# Someone Needs to Invent **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689 "2022-01-31T16:20:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/201 "2022-02-24T16:31:50Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > all cans (vegetables, soups, tuna, etc) should come with a ring/pop-top. I was wondering about this a while ago and found out that ring/pop-top cans are slightly more expensive and are not liked by a significant percentage of consumers. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/202 "2022-02-24T16:37:04Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > When I buy socks, they come in a resealable bag! Why? I’ve noticed that there is ALWAYS a bag of socks on the store shelf where someone has ripped the bag open to check - something. Actually - I can sort of sympathize. I’ve had to return too many socks because the the size range on the bag was highly optimistic. Or the top had a band of elastic sized to go onto a 2" pipe! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/203 "2022-02-24T17:27:36Z")
OreIda needs to gets its act together and put ziplock closures on their tater tots and frozen French fries bags. The bag instructions talk about making either a full bag or half bag, but we make only one or two servings at a time. Their bags are very thick and hard to close with a twist tie. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/204 "2022-02-24T17:57:42Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > A polite sounding car horn which you would use to say “thank you”, “hello”, etc. You might be interested in this: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lv8wqnk_TsA/maxresdefault.jpg "NICEST Car Horn Ever- DIY") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv8wqnk_TsA) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/205 "2022-02-24T18:08:09Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Yeah, that’s a universal problem. Especially now that we’re worried about COVID. In the old days people would lick their fingers to get enough friction to open the produce bags. Not anymore. Yuk! > [@TRC4941](#): > > I do this all the time. Always have the bag at the ready! Otherwise, you’ll be standing there for what seems like hours trying to separate the bag opening. I wonder if these would work. > **[Amazon.com : CLAIRLA - Rubber Fingers Tips for Money Counting Non - Slip Rubber...](https://www.amazon.com/CLAIRLA-Fingers-Paperwork-Supplies-Silicone/dp/B07MWC91R7)** > > Amazon.com : CLAIRLA - Rubber Fingers Tips for Money Counting Non - Slip Rubber Gel, Finger Han Tip Protector for All Your Counting, Filing, Collating and Sorting tasks, Silicone Thimble(S) : Arts, Crafts & Sewing ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/206 "2022-02-25T12:26:39Z")
SOMEONE NEEDS TO INVENT: An email editor that automatically deletes unnecessary copies of an email chain. You send me (and others) and email with something like: When will xyz be ready? I _respond_ to all: In two weeks. Someone else _responds_ to all: Could you pull that ahead? So on and so forth. Before long, my inbox is filling up with multiple copies of email chains. I’d just look at the subject lines and delete the old ones - but people have been known to trim their emails before they send. So someone needs to invent a system that knows when the content of an older email is completely contained in the content of a newer one - and deletes the older one. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/207 "2022-02-25T16:34:48Z")
I wonder if this is theoretically possible, I have thought about this many times. > [@JohnGalt](#): > > An anti-microwave, that would rapidly cool or freeze food or drinks in like 30 seconds ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/208 "2022-02-25T16:38:41Z")
I would like to see some kind of algorithm tracker that would flash pictures in front of you and then measure your responses. It would respond by showing more of what you responded to the strongest. It wouldn’t require any voluntary response. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/209 "2022-02-25T16:55:06Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I would like to see some kind of algorithm tracker that would flash pictures in front of you and then measure your responses. It would respond by showing more of what you responded to the strongest. It wouldn’t require any voluntary response . For some purposes we have that. **Penile plethysmography** > **[Penile plethysmography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penile_plethysmography)** > > Penile plethysmography (PPG) or phallometry is a measurement of blood flow to the penis, typically used as a proxy for measurement of sexual arousal. The most commonly reported methods of conducting penile plethysmography involves the measurement of the circumference of the penis with a mercury-in-rubber or electromechanical strain gauge, or the volume of the penis with an airtight cylinder and inflatable cuff at the base of the penis. Corpora cavernosa nerve penile plethysmographs measure change... I am not convinced it has much practical utility. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/210 "2022-02-25T16:59:07Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I am not convinced it has much practical utility. Heh. I wore one for several sleep studies in which I was a normal control. The study was comparing nocturnal penile tumescence in normal males and males with erectile dysfunction. I made some good money; I was an undergrad being paid $300-$400 a night _to sleep_ with an EKG/EEG/penis ring. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/211 "2022-02-25T17:00:11Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > in which I was a normal control. There’s the flaw in the study right there. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/212 "2022-02-26T01:11:12Z")
A car horn tone that means OOPS, SORRY ABOUT THAT! Maybe a tweedle tweedle sound. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/213 "2022-02-26T03:01:46Z")
…A universally acknowledged sarcasm font. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/214 "2022-02-26T05:16:59Z")
An email client that deletes emails when they are no longer relevant. Not for personal email, mind you, but for “special offers” or “weekly coupons/codes” that are going to be completely irrelevant at some point in the future. Just get rid of them as soon as they’re useless. Probably would take some AI to do it without sender assistance; so if we could figure out a way to incentivize senders to use an email header to do this, so much the better. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/215 "2022-02-26T05:21:14Z")
How about a personal communication scheme that is _more useful_ and _more practical_ than email? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/216 "2022-02-26T06:02:13Z")
Actually, I think what we need at this point is something that would automatically translate any preferred method of communication into all the current and no doubt future proliferating versions; so that I could send an email and magically reach not only the people who like email, but also all the people who will only read texts, the ones who only read facebook, the ones who expect to be notified via twitter or snapchat or whatever’s currently up next, the ones only on a land-line phone, and the couple of people who really wanted a hardcopy letter. Oh, yes, and the ones who would have noticed if it were in the newspaper. – and then have all their replies in their preferred methods get somehow translated into my email box. In legible form, please, not in a text attachment that mysteriously leaves out half of what they said. I really think the last thing we need is yet another communication scheme; but I expect we’ll get at least another dozen or so of them anyway. – I know there’s a relevant xkcd – ah, there it is. > **[Standards](https://xkcd.com/927/)** > > Fortunately, the charging one has been solved now that we've all standardized on mini-USB. Or is it micro-USB? Shit. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/217 "2022-02-26T13:02:24Z")
In my job - granted, I am a software engineer - I look at email maybe twice a day, mostly to see if someone forgot how to communicate and occasionally, if bored, to mark notification emails as “read”. All communications are on Slack, where you can choose what channels that contain information you care about to be part of. Discord, which grew off a gaming community coms app is similar. Searchable, secure, convenient, threaded conversations - it is way better than email _FWD FWD FWD Re:_ mail trails ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/218 "2022-02-26T13:27:21Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > All communications are on Slack, where you can choose what channels that contain information you care about to be part of. Discord, which grew off a gaming community coms app is similar. When most of my department started to work from home, we started using Slack. We also use email, but Slack really is great. Each sub-group has a channel, and big projects get their own channel too. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/219 "2022-02-27T08:06:10Z")
Some things can be cooked on a car’s engine. [Cooking great meals with your car engine. The heat is on.](https://www.wisebread.com/cooking-great-meals-with-your-car-engine-the-heat-is-on) For keeping your food warm, you’d just need something to hold it securely in one position on the engine without the food spilling. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689/220 "2022-02-28T17:38:38Z")
**Pneuber** , a pneumatic delivery system for meals, groceries, meds, clean underwear, etc. Rollout would be in Paris, reviving whatever infrastructure remains of [the old system,](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_pneumatic_post) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-needs-to-invent/958689.md?page=12)