35 Bad Ideas That Seemed Genius at the Time
![35 Bad Ideas That Seemed Genius at the Time](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/0/9/9/1127099_320x180.jpg)
If you’ve ever said “How has no one ever thought of this?” after coming up with an allegedly genius idea, you’ve probably got a real stinker on your hands. Plenty of thoughts have been had since the beginning of humanity, so it’s unlikely that you’re cooking with enough gas to have a real breakthrough. For instance, one guy figured he’d “cut out the middleman” and put sriracha directly into his nostrils to clear his sinuses, using the rationale that “hot sauce clears your sinuses when you eat it, so…” Instead, he immediately learned why the middleman is so very needed.
More Redditors have recalled the times their stupid little schemes fell completely flat, and these stories include more than one person who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a power washer.
![photonrain 9y ago When I was young ~12 I decided to make some black powder. I collected all the ingredients but couldn't get potassium nitrate so used sodium nitrate instead. Once all the ingredients were mixed, everything clumped together and samples were hard to ignite as the sodium nitrate is hydroscopic and was damp. So I decided to dry it... inside... in an enamel pot over the gas cooktop. Things proceeded as well as you might expect. 24 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/3/4/1127134.jpg)
![the_monocle 10y ago I accidentally stuck an SD card into the wrong slot in my computer. I couldn't get a grip on it to remove it, so I figured if I wrapped my mouth around the hole I could suck it out like water through a straw. I don't know why I thought this was a good idea. I got a mouthful of computer dust and the card was still stuck. 226 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/3/3/1127133.jpg)
![Dr_Kelvin 10y ago . Edited 10y ago Putting srirarcha in my nostrils when I had a cold, to unblock my sinuses. I figured that if hot sauce helps unclog your sinuses when you eat it why not cut out the middle man. 1.7K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/3/2/1127132.jpg)
![mbryanne 10y ago My friend decided to make duct tape pants. Не had taped a full leg before realizing he didn't have the right idea. Не didn't have leg hair for...awhile. 208 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/3/1/1127131.jpg)
![Jeremy8319 9y ago As a kid i figured out how to survive falling from a tall building. The logic went something like, I'm able to jump off the ground and land without damage, so if I find myself falling from a great height I'll simply jump when I'm almost to the ground. 258 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/3/0/1127130.jpg)
![FinalMantasyX a 9y ago Replacing the broth in hot cooked Ramen with cold lemonade It did not produce a lemony chicken sensation as expected 405 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/6/1127126.jpg)
![9y ago Edited 9y ago During college, I went stand by on a flight to visit my friends in San Diego as I couldn't afford full fare at that time. It seemed a great idea to fly basically for free. It worked fine getting out there - but I could NOT get a return flight, no matter what, unless I was willing to pay full fare. Basically, I was stranded because I hadn't worked out a return flight I could afford in advance, in case the stand-by didn't work for the return. I finally had to have money wired from my](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/9/1127129.jpg)
![11y ago I tried to quit smoking by using chewing tobacco. I just ended up doing both for awhile. 1.8K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/7/1127127.jpg)
![TheFreshOne 9y ago My grandfather gave me $30 twenty years ago to invest. I was 13 at the time, and thought Toblerone would be a good investment... not shares or anything, the actual chocolate bars. 381 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/5/1127125.jpg)
![No_Cat_No_Cr... 11y ago . Edited 11y ago In high school chem we were doing some experiment with ammonia, but the sample we had wasn't strong enough so the teacher got a less diluted one from the store room. I had the two samples in my hand but forgot which was which, so I decided to smell them to see which was stronger. I couldn't smell for a week.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/8/1127128.jpg)
![coreyinne . 11y ago . Edited 11y ago You know how L'oreal made a tears free shampoo marketed to kids? Well, young me thought it would be a good idea to test it out by squeezing the shampoo out of the bottle, into my hand, and right into my eye. Needless to say, that day I learned that advertisers lie.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/4/1127124.jpg)
![NewtonsKnickers 11y ago When I was a kid I decided, since I liked ginger ale, that a spoonful of powdered ginger from the spice rack would be delicious. I was wrong. 653 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/2/1127122.jpg)
![justinarms 11y ago As a kid I had this brilliant scheme to always overpay for things in order to get lots of change back and therefore become wealthy. 1.4K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/3/1127123.jpg)
![savedbyiron . 11y ago I should scratch this mosquito bite on my ankle with the pressure washer I'm currently using.... 1.9K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/1/1127121.jpg)
![Lareine 11y ago As a kid I thought it would be a brilliant idea to save all my family's used paper dixie cups and sell them for 5 cents each. I had about 6 stacks, floor to ceiling, behind the chair in my brother's room. I even took the time to sort them by design. In case anyone was hoping to pick up a used dixie cup for the low low price of 5c, sorry, my parents eventually threw them away. 884 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/2/0/1127120.jpg)
![nonvideas 11y ago Stick a lead pipe into an industrial fan and it'll chop it into little slices, like salami! It didn't. Huge bang, lots of smoke, fan jammed up and the pipe swung around and clocked me in the side of the head. My dad wanted to beat me, I think, but saw that the pipe had already done the job. 2K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/9/1127119.jpg)
