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I am rarely without mints. (That is if cinnamon Certs can technically be called "mints"). I carry them in my pocket. When sitting at my desk, it's awkward to retrieve them from my pocket.
I propose a keyboard with a dispensing mechanism that will, upon the press of an appropriate hot key combination,
serve up a mint by launching it upward at an appropriate angle so that it will arc gracefully and be caught by the mint-needy mouth.
Candy Computer Mouse
http://www.candydir...ml/eng/1141-AA.html Not a real mouse, though. [Cedar Park, Oct 05 2004]
Shameless elf-promo
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/MINT [thumbwax, Oct 05 2004]
Face Tracking Confectionery Cannon
http://confectionerycannon.com/ Not exactly the proposed "keyboard with a dispensing mechanism", but... [half, Jan 13 2014]
[link]
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in laptops, the launcher could use
the display for a bank shot, to the
delight and confusion of
onlookers. |
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device would also require a
method to correct for wind
resistance, as well as a method to
locate the mouth of the mint-
receiver and thus aim
approprately. |
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Count me in on this - if you can load it with Gobstoppers... lots of 'em... :) Wonder if you should have some sort of password protect on it though, otherwise, at least in my office, would probably end up with co-workers coming by & asking to use my computer "for a moment" and draining my "sanity-support" candy supply. |
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I was going to link this to an idea that was posted recently about a voice-activated dispenser for dog treats, but it seems to have been deleted (??) Whoever it was that posted it suggested a human version could be made available, which sounds very much like this idea. |
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I believe the point of this idea is to simply make the "mint" airborne, and allow the user to demonstrate their eye-mouth coordination by intercepting the goodie from its trajectory. Fancy-schmancy (sorry to use technical jargon) aiming and bouncing devices would be unnecessary. |
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Do you hear the Mentos jingle, or is it just me? |
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// Fancy-schmancy aiming and
bouncing devices would be
unnecessary. // |
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keyboard mint launchers are
unnecessary as well. i fail to see
your point. |
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Well, there's that 'silver dot on forehead' mousing device. Something similar could be developed - not necessarily as sensitive; enough to tell where your forehead is and what direction you're facing - for the dispenser. You'd just have to calibrate the forehead-mouth distance. That, or move it from forehead to, say, nose or chin. Or paint the inside of your mouth silver. |
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Oh, please! Have you become so lazy as to require the goodie be placed into your mouth for you? If so, why don't you just wear a hat with huge bin full of your favourite candy and a feed tube that allows one treat to roll/slide down into your gaping maw each time your clumsy forefoot paws the space bar. Would that be more to your liking, sport? |
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All I'm saying is the accuracy of the launcher is completely irrelevant. Its sole function is to fling the mint skyward. It is up to you to do the rest. You judge whether you need to move left or right, forward or back. This works best if your chair has wheels. You anticipate when the mint will begin its earthward plunge, then using sheer skill and cat-like grace you place your open mouth at the precise point in the graceful arc where the delicious snack lands softly and silently upon your tongue. Ah, sweet victory, thy name is Cinnamint! |
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not lazy, my canadian friend. i'm
interested in the graceful image of
a perfectly aimed mint ricocheting
off the angled screen of my laptop
and sailing directly into my mouth,
making the whole process looks
seamless, effortless and altogether
magic. |
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A more generic solution would be
the USB Mint Launcher. Then, the
mint launching could be mapped
to any system event - perhaps to a
keypress, as descibed above, but
also maybe to a new mail
notification, meeting reminder,
system startup, etc. |
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I'd like a completely edible computer. |
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Hope your reflexes are good, 'cause I'm gonna hack your system and launch a candy at you. |
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..
PURE GENIUS !
someday we can look back and say "Son, when I was
younger, our keyboards only served up mints" It's not like
now [some distant time in the future] where you get all
your nutrition launched into your mouth right from your
keyboard". |
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Rods, I like the idea of drag & drop for the sweet icon, but why into a wastebasket (recycle bin)? How about something cool like the Rolling Stones Tongue logo? |
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[obvious joke]
Alt+OIDS= the curiously strong mint
[/obvious joke] |
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<Judge Dredd> DOUBLE ...... WHAMMY ....... </Judge Dredd> |
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Quick-change magazines, so you can reload quickly, would be essential. And they don't just have to be mints; you could load Mints and Pro-Plus caffiene pills alternately .... |
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Stuff your midday sandwich into it
to turn it into the Keyboard Lunch
Mincer. |
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Pez already come in rapid-load shape and packaging. If we could get mint producers to standardize their size and shape into the convienent Pez format, mint firing devices could be implemented and reloaded easily. |
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[worldgineer] i totally agree. mints
should be stadardized and open
sourced. the logical extension is
software controls for the launcher
using the .pez format, naturally. |
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Surely if the mint were fired at an
event such as new mail
notification, the user would be
pelted with sweets while
unprepared. I smell increased
profits for optometrists. |
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dang it, that was my line.... |
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Could train your reflexes though, what with an M&M popping out every time you receive new mail |
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You could have a whole array of goodies in it, with the F keys labeled with candies! You press the button for the candy you want, and presto, it is dropped into the launcher and arcs into your mouth! |
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this could be done with a windows hot (cinnamon) key.... |
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i like the stand-alone usb device,
with a refillable hopper. it could
use the latest military smart-
weapons technology to aim for
your mouth where ever it happens
to be. a warning tone would alert
you to the incoming sweets. |
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your boss could have a control
panel on his desktop, and every
time he liked the reports you put
on his desk, he could cause a few
to launch with the message 'you're
worth a mint to us!' |
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of course, this really concretes the
rat-race idea; we'd all be getting
treats when we push the bar. this
might make training new
employees faster, though. |
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Wait though! For the health nuts there should be green enzyme capsule launchers and, evening primrose supplement dispensers (hey, you have to take SIX of those horse pills a day) and well... nuts! |
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I think is all a bit Pavlovian.. did I spell that right? Did I??? Do I get a mint? drool... drool....drool..... |
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This is sheer brilliance. And if the launching mechanism (claw/scoop/whatever) is adjustable it should be able to handle mints, gobstoppers, or even ion's enzyme capsules! |
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If its done as a USB add on, don't forget to write the Mac drivers! |
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And speaking of mac's, maybe it could be designed in a very esthetic manner... then we could take it to apple and see if they'd like to market the iCandy. |
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Link this to the Windows task scheduler and it doubles as an alarm clock. (provided that you have hardwood floors) |
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