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.-- half, Apr 26 2003 Candy Computer Mouse http://www.candydir...ml/eng/1141-AA.htmlNot 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] in laptops, the launcher could use the display for a bank shot, to the delight and confusion of onlookers.
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.
+-- urbanmatador, Apr 26 2003 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.-- BayRatt, Apr 27 2003 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.
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.
Do you hear the Mentos jingle, or is it just me?-- Canuck, Apr 27 2003 // Fancy-schmancy aiming and bouncing devices would be unnecessary. //
keyboard mint launchers are unnecessary as well. i fail to see your point.-- urbanmatador, Apr 27 2003 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.-- Spaceman42, Apr 27 2003 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?
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!-- Canuck, Apr 28 2003 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.-- urbanmatador, Apr 28 2003 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.-- hippo, Apr 28 2003 I'd like a completely edible computer.-- FloridaManatee, Apr 28 2003 Hope your reflexes are good, 'cause I'm gonna hack your system and launch a candy at you.-- lurch, Apr 28 2003 .. 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".-- mahatma, Apr 28 2003 Alt+O=Polos, of course.-- hippo, Apr 28 2003 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?-- Canuck, Apr 29 2003 [obvious joke] Alt+OIDS= the curiously strong mint [/obvious joke]-- Croesus72, Apr 29 2003 <Judge Dredd> DOUBLE ...... WHAMMY ....... </Judge Dredd>
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 ....
Croissant.-- 8th of 7, Apr 29 2003 Stuff your midday sandwich into it to turn it into the Keyboard Lunch Mincer.-- hippo, Apr 29 2003 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.-- Worldgineer, Apr 29 2003 [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.-- urbanmatador, Apr 29 2003 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.-- Bethz0r, Apr 30 2003 dang it, that was my line....
Could train your reflexes though, what with an M&M popping out every time you receive new mail-- LoneRifle, Apr 30 2003 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!-- Weirdo55, Feb 20 2004 this could be done with a windows hot (cinnamon) key....-- normzone, Feb 20 2004 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.
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!'
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.-- changokun, Feb 20 2004 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!
I think is all a bit Pavlovian.. did I spell that right? Did I??? Do I get a mint? drool... drool....drool.....
(+)-- ionsfromzion, Oct 13 2006 Croissant!
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!
If its done as a USB add on, don't forget to write the Mac drivers!
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.
((ok, bad joke.))-- kdmurray, Oct 15 2006 Link this to the Windows task scheduler and it doubles as an alarm clock. (provided that you have hardwood floors)-- phundug, May 24 2013 random, halfbakery