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37 Ridiculous Ideas That Actually Worked (and Great Ones That Bombed)

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37 Ridiculous Ideas That Actually Worked (and Great Ones That Bombed)

February 21, 2024

Sometimes the best ideas turn out horrible, and the worst ideas become cultural phenomena. The lesson here: Stop thinking altogether.

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37

THE AIR FORCE NEEDED A SUPERCOMPUTER, BUT DIDN'T HAVE THE BUDGET. So THEY HOOKED TOGETHER 1,716 SONY PLAYSTATION 3S. The result is a massive computational megamachine known as the Condor Cluster. It cost 1/10th the cost of a traditional supercomputer. It's open source, and universities are using it to build everything from artificial neural networks to models that will prove Einstein's theory of relativity. CRACKED.COM http//www.escapistmagazine. .com/news/view/ 109564-PS3-Supercomputer-Opened-to-University-Reseachers — Source

36

THE CITY OF BULAWAYO HAD A SERIOUS SEWAGE PROBLEM. Water rationing had caused a nasty backup in their poop pipes that caused a big stink and an even bigger health hazard. 1. 2. So THEY IMPLEMENTED SYNCHRONIZED FLUSHING. a City officials asked residents to flush their toilets at the exact same time, at three-day intervals. It worked. The pipes stay wet and unclogged, now. CRACKED COM http //www fheguardian. .om/worid/2012/sep/23/zimbabwe-simultaneous-toilet-flush — Source

35

RUSSIA HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH SNOW ON ITS RUNWAYS. So THEY CLEAR IT WITH JET ENGINES. They strap MiG-17 fighter jet engines onto traditional snowplows, and let 'em rip. Boston has recently begun to use the same solution for clearing train tracks. CRACKED.COM http //wwwdarkroastedblend com/2009/08/jot-ongines-on-trucks-for-fun-and,html — Source

34

A CALIFORNIA MAN WAS SUFFERING FROM ULCERATIVE COLITIS. So НЕ GAVE HIMSELF WORMS. Specifically, he swallowed whipworm eggs, and in a few months his symptoms had dramatically improved. Please note that we do not recommend ingesting parasites as an alternative to medical treatment. CRACKED.COM http://abcnews go com/Health/WellnessNews/worm- cocktail-treat-intestinal-problems/story?id=12286308 — Source

33

VIGANELLA, ITALY, IS COMPLETELY IN SHADOW 84 DAYS A YEAR. So THEY BUILT A GIANT MIRROR TO CATCH THE SUN. The town sits in the shadow of the Italian Alps, and the surrounding mountains completely blocked the sun. The giant mirror is run by a computer that follows the movement of the sun to light up the center of town. CRACKED.COM 89371.stm — Source

32

THE KREMLIN DOESN'T WANT SPIES INTERCEPTING ITS COMMUNICATIONS. Ó و 10 a 2/ WF SA 6 8 3 8 - ج % P e a W E R T Y U I o : L K J H G F A S D M N в с V Z X So THEY USE TYPEWRITERS. President Vladimir Putin recently decided to invest $15,000 on electric typewriters for immediate use in intelligence agencies. his presidency. Unlike computers, typewriters can't be infected by surveillance bugs from Western http://www. rawstory. .com/2013/07/kremlin-tums-back-to-typewriters-to-avoid-security-leaks/ CRACKED.COM — Source

31

BENGAL TIGERS KEEP SNEAKING UP ON PEOPLE IN THE GANGES DELTA. ? So THEY WEAR MASKS ON THE BACKS OF THEIR HEADS. Tiger attacks got so bad that 60 villagers a year were e being ambushed by tigers as they went about their jungle-related activities. Then somebody noticed that tigers don't attack people who are facing them. CRACKED COM http //www nytimes com/1989/09/05/science/face-masks-foo-the-bengal-tigers.html — Source

30

Tokyo

TOKYO HAD A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH SUICIDES IN TRAIN STATIONS. So THEY INSTALLED BLUE STREET LIGHTS. They'd found that blue lights reduced crime by 9%, so they decided to try their effect on suicide. Since the change to the lighting, there have been no suicide attempts. Not only is blue a calming color, but it also reminds people of police lights, so they feel they're being watched. CRACKED.COM http ://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/blue- streetlights-believed-to-prevent-suicides-street-crime/ — Source

29

THE BALTIC STATES WANTED FREEDOM FROM THE SOVIET UNION. I I P S So THEY JOINED HANDS AND SANG SONGS. It was 50 years after the deal that left Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania members of the USSR, at the Estonian Song Festival. Residents of all three countries formed 2 a chain 360 miles long, and braced for impact. None came, and all three countries held free elections within the year. CRACKED.COM http://www.amthsonianmag com/ricksteves/estonias-singing-revolution-4691/ — Source

