h a l f b a k e r yRecalculations place it at 0.4999.
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It's a Friday evening and you've just finished work, so of course you
head for the nearest cash machine to see if you can afford a pint or
two in your favourite pub tonight. In goes the card, a couple of
button presses later and you've reached the moment of truth... Will
you get your money or will
you have to go home and eat that last
packet of noodles?
The brief buzz of a hidden printer, the whir of activated machinery,
the anticipation of having that clean, crisp twenty pound note in your
hand any second now...
Your hand reaches toward the slot at the exact moment that the little
metal door slides back to offer forth...
...nothing but a small and rather confused moth, which flutters away
in the breeze as your heart sinks to roughly a foot below the level of
the pavement. Noodles it is, then!
Normally if you don't have enough money in your account the cash
machine will say something like "Unable to carry out this
transaction". This idea proposes a more novel and amusing way to tell
you that you've got no money.
One out of every 100 cash machines should be fitted with a Random Moth
Dispenser. If you try to withdraw more cash than you've got, you face
a 1 per cent chance that instead of simply refusing, the cash machine
will go through all the motions of dispensing money only to release a
moth.
The Random Moth Dispenser consists of a conveniently sized module
containing a supply of hibernating moths along with a solenoid-driven
mechanism for releasing them one at a time into the cash slot. As the
moth is ejected, the light and warmth of the outside world wake it
from its hibernation and it flies away, to the great amusement of
those behind you in the queue.
The same people who top up the cash and retrieve the printed records
are also responsible for moving the Random Moth Dispensers from
machine to machine and replenishing the moth supply. Refilling can be
achieved simply if the moths are provided on reels similar to those
used for manufacturing electronic products.
[link]
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Wrongfellow appears to have misunderstood what was happening when I last visited the cashpoint. The moths were actually from my wallet, not the machine. |
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Welcome to the halfbakery! [+] |
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Spin-off benefit ... once tape-and-reel moths are widely available, I'm sure other uses will be found, especially on the halfbakery. |
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[Wrongfellow], you've got a very right idea. Clever. I likes it. Welcome to the 'bakery. + |
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Excellent idea fellow. Love the imagery of a moth coming from the cash slot of the machine. |
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Really, a harmless funny way to notify the ATM user of there account status. Bun to you Sir [+] |
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Lovely. This would be particularly nice if there was, suspended from a Victorian wrought iron arm a few feet above the cash machine, a white frosted globe streetlight, to attrach the moth for (a) easy recapture and (b) to circle your bowed head, the moth occaisonally dinking quietly into the glass. |
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yes, i agree, let's have a Dickensian light overhead. you can add that as your subtitle... |
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This could be augmented by the sound of crickets chirping. + |
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Bats Moth. Oops, sorry I can't help that reflex. |
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Ignore the autoboner... they visit
everyone then skulk back to the
cyberswamp. (+) |
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Maybe the occasional mothball could just roll out of the atm and then bounce off of the pavement and down the street + |
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What's that acronym thing people write in cases like this? WIGTNFI...? Or something? [wags] you know what I'm talking about, right? |
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It's the film one I can never remember. |
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If one has a lot of $$ in their account, can they get a beautiful butterfly? |
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[Beep] Then what about people who bun bad ideas?
...just a thought. It's like *beauty is in the eye of the beholder*. I really don't think there is just *one* person as the autoboner; it's just the odds that there is at least one person who doesn't like somthing.
...just a thought. |
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bun. An additional wrinkle would be to pause for a certain length of time before either giving you the money or releasing the moth. The lower your bank balance, the longer the pause. |
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Wow! Thanks for the warm welcome. |
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More ideas on their way... |
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Beauty is in the eye of the bee holder?
There's an idea in there somewhere. [+] |
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[ed] If that's the case, why aren't hives considered attractive? |
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I like my coffee like I like my women... er ... COVERED IN BEES!!! |
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+
surely 1/100 isn't often enough, seeing moths would alleviate some of the depression of being broke, and once every three months or so won't cheer up the general population much. |
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//Beauty is in the eye of the bee holder? There's an idea in there somewhere. [+]//
[ed] you are right. If the ATM is so small that only one person can stand, tthen, upon attempting a wrong password 3 times, a stinger bee iis dispensed |
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[kamathln] and a dollop of jam is dispensed from the ceiling. |
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I'm not sure why, but it feels like there should be a tumbleweed worked in here somehow... |
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