halfbakery
August 29, 2022 7:39 PM Subscribe
Metafilter forgot about this place, but it's still there, being a community that halfbakes inventions. What is the halfbakery? The halfbakery is a communal database of poorly thought-out ideas for inventions. Its users can post their inventions and add links and commentary to other people's posts.
front page
Examples: jumping for joy (An exciting additon to your Sunday.), plantardemic (Pass it on - have a little shoe pandemic.), popcorn camping pillow (popcorn packaged in flame-resistant pillowcase).
Navigating the posts: looks like the tags at the bottom of the page are the way to go.
Navigating a thread: there's the main post front-and-center. It looks like people share links directly below the post. Comments start in the narrow column to the right of the post and then continue below the links.
PREVIOUSLY
front page
Examples: jumping for joy (An exciting additon to your Sunday.), plantardemic (Pass it on - have a little shoe pandemic.), popcorn camping pillow (popcorn packaged in flame-resistant pillowcase).
Navigating the posts: looks like the tags at the bottom of the page are the way to go.
Navigating a thread: there's the main post front-and-center. It looks like people share links directly below the post. Comments start in the narrow column to the right of the post and then continue below the links.
PREVIOUSLY
One of the links you entered was found in 12 previous threads.
halfbakery.com/ (9)
Skating in the privacy of your own backyard... or front yard...or barn...the novelty! (January 14, 2009)
3.14159265itwasthebestoftimesitwastheworstofti... (December 4, 2007)
Even Larry Johnson is afraid of the I.C.O.T.I.G. (March 14, 2006)
Vegan Recipes For Human Flesh (March 10, 2006)
BBC Seeks Crackpot Inventors (June 1, 2005)
Pub History (April 11, 2003)
Amateur DVD commentary. (May 20, 2002)
post 17244 (May 20, 2002)
post 7755 (May 17, 2001)
Wow, still going? That's amazing. I just went back and read a bunch of ideas I wrote down there... 22 years ago? Holy crap. I'm old.
I also apparently predicted AirPods and Disney World's MagicBands.
posted by mookoz at 8:14 PM on August 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
I also apparently predicted AirPods and Disney World's MagicBands.
posted by mookoz at 8:14 PM on August 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Ideas with a light background have been modified since you were out - that's since Thu, Aug 02 2001, 03:58:35 (+00:00).
Hard to believe I managed to guess my old login.
I should've used better passwords, back in the day.
posted by ckape at 8:27 PM on August 29, 2022 [6 favorites]
Hard to believe I managed to guess my old login.
I should've used better passwords, back in the day.
posted by ckape at 8:27 PM on August 29, 2022 [6 favorites]
It has a couple of ideas I put in there back in 2005--not quite as long ago as mookoz. I can't guess what my password was, though.
posted by eye of newt at 11:24 PM on August 29, 2022
posted by eye of newt at 11:24 PM on August 29, 2022
dramatic statement but the halfbakery literally changed the trajectory of my life
someone wrote a comment on an idea saying "This reminds me of Disco Bandits in Kingdom of Loathing," I read it & thought "I want to be a Disco Bandit," then I got very involved in the KoL community & started getting all (ok both) of my romantic partners from there, one of whom I moved states for, one of whom I'm currently engaged to
now if we have a kid that kid will be a specific combination of genes that only exists because of the halfbakery, so thank you, the halfbakery
posted by taquito sunrise at 2:57 AM on August 30, 2022 [22 favorites]
someone wrote a comment on an idea saying "This reminds me of Disco Bandits in Kingdom of Loathing," I read it & thought "I want to be a Disco Bandit," then I got very involved in the KoL community & started getting all (ok both) of my romantic partners from there, one of whom I moved states for, one of whom I'm currently engaged to
now if we have a kid that kid will be a specific combination of genes that only exists because of the halfbakery, so thank you, the halfbakery
posted by taquito sunrise at 2:57 AM on August 30, 2022 [22 favorites]
it would be fitting if archive.org forgot to mirror this site
posted by lalochezia at 3:57 AM on August 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by lalochezia at 3:57 AM on August 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Why can't I buy plug-in telephone-type devices for my home that I can install in my kitchen, living room and bedroom—telephone-like devices that take and make calls routed through my cell phone?
In other words, I'd have my main cell phone with the main controls and touch screen. And then I'd have devices that would ring in the house when I get a call, and I could use those phone devices instead of my cell phone? I'd like them to be designed like 1970s-era telephones. No touch screen. Just a solid hunk of plastic with a handheld receiver that I could more comfortably talk on. I'm sure they'd have to be WiFi enabled, or Bluetooth. Maybe they'd have to have some kind of chip or card that's paired/encrypted to my cell phone. And I don't want a separate landline.