28

SOLDIERS IN IRAQ HAVE A HARD TIME SEEING DEADLY TRIP-WIRES. So THEY CARRY CANS OF SILLY STRING. Silly String will cling to hidden wires, when sprayed into the air. It's not standard equipment. Marcelle Shriver has organized the delivery of over 120,000 cans of the stuff to Iraq after her son was taught the technique by a group of U.S. Marines. CRACKED.COM http://www.nbcnews com/id/16079446/ns/technology and science- innovation/t/nj-waman-collects-silly-string-serious-use/ VjOLRq8rTSc — Source

27

IVANHOE RESERVOIR NEEDED TO KEEP SUNLIGHT FROM TURNING ITS WATER CARCINOGENIC. So THE LA DEPARTMENT OF WATER COVERED ITS SURFACE WITH BALLS. The problem comes when sunlight combines with chlorine and bromide, forming bromate. But 400,000 black plastic balls effectively blocked sunlight from reaching the surface of the water. CRACKED.COM http://articles latimes .com/2008jun/1 OMocal/me-balls10 — Source

26

DURING THE KOREAN WAR, THE US NEEDED TO RESPOND TO A VIOLENT ATTACK. So THEY DESTROYED A TREE. Two American soldiers had been axe-murdered as they tried to prune a tree that was obstructing the view between outposts. The US responded with Operation Paul e Bunyan, which involved sending 813 troops (including helicopters and bombers) to take the tree down. President Kim II Sung apologized for the killings that day. CRACKED.COM http ://www.stripes com/news/former-commander-honors-victims-of-dmz-ax-murders-1.67847 — Source

25

Psoriasis

PSORIASIS SUFFERERS HAVE FOUND A NEW WAY TO TREAT THEIR SKIN. THEY LET FLESH-EATING FISH CHEW ON THEM. A spa in Turkey offers visitors the opportunity to sit in a warm tank full of doctor fish, a minnow-like species that likes to munch on dead skin. The treatments cost around 3 grand and last 18 months. CRACKED.COM http://news.bbc.co uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/7741594.stm — Source

24

LIKE ANY COUNTRY, NORWAY HAS CRIMINALS TO INCARCERATE. So THEY GIVE THEIR PRISONERS TONS OF FREEDOM AND COMFORT. They call them residents, and they have nice rooms and amenities like a movie theater, jogging trails, and accommodations for visiting relatives. Not in spite of, but because of the kind treatment, Norway's recidivism rate is a third of America's. CRACKED.COM http://content time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2000920,00.html — Source

23

MR. ROGERS NEEDED FUNDING FOR PUBLIC TELEVISION. What do you do with the mad that you feel? When you feel so mad you could bite. When the whole wide world seems oh so wrong, and nothing you do seems very right. So НЕ RECITED A SONG TO THE SENATE. It was 1969, and Nixon had proposed cutting the PBS budget in half. Mr. Rogers calmly sat down at the senate hearing, talked about his show, and recited the lyrics to one of his songs. In 1971, Congress raised PBS's budget from $9 million to $22 million. CRACKED.COM https://www. outube.com/watch?v=yXEuEUQIP3Q

22

DR. JULIUS WAGNER- JAUREGG WON A NOBEL PRIZE FOR HIS CURE FOR SYPHILIS. Malaria: HE'D TREAT IT BY GIVING THE PATIENT MALARIA. It's called fever therapy. The high body temperature caused by the malaria would kill the syphilis, and then once it was gone, the doctor would administer the antidote for malaria. Done! CRACKED.COM http://www. ncbi.nlm nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC3670443/ — Source

21

ICELAND IS FREEZING COLD AND COVERED WITH GLACIERS. GENERATOR CONDENSER TURBINE So THEY USE VOLCANOES TO KEEP WARM. Energy from hot volcanic rocks powers lights in homes and restaurants, and provides the hot water that heats 95% of Iceland's homes. Icelanders have also built power plants fueled by steam channeled through manmade geysers. CRACKED COM http ://www.npr org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=16780339 — Source

20

School Shootings

A NEVADA GYM TEACHER STOPPED A SCHOOL SHOOTING. SHE DID IT BY HUGGING THE SHOOTER. When a 14-year-old student opened fire in the school hallway, Jencie Fagan approached the shooter, told e him to drop the gun, then pulled him into a bear hug and promised not to leave him. Two students were injured in the shooting, but made a full recovery. CRACKED COM http //abcnews go — Source

19

A Fact You Can Trust!

A DOCTOR HAD A PATIENT WHO WAS HICCUPPING AT A RATE OF 30 PER MINUTE FOR 72 HOURS. НЕ FINALLY CURED THEM BY MASSAGING THE MAN'S BUTTHOLE. S No, seriously. Hiccups are closely connected with the vagus nerve, which runs all the way from your brain to your diaphragm m and finally, near the rectum. CRACKED COM http://www.abc.net au/science/articles/2012/09/04/3582324.htm — Source

18

Two DOLPHINS IN A CHINESE ZOO SWALLOWED so MUCH PLASTIC THEY COULDN'T EAT. So THE ZOO CALLED IN THE WORLD'S TALLEST MAN TO REACH DOWN THEIR THROATS. Bao Xishun's arms are nearly 3 1/2 feet long, so he was able to reach where the doctors' surgical tools could not. His arms also had the advantage of being flexible. CRACKED COM http //news bbc co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6178659 stm — Source

