Following on from the tumbleweed dispenser....
A small plane on a arm attached to a base kept on your desk. When someone has a seriously bad idea, you press the button. This causes the plane to burst into simulated flames and crash into your desk accompanied by a screaming sound (the sound of plane going into a crash dive) and an explosion. So when your idiot workmate says "what do you think of my new idea for...." you just press the button rrrrraaaaaaaaaarrrrr -kaboom!-- S-note, Jul 03 2007 Faux Flames http://www.haunters...=19&cat=Fake+Flamesbad science? [skinflaps, Jul 03 2007] Boym: Buildings of Disaster http://www.velocity...esign.com/boym.htmlWhat this reminds me of. (I think we've linked to that before.) [jutta, Jul 03 2007] the exact opposite of this idea http://www.playfair.../standingO/send.php [pashute, Jul 15 2015] How about a small collection of fishbones? That always seems to be a reliable indicator.-- wagster, Jul 03 2007 I hope you have a faux fire extinguisher at hand?-- skinflaps, Jul 03 2007 I haven't seen the tumbleweed dispenser, but on a similar tack, how about a small mexican church front with a little cracked bell. The deluxe version could feature a remote speaker for dstand bell sounds (crickets not included).-- marklar, Jul 03 2007 [marked-for-deletion] bad science - "Faux flames". Unless of course you are talking about a heterosexual cross-dresser.
Gr. 'on an arm'.-- nuclear hobo, Jul 03 2007 The irony is that my bad idea indicator has in fact become the object of its intended pupose. What is wrong with saying on an arm?-- S-note, Jul 03 2007 //What is wrong with saying on an arm?//
I believe that n' hobo was being pedantic, if I'm not mistaken.-- skinflaps, Jul 03 2007 Print this idea, hang it on your wall, and when someone makes a stupid suggestion, point at it.-- phundug, Jul 03 2007 So in essence my bad idea indicator is actually a tribute to ideas that seem good at the time but are in fact rubbish. I think this works on a far higher lever than I planned. The actual concept of a bad idea indicator has been realised, posted and then fishboned. Which begs the question "Does this mean my invention actually worked?"-- S-note, Jul 03 2007 Maybe I should give it a croissant then.-- phundug, Jul 03 2007 Im happy with the fishbones..it seems like the bad idea indicator is exactly that. So the more fishbones awarded the more useful the indicator-- S-note, Jul 03 2007 Faux flames can be something like red and orange paper streamers or something, so I don't think an mfd for bad science is applicable here. //"Does this mean my invention actually worked?"// You tell us, is your desk on fire?-- xandram, Jul 03 2007 I've got to say I actually kind of like this...but considering
//Im happy with the fishbones..it seems like the bad idea indicator is exactly that. So the more fishbones awarded the more useful the indicator//
I'm not sure what to vote.-- fridge duck, Jul 03 2007 (+) Now that you've explained the fire effect, I think this is a practical idea, and would make a very nice addition to the discriminating venture capitalist's desk. It might give rise to a whole series of model catastrophes that happen at the push of a button - a train falling off its tracks, a tiny volcano obliterating a tiny, tiny village, a house of cards collapsing, etc.
[admin: ignoring yet another bogus marked-for-deletion tag.]-- jutta, Jul 03 2007 /What is wrong with saying on an arm?/
Nothing. The thing is, you said on _a_ arm.
You also missed a couple of periods (full stops), and have one too many in both your ellipses.
Now that's pedantic.
I don't mind the idea though, however I'm not fond of the "I actually want bones" inference. Neutrality.-- Texticle, Jul 03 2007 *Blink*
*Blink*
Oh, whoops, there goes my bad idea indicator-- cpf, Jul 03 2007 As a picky point, I don't like the "screaming sound". I like the "down in flames" idiom reference, but the screams don't sound funny.-- phundug, Jul 03 2007 //series of model catastrophes that happen at the push of a button - a train falling off its tracks//
I seem to remember reading that Hermann Goering had one of these; toy planes on wires bombed a toy train. I don't know whether his had faux flames, though. NB; this is not an attempt to trigger Godwin's Law. Having said that, 'Hermann Goering had one of these' probably is quite an effective bad-idea indicator... possibly even an effective 'bad bad-idea-indicator-idea indicator'.-- pertinax, Jul 04 2007 This would be cool if you had three doors for the "inventor" to choose from. When they ask "What do you think of my new idea for..."
You respond, "Well, Timmy, why don't you pick one of these doors to find out. What'll it be? Door number one? Door number two? Or door number three?"
Behind door number one there's a pneumatically-powered pair of red lips with a big red tongue that rolls out when the door is opened and "Thbrtrt" gives a loud, juicy raspberry.
If they choose door number two they are treated to a minature scene from 18th century France, with a tiny guillotine sliding down to chop the head off a tiny French aristocrat.
And door number three holds the piece de resistance - when the door is opened a Thing-like hand darts out to snatch the piece of paper detailing the moron's idea, drops it into a shredder, sets fire to the shreds, then disperses the ashes to the breeze.-- Canuck, Jul 04 2007 I have amended some of the text to satsify the spelling and grammer freaks. Also buns are always good, I said more fishbones as this means that the bad idea indicator was in fact validating itself as a bad idea. This then means the the bad idea indicator actually works and is therfore a good idea......... So bun me!-- S-note, Jul 04 2007 [S-note]'s glass is always half full.-- wagster, Jul 04 2007 You seem to be working hard at this, though still missing a couple of periods at the end of your sentences. I removed my bone for further thought.-- xandram, Jul 04 2007 Oh crikey, its like being back at school!-- S-note, Jul 04 2007 Sp: Oh, crikey, it's like being back at school! ;)
A belated welcome to the Halfbakery.-- baconbrain, Jul 04 2007 Marvellous!-- S-note, Jul 04 2007 sp:grammar
I like the idea and could see it on sites like thinkgeek.com. [+]-- reap, Jul 05 2007 Hey, I welcomed [S-note] on the first day of arrival! mu-hahaha-- xandram, Jul 05 2007 random, halfbakery