I hate talking on a flat cell phone. I have hearing loss, and I cannot balance it on my shoulder comfortably. I like everything else about my phone except talking on it. And I don't always want to use the speakerphone. Surely someone could invent a thing like this—for ME!
There's my half-baked idea.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:09 AM on August 30, 2022 [7 favorites]
In other words, I'd have my main cell phone with the main controls and touch screen. And then I'd have devices that would ring in the house when I get a call, and I could use those phone devices instead of my cell phone? I'd like them to be designed like 1970s-era telephones. No touch screen. Just a solid hunk of plastic with a handheld receiver that I could more comfortably talk on. I'm sure they'd have to be WiFi enabled, or Bluetooth. Maybe they'd have to have some kind of chip or card that's paired/encrypted to my cell phone. And I don't want a separate landline.
I hate talking on a flat cell phone. I have hearing loss, and I cannot balance it on my shoulder comfortably. I like everything else about my phone except talking on it. And I don't always want to use the speakerphone. Surely someone could invent a thing like this—for ME!
There's my half-baked idea.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:09 AM on August 30, 2022 [7 favorites]
I poked around and discovered I had an account from 2001. Cripes. What could my password have possibly been? I tried all of my standard low-security "don't care" passwords from back in the day. Could it be... no? Yes. Yes it was.
My password was "password".
2001, people.
posted by phooky at 5:19 AM on August 30, 2022 [15 favorites]
My password was "password".
2001, people.
posted by phooky at 5:19 AM on August 30, 2022 [15 favorites]
SoberHighland, I believe you might be interested in a device called a VOIP adapter or ATA device. For example, the Oobi.
(VOIP stands for "Voice Over IP," and TCP/IP is the network protocol that glues the Internet together. A VOIP provider is somewhere out on the Internet, and your VOIP phone can also be anywhere with an Internet link. So cool!)
So the VOIP adapter goes on your home network, and also plugs into your existing phone wiring. It has its own phone number. When someone calls the VOIP adapter, it converts the call so that your "wall phones" ring and you can answer on any of them -- like the old days. :7) But it's a tiny computer in there so it can offer thoroughly modern features like conference calls, call waiting, block lists, phone trees, and more, depending on the model & provider.
Most of the VOIP providers should offer an app for your cell phone, meaning that you could get calls on the device when you are out and about.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:37 AM on August 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
(VOIP stands for "Voice Over IP," and TCP/IP is the network protocol that glues the Internet together. A VOIP provider is somewhere out on the Internet, and your VOIP phone can also be anywhere with an Internet link. So cool!)
So the VOIP adapter goes on your home network, and also plugs into your existing phone wiring. It has its own phone number. When someone calls the VOIP adapter, it converts the call so that your "wall phones" ring and you can answer on any of them -- like the old days. :7) But it's a tiny computer in there so it can offer thoroughly modern features like conference calls, call waiting, block lists, phone trees, and more, depending on the model & provider.
Most of the VOIP providers should offer an app for your cell phone, meaning that you could get calls on the device when you are out and about.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:37 AM on August 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oh my god, they still have an idea I put on there in 2000. I frequented a comedy board and we would sometimes go to sites like that and troll them. It was all in good fun, or so we thought. Weird that not only is it still there but it's still getting comments.
I would link to it, but I was a very different person back then.
posted by bondcliff at 6:46 AM on August 30, 2022
I would link to it, but I was a very different person back then.
posted by bondcliff at 6:46 AM on August 30, 2022
I still have an account. I have no idea what the password is though, and presumably there is no recovery mechanism.
posted by acb at 6:52 AM on August 30, 2022
posted by acb at 6:52 AM on August 30, 2022
Btw, by strange coincidence, “Anal hygiene grommet” is also the name of my new band's upcoming album.
posted by acb at 6:54 AM on August 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by acb at 6:54 AM on August 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Seems they absolutely hated my idea for mp3 download codes for physical music media in 2006. I'm pretty sure the smart microwave turntable I asked about is a thing, but I'm still sad you can't get a tiny, good camera that isn't attached to a phone
posted by scruss at 6:59 AM on August 30, 2022
posted by scruss at 6:59 AM on August 30, 2022
Mum said she'd always thought I'd invent something one day. I told her about my idea for a mad scientist jar full of gold dust with a hand grenade in it for killing Cybermen. I was probably 13 at the time but the conversation would have gone exactly the same way at 30 if I'm honest. In any case, she didn't think it was marketable
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 7:48 AM on August 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 7:48 AM on August 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
I have no idea what the password is though
After a while, I guessed it. And...
Ideas with a light background have been modified since you were out - that's since Tue, Jun 14 2005, 11:34:45 (+00:00).
posted by acb at 9:05 AM on August 30, 2022
After a while, I guessed it. And...
