Nov 23 2003
   

       I was envisioning plastic lawn fauna with a built-in theft deterrent: It weighs 200 pounds.
—Cedar Park, Nov 23 2003
   

       Some sort of iodine treated skin that leaches into starchy paper could affect a color change over time. +
—sartep, Nov 23 2003
   

       //Phone works every other call// - that's about the level of service I get when BT are working their best.
—neilp, Nov 23 2003
   

       <warped by cartoons> Or solid iron lawn fauna that weighs 200 pounds with ACME stamped in the side </wbc>   

       With the obligatory coyote pursuit
—Letsbuildafort, Nov 25 2003
   

       //the title's obviously a misnomer, I just can't think of one that fits the ripening concept//   

       Bananalope? It would have to turn from yellow to brown - and perhaps within a day.   

       Avacadalope? It would go from hard to squishy.   

       If you want to stick with turning red, you should perhaps call it the tomatolope.
—Worldgineer, Nov 25 2003
   

       life-size? how big are those buggars?
—po, Nov 25 2003
   

       hmmm. even if it turns red, i still couldn't see it in the bin.
—sporn, Nov 25 2003
   

       I want a large envelope into which I could stuff all the bills I can't pay. I'd call it a Cantilope.
—egbert, Nov 25 2003
   

       They could just put a little piece of fish in each envelope. Then, you'd have a real motivation to pay it on time.   

       ...and get that envelope to over the compost pile for the extra N2.   

       ... and that solves your naming problem: it's "the compostabill"
—sophocles, Nov 25 2003
   

       This baked concept could even stretch to actual utility grids. Once the bill has ripened to its darkest red, the lights then begin to fade in a similar sequence.
—UrineForATreat, Nov 25 2003
   

       Maybe you could develop a way to make the paper out of fishmeat. Granted, it wouldn't turn red, but it would start to smell rapidly, without the odd bit of fish meat inside the envelope, and it would also help reduce deforestation caused by cutting down trees for paper.
—ye_river_xiv, Aug 03 2006
   


 

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