![lolmaster2000 11y ago A couple weeks ago I was taking a test, when I thought of a way to cheat. What if I write down the notes on a piece of paper, put it in a balloon, then bring the balloon to class and pop it when I need the notes? I thought about it for a good thirty minutes, thinking I was a genius. After a while I realized that I might be mentally challenged for thinking of an idea as stupid as that. 1.1K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/8/1127118.jpg)
![Oddjob1313 o 11y ago . Edited 11y ago Wine Float. A root beer float with wine instead. To clarify, it was red wine. 1.5K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/7/1127117.jpg)
![Thedirtygongon 11y ago Wrapped my dick in a fruit roll-up. Girlfriend at the time thought this was going to be a sexy endeavor, until we realized sucking didn't remove it quite as quickly as we thought it would. 1.7K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/6/1127116.jpg)
![rawrtrick 11y ago I have a glass top stove. One morning I came downstairs and noticed a puddle on it. I don't remember if I had any idea of its composition but it seemed like a good idea to turn the heat on so it would evaporate and i wouldn't have to wipe it up.. 20 seconds later I put my face into the rising steam making sure to take a big whiff (you know so I could find out what it smelled like in order to determine its origins) But yeah my cat peed of the stove and I](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/5/1127115.jpg)
![ClavinovaDubb 0 11y ago Power washing the deck, got very thirsty but too lazy to go into the house and get a drink, figured if I pulled the trigger lightly and quickly... 3K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/4/1127114.jpg)
![HLY_ 9y ago When I was drunk one time I thought the best idea ever was to lie on top of a perfectly squared privacy hedge. It didn't even occur to me that it wouldn't be able to hold a person up, or that it wasn't a solid mass... I fell straight through it & not only scratched myself up really badly, I destroyed these peoples hedge. 437 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/3/1127113.jpg)
![boredwaitingforlife . 11y ago That I could clean my razor by sliding my finger across it to get the hair out 1.6K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/2/1127112.jpg)
![Omomon 9y ago They should make strip clubs for kids my age! -10 year old me 104 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/1/1127111.jpg)
![Yo-effing-lo 9y ago I was five and I had a firecracker (it was my mate's uncle's and somehow my mate snuck it out of the house). I thought it's gonna be fun if I stick that firecracker inside a pile of cow poop and light it. I even convinced my mate Jimmy (stupid Jimmy, should have stopped stupid me) that if we step 5 steps back away from the poop we wouldn't be covered in poop. I ignited it. It exploded. We were covered in poop. Received a spanking for playing with fire. 0/10 won't recommend.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/7/1127107.jpg)
![9y ago If I blow the pot smoke into a towel in my uncirculated basement, it will absorb it and my parents won't smell it That's the story of how 16 year old me was caught smoking pot 667 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/5/1127105.jpg)
![9y ago Edited 9y ago When I was 9 I thought it would be a fantastic idea to grab a wasp out of the air and then release it to impress my friends. I particularly wanted to impress a girl who lived next door. I reached out my hand and grabbed. I caught the wasp! Maybe now Laura Day will finally see me for the hero I clearly am! Two seconds later I was writhing around on the ground in pain cursing myself for being such an idiot and Laura walked off to play doctor with Joe Dawson. 1.3K](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/0/1127100.jpg)
![Scrappy_Larue 9y ago Pinning my socks together with safety pins before putting them in the laundry. They came out of the dryer matched, and zero sock loss. Eventually one of those pins destroyed the washer. 381 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/1/0/1127110.jpg)
![hazier . 9y ago My flatmate once accidently re-invented soup, thinking he had revolutionized the Smoothie industry with a hot, savoury version for winter. 500 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/8/1127108.jpg)
![Kehgals 9y ago I tried parachuting from a tree with a blanket stuffed into my backpack, tied to the loopeyhole at the top of the backpack. Not a smart kid. 262 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/6/1127106.jpg)
![wehaveatrex3 9y ago In 5th grade my friend and I had a genius idea to start a business where we'd purchase school supplies from the student store then sell them for less money.... 361 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/4/1127104.jpg)
![stephenisthebest 9y ago Putting a spoon in the microwave so I could scoop the ice cream easier. Middle of the night I woke up the dogs and everything. 1.8K ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/2/1127102.jpg)
![TwoTonJoe 9y ago 6 year old me. H20 is water. The 'O' is Oxygen. Therefore, if I press my lips almost all the way together and breathe in, I'll be able to separate the H from the О, and breathe underwater. This can be made easier by wearing a t-shirt over my head, because the t-shirt will help filter out the Hydrogen. Result - waterboarded myself and almost drowned. 289 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/3/1127103.jpg)
![ndnsoulja 9y ago My friends and I thought our Jamaican Hotbox would take care of the smell. A jamaican hotbox is essentially locking yourself in a bathroom, and running the shower with the hottest water you could get. We thought the steam would mask the smell of the herb. Nope, you're just standing in a makeshift sauna, fighting to retain consciousness, and yes your parents will still smell it through the door. 239 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/9/1127109.jpg)
![PM_ME_STEAM_KEYS_PLS 10y ago I thought assembling a PC inside a desk drawer would make it quieter and I wouldn't have to see the ugly pc (it was back in the Pentium4 era). Neverthless, bitch caught in flames. 657 ...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/0/1/1127101.jpg)