# That really dumb idea...that you are secretly afraid would sell like hotcakes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 14, 2025, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954 "2025-10-14T06:44:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/101 "2025-10-21T02:26:04Z")
I think the electromagnetic repulsion between the nuclei would make it take up quite a bit of space indeed. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/102 "2025-10-21T10:51:46Z")
Depends on how hard you compress it during manufacture. Cf neutronium. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/103 "2025-10-21T11:56:40Z")
A restaurant chain called Leftoverz takes the nation by storm. Dining areas are designed to resemble kitchen interiors, featuring things like linoleum flooring, lots of (nonfunctional) cabinets and formica counters, decorative refrigerators line the walls and are adorned with lots of magnets, crayon drawings by four year olds, and shopping lists. The menu features many items like: casseroles, two fifths of a rack of ribs, cold slices of pizza, meatloaf and ketchup sandwiches, and pb&jā€™s. Items are served from repurposed margarine containers and Tupperware. Flatware, glasses, and silverware are a motley assortment of mismatched items. Restaurant staff all dress in street clothing (breakfast could be served by folks wearing slippers and bathrobes). Service is usually quite speedy because really how long does it take to microwave a few plates worth of spaghetti in a Corning ware dish? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2025, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/104 "2025-10-21T13:03:37Z")
I had an idea for a restaurant called Home Cooking, where you could drive through on your way home from work and pick up a fully cooked meal to take home. There would be a choice of a few entrees and a bunch of sides to choose from. The entrees would change every day so that you were always guaranteed something different. I thought that any food that didnā€™t sell on a particular day could be donated to a homeless shelter, but maybe I just sell the leftovers to Leftoverz. šŸ˜‰ ---
**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:** [October 22, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/105 "2025-10-22T02:10:00Z")
A breakup service. Essentially, mediation for people who have been dating. For the person breaking up, they do an interview, get a full understanding of the situation, and prepare a PowerPoint presentation, which they will then present to the other person. For the person getting dumped, thereā€™s grief counseling, and maybe a nice buffet. Then thereā€™s an exchange of personal items, one last final conversation (perhaps behind a partition), and maybe some legal forms, as applicable (we have the ā€œcrazy stalkerā€ package, and the very popular ā€œnon disclosure agreementā€) Tie it in to a dating service, and you could make a fortune. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/106 "2025-10-22T11:21:31Z")
Even better if it included a quick-response on-call moving service to get his/her shit out of her/his residence pronto. Genius, Moriarty; itā€™s genius! ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/107 "2025-10-22T22:30:58Z")
Triangular solar panels. Many, many roofs are not orthogonal, triangles would help cover more roof space. Good for getting more power for the consumer and the solar company sells more square footage, win for everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/108 "2025-10-22T23:08:21Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Iā€™m old enough to remember when they were available in stores. Same here, used to buy Leviā€™s in 33" length ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/109 "2025-10-22T23:10:57Z")
I have one that actually works. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2025, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/110 "2025-10-23T00:23:01Z")
> [@motu](#): > > Triangular solar panels. Many, many roofs are not orthogonal, triangles would help cover more roof space. Good for getting more power for the consumer and the solar company sells more square footage, win for everybody. The funny thing is, they make fake panels in all kinds of shapes for aesthetic purposes. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2025, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/111 "2025-10-23T00:40:36Z")
They ought to be hexagonal for extra- futuristic aesthetic and practical fit. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2025, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/112 "2025-10-23T03:22:08Z")
They should be shaped like Penrose tiles to make the installersā€™ job more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2025, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/113 "2025-10-23T14:00:49Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > A pancake iron, by analogy with a waffle iron. Iā€™m staying in a hotel at the moment, and was expecting one of those easy-to-use waffle irons at the free breakfast. You know the type if youā€™ve done much travelling over the past twenty years or so - pour in a measured amount of batter, close the lid, turn it over, a two-and-a-half minute timer starts, and when the alarm beeps at the end you can open it back up and youā€™ve got a perfect waffle. But this hotel has a pancake machine, and you donā€™t even need to fill it! You just push a button, it extrudes a pancake onto a conveyor belt inside the machine, cooks it just so and it flops out the side of the machine after a minute. Push the button twice, you get two pancakes spaced one minute apart, and so on and so forth. I donā€™t know if itā€™s going to be available for personal consumer use at some point, but it may not be too far away. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2025, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/114 "2025-10-23T14:04:29Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > this hotel has a pancake machine, and you donā€™t even need to fill it I assume _somebody_ needs to fill it, otherwise Star Trek food replicator tech has been monopolized by the Hyatt Corporation. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2025, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/115 "2025-10-23T15:13:39Z")
Yeah, Iā€™m sure thereā€™s a reservoir that the hotel workers fill from time to time. Either way, itā€™s better than Neelixā€™s cooking! ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/116 "2025-10-23T20:44:08Z")
There are remote control dildos and the idea is that the remote person can stimulate the dildo wearer whenever they want to leading to possibly embarrassing situations. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/117 "2025-10-23T21:40:55Z")
We had the remote clit ticklers over 20 years ago. I had some fun with that when my girlfriend was bartending. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/118 "2025-10-25T19:15:58Z")
Sounds awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/119 "2026-02-07T20:24:06Z")
I was making breakfast, and using tongs to transfer three sausages to each of the plates, stacked in a little pyramid-like shape between the ends of the me tongs. Then this idea hit me. In the logging regions like where I live, restaurants should serve sausages to children in little toy logging trucks. Now **that** is undeniably dumb, yet not without a certain evocative charm. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954/120 "2026-02-07T20:44:52Z")
I saw an advert just yesterday for a ā€œcocktail bombā€. It works just like a bath bomb, but you drop the little ball in a cocktail glass with your alcohol of choice. šŸ™„ I have a dumb idea that I know would succeedā€¦and because of the repercussions I wonā€™t take it any farther-the Caffederm Patch.It would work like a NicoDerm patch, but releasing caffeine slowly throughout the day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-really-dumb-idea-that-you-are-secretly-afraid-would-sell-like-hotcakes/1023954.md?page=7)