Ideas with a light background have been modified since you were out - that's since Tue, Jun 14 2005, 11:34:45 (+00:00).
posted by acb at 9:05 AM on August 30, 2022
acb per the FAQ the recovery mechanism is... you email them.
posted by aniola at 9:26 AM on August 30, 2022
posted by aniola at 9:26 AM on August 30, 2022
Looks like the right home for my "murphy urinal" idea.
posted by wats at 10:12 AM on August 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by wats at 10:12 AM on August 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
I like the Haunted Org Chart:
This org chart intermittently displays the names of people who no longer work here.
The superior version flashes up what they really said in their exit interview, or even what they wish they'd said.
By the time you've called over someone else to have a look, the chart is back to normal.
This invention is most effective in a smallish organisation, where only one person is conversant with PowerPoint macros and that person isn't letting on.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:35 AM on August 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
This org chart intermittently displays the names of people who no longer work here.
The superior version flashes up what they really said in their exit interview, or even what they wish they'd said.
By the time you've called over someone else to have a look, the chart is back to normal.
This invention is most effective in a smallish organisation, where only one person is conversant with PowerPoint macros and that person isn't letting on.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:35 AM on August 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
SoberHighland - not what you're asking for, but there are "retro" handsets that plug into your flat phone.
posted by porpoise at 1:41 PM on August 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by porpoise at 1:41 PM on August 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wow, my account from 2004 is still out there, also using my very insecure password. I got a whopping 4 upvotes on my single idea for edible currency.
It's a delight to see something from a simpler time still out in the wild.
posted by past unusual at 4:38 PM on August 31, 2022
It's a delight to see something from a simpler time still out in the wild.
posted by past unusual at 4:38 PM on August 31, 2022
Their primary moderation system appears to be: you moderate your own thread. I posted something and every comment has a little "delete" link next to it.
posted by aniola at 6:14 PM on August 31, 2022
posted by aniola at 6:14 PM on August 31, 2022
I must add that I also found the email where I requested an account, which seems fitting to the site and era:
Dear Bakesperson,
I'd appreciate an account for your intriguing site under the user name
"[username]".
Thanks,
[past unusual]
To which I was told that the account had been created and there -no password- but I could set one by logging in and opening my preferences. What I find most pleasantly surprising is that the site has not been overrun by bots somehow.
posted by past unusual at 6:51 PM on August 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Dear Bakesperson,
I'd appreciate an account for your intriguing site under the user name
"[username]".
Thanks,
[past unusual]
To which I was told that the account had been created and there -no password- but I could set one by logging in and opening my preferences. What I find most pleasantly surprising is that the site has not been overrun by bots somehow.
posted by past unusual at 6:51 PM on August 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
SoberHighland. Ooma sells a VIOP device that connects to your home network and allows various handsets around your house.
It now has a 'Cellular Mode' that allows your cell phone to cause the Ooma phones in your house to ring. This sounds a lot like what you are asking for, unless I am misunderstanding it.
I use Ooma for my 'house phone' because I am older and am used to a house phone even though I realize it doesn't really make sense to have a 'house phone' anymore when everyone has their own personal phone. It has come in handy for two reasons though: 1. it is my throwaway phone number when websites insist on you giving them a phone number and you don't want to give them your cell phone number, and 2. It gives you a backup phone if your cell phone dies.
I haven't tried the 'Cellular Mode' though since I always have my cell phone nearby.
posted by eye of newt at 11:52 AM on September 1, 2022
It now has a 'Cellular Mode' that allows your cell phone to cause the Ooma phones in your house to ring. This sounds a lot like what you are asking for, unless I am misunderstanding it.
I use Ooma for my 'house phone' because I am older and am used to a house phone even though I realize it doesn't really make sense to have a 'house phone' anymore when everyone has their own personal phone. It has come in handy for two reasons though: 1. it is my throwaway phone number when websites insist on you giving them a phone number and you don't want to give them your cell phone number, and 2. It gives you a backup phone if your cell phone dies.
I haven't tried the 'Cellular Mode' though since I always have my cell phone nearby.
posted by eye of newt at 11:52 AM on September 1, 2022
I once recorded audio onto a piece of chocolate. This took some effort. The chocolate had to be melted, spread onto a metal cylinder, lathed flat, then using a phonograph needle the message was recorded. Playback was somewhat destructive, but the sound of me shouting "I am speaking to you now from a piece of chocolate" was just about discernible.via
posted by aniola at 2:39 PM on September 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Mountain Climbing, Upside Down, Underwater, on an Iceberg: Risking decompression sickness instead of altitude sickness
posted by aniola at 3:51 PM on September 11, 2022
posted by aniola at 3:51 PM on September 11, 2022
« Older The Archive of a Vanishing World | The Trauma Of Homelessness Doesn’t End Under A... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Thanks, aniola!
posted by wenestvedt at 7:53 PM on August 29, 2022