If you've got mutant ears that don't shed out excess earwax, then you find that every now and then you go deaf from ceruminous build-up. This is bad because it makes you go slightly autistic and stops you from enjoying your record collection... So why not build small (about 2.5mm) robots that you insert into your ear and they carefully remove the offending earwax with miniature tools and fling it out of the ear. You will know that they have done their job when you can hear them muttering about "Cor Blimey Guv!", (sucks air through miniature robotic teeth) "This 'as 'ad it, mate- I can sort it for you, but it'll cost ya..."-- Azazello, Jul 30 2006 I have to admit that my first use for nanobots would also be earwax removal. +
(Second would be teeth-cleaning/plaque removal.)-- DrCurry, Jul 30 2006 What do the bots do with the stuff?-- Dub, Jul 30 2006 Why, mould it into votive sculptures of Isaac Asimov of course!-- Azazello, Jul 30 2006 It's a nice idea, but you need to check on the meaning of autistic, as it has nothing to do with audio.-- xenzag, Jul 30 2006 "'Course it'll need a new flange bracket around the cochlea, probably 'ave to order it in... Who cleaned this last anyway? Looks like a cowboy job..."-- wagster, Jul 30 2006 No, I meant 'autistic' as a psychological impairment characterised by withdrawn behaviour and loss of communication- 'stuck in one's own little world'- which is precisely how I feel when I can't hear anything...-- Azazello, Jul 30 2006 Where are my manners...? Oh here they are. Welcome to the halfbakery, [Azazello].-- wagster, Jul 30 2006 A few months ago I discovered that a few drops of vegetable oil in the ear, left for a minute or so then drawn back out with a tissue, works extremely well. In a trivial way this bakes your idea; those little molecule sized robots get to work quietly breaking up the wax with their hydrophobic tails. Like [wagster] said, welcome to the halfbakery.-- spidermother, Jul 31 2006 EverClearbots.-- normzone, Jul 31 2006 When one of them goes bad, and just keeps digging, how are you going to get it out? Now that would make a sound you don't want to hear.-- bungston, Jul 31 2006 Shazbot, nano nano.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 31 2006 This is classic.
Umm, instead of throwing the wax out, why don't you have the nanobots burn it (some of it anyway...) as a power source? Then, rather than thinking you have a disgusting ear-gopher shovelling piles onto your lobes, people will think you've got something major on your mind.
Just a little creative suggestion, you don't have to take it to heart.-- ye_river_xiv, Jul 31 2006 No, no, no... Make candles out of it...-- Dub, Aug 01 2006 //Now that would make a sound you don't want to hear.// An ant once got into the tube on my hearing aid, [bung]. I put it on, and went to meet some friends. When anty decided to come down the tube and started gnawing on my eardrum, my mates thought I'd gone COMPLETELY, STARK RAVING MAD. Still, [+] for any way to get the buildup out. Here's a thought though: maybe you could train the nanobots to amplify the sound they hear by beating on your eardrum with their tiny little fists...-- m_Al_com, Aug 02 2006 random, halfbakery