17

THE COUNTRY OF GEORGIA HAD A POLICE CORRUPTION PROBLEM. So PRESIDENT SAAKASHVILI FIRED ALL THE COPS. e Specifically, he canned 30,000 corrupt traffic officers. It took three months to replace them, and in the interim, the situation on the roads actually improved. CRACKED.COM http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=4849472 — Source

16

SIXTH CENTURY DOCTORS NEEDED A WAY TO SUTURE WOUNDS. So THEY USED DRIVER ANTS. An ancient medical document called the Sushruta Samhita documents this practice, which is still in use today in some parts of the world. The trick is to get the surgery ants angry enough to bite you, and then twist off their bodies once they've latched on. CRACKED.COM http://ewma — Source

15

CRACKED WILLIAM ADDIS INVENTED THE MODERN TOOTHBRUSH. While serving time for inciting a riot, Addis wired boar bristles into the holes he'd drilled into a bone, inciting a whole new riot of people clambering for a way to clean their filthy maws. — Source

14

CRACKED MIGUEL DE CERVANTES MAPPED OUT DON QUIXOTE. Cervantes spent most of his life alternately writing stories and getting captured, so it's no surprise he developed his most famous work in a Seville jail. — Source

13

CRACKED ROBERT STROUD IDENTIFIED A CURE FOR SEPTICEMIA. The Birdman of Alcatraz became a renowned ornithologist behind bars, and his work with birds eventually led him to a cure for the deadly disease. Не was also so violent that he spent most of his 54-year sentence in solitary. We contain multitudes. — Source

12

CRACKED GEORGE KAMINSKI AMASSED THE WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION OF FOUR-LEAF CLOVERS. Не eventually collected 72,927 four-leaf clovers right from the prison yard to show a younger inmate that you can do anything you put your mind to. Where was that luck when he was arrested for kidnapping? — Source

11

CRACKED JOSEPH PILATES DEVELOPED, YOU KNOW, PILATES. Не was a World War | POW when he and his fellow prisoners used the time to work on their cores with a method now taught by women who would blow away if you yelled at them. — Source

10

Andre Weil

CRACKED ANDRÉ WEIL DEVELOPED THE WEIL CONJECTURES. France wasn't so big on conscientious objection in 1940, so Weil sat in a French prison for refusing to serve when he began working on a set of mathematical statements so influential that people have won awards just for proving them. — Source

9

CRACKED JESSE HAWLEY PLOTTED THE ERIE CANAL. DELPHA Hawley was a shipping merchant whose business failed largely because of the lack of water routes across New York. So in debtors' prison, he wrote to lawmakers about developing one, and even mapped out its route. — Source

8

The Russian Space Program

CRACKED THE RUSSIAN SPACE PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED. Stalin frowned upon any science that didn't support him, so he threw all the scientists he didn't like in prison - but had them keep working. Their engineering breakthroughs resulted in the country's World War II victory and revolutionary space program. — Source

7

CRACKED VINCENT VAN GOGH PAINTED STARRY NIGHT. After that whole ear-cutting thing, Van Gogh was confined to an asylum for a year. Не painted a bunch of stuff there, including those famous swirly stars. — Source

6

CRACKED DAVID MARSHALL WILLIAMS REVOLUTIONIZED WEAPONS MANUFACTURING. J-J-H 24 KOA NOVA the Probably nobody wanted Williams, then a moonshiner and cop killer, thinking about guns too much, but his inventions were so important to the U.S. military that he was let out early. — Source

5

CRACKED MILUTIN MILANKOVIĆ SOLIDIFIED HIS CONCEPT OF MILANKOVIĆ CYCLES. The Serbian mathematician wasn't about to let a little thing like political imprisonment stop his research and even brought his notes to the POW camp. His groundbreaking manuscript was actually delayed two years because the publisher ran out of paper during the war. — Source

4

Marco Polo

CRACKED MARCO POLO (SORT OF) WROTE HIS TRAVELS. Ol' Marky PoPo wasn't actually much of a writer. In fact, it wasn't until he met a real romance writer in prison that he decided to grant him the privilege of recording his road trips. — Source

3

CRACKED WERNER VON SIEMENS CREATED SIEMENS AG. After getting locked up for illegal dueling, Siemens spent his time on a series of chemistry experiments that eventually became Siemens AG. You know, the name you've seen on every machine you've ever seen. — Source

2

CRACKED THE MARQUIS DE SADE WROTE 120 DAYS OF SODOM AND JUSTINE. Не spent almost as much of his life in prison as out for the same crimes he wrote about, so he didn't get a lot of other time. 120 Days was actually thought lost for a century after the storming of the Bastille. — Source

1

CRACKED FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY BEGAN WRITING THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD. After he was thrown in a Siberian labor camp for the vicious crime of reading, the great Russian word count stretcher began composing a prison literature classic. — Source

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