# What's the dumbest/worst "Next Million Dollar Idea" someone has shared with you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447 "2023-11-01T23:19:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [November 2, 2023, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/61 "2023-11-02T18:12:48Z")
What would the bartender’s cut be? They would be letting sales people come in and bother the customers, driving some of them away, ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/62 "2023-11-02T18:14:05Z")
I’ve been sold on quite a few 2nd-law violations. Latest windmill-on-a-car variation was an EV with a “really good alternator” that charged itself, suggested by a taxi driver near Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/63 "2023-11-02T18:29:32Z")
There’s a skit in an old Tosh.O episode based on this very premise. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/64 "2023-11-02T18:42:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Starving Artist Movers is successful based on it’s simple attraction of a lower price because they hire people who desperately need money\*. Sounds like a company that would make me think twice: “We hire folks desperate for money to transport your valuable goods! They’re happy to come into your home and see all your stuff. Probably most of it will get to the destination” ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/65 "2023-11-02T18:56:34Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > If interactive shows were something that audiences wanted, I’m sure we’d see a lot more of that content on streaming services since they could easily do it. They have a few new ones now, but none that are great art. They’re also using the technology for quiz shows, with some in which how well you answer trivia questions can affect how well the characters do in the show. Like, there’s a cartoon cat burglar, and if you answer wrong, the guard catches him. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.E](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.e/32/8932_2.png) [@Mr.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.E)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/66 "2023-11-02T18:58:13Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > > [@hajario](#): > > > > My impression is that it was a flop and pretty much killed the idea that anyone would take the time and expense to do another one. > > Netflix also has “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend” (which was kind of fun), but I don’t know if there have been any interactive shows since then. Netflix has been doing these pretty regularly, but you may not have noticed since most of them are geared for kids. Minecraft, Puss in Boots, Captain Underpants, Boss Baby, that sort of thing. There’s also been a series of Man vs Wild themed ones where you can help Bear Grylls make distressingly bad choices and die. Netflix has made over two dozen of them and as far as I can tell they’re pretty popular. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/67 "2023-11-02T19:00:21Z")
I have seen very very few “dumbest” or “worst” ideas in here… sure…not “Next Million Dollar Idea”…but a lot of these aren’t bad. Shared work space that prioritizes a shared coffee shop? I’ve literally been to two of those–one was even the anchor of the attempt to create a “business zone” in downtown Fresno. Covid unfortunately I think killed those. But they are a good idea… I don’t think anyone is going to get rich from it. Acai berries are ubiquitous in any smoothie or yogurt place but on their own they got turned into a MLM as the new “health miracle” food. Mobile car detailing… its a thing. You just can’t do it anywhere and everywhere. On paper… Bikini Baristas seems dumb… but damn if that isn’t a very popular thing up here in the PNW. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/68 "2023-11-02T19:08:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Personally, I like having crystal clear sunglasses yet I never take the time to clean them. I’d happily pay someone $2 to clean them. I don’t know if others would feel the same way. Hmm, I have never perceived cleaning glasses to be difficult. Have you tried [lens wipes in little sealed packages](https://www.amazon.com/Zeiss-Pre-Moistened-Cleaning-Wipes-count/dp/B01E9NC2Z4/ref=asc_df_B01E9NC2Z4/)? I always throw a few in the car, in my bedside table, etc. I think these are just isopropanol. Or if you are a real perfectionist, Eclipse Optic Cleaning Fluid with Pec-Pad lint-free wipes is the standard for camera lenses, designed to leave no residue. Easy to find online. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/69 "2023-11-02T19:24:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What would the bartender’s cut be? Employees of the establishments my crew visit would get free services!! And customers with clean glasses are happy customers. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/70 "2023-11-02T19:48:47Z")
Customers pestered by salespeople in a bar will go to another bar. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/71 "2023-11-02T19:59:41Z")
My coworker had one of those husbands that “Can’t work for the man” and was always running some business scheme or other. For a while they were really high on the hog, and she was a super smug bitch, then it came out that the business failed and they lost everything - even their couch was rent to own and their house was foreclosed on, and she was completely humbled and had to get a second job (she always used to tell us she just worked for fun, unlike us peasants). But she told me about this GREAT idea he had to get rid of all of the oil in the ocean! He had this super absorbent stuff! But the investors just wouldn’t buy. God I hated them. And of course he is a Trumper. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/72 "2023-11-02T20:07:51Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I’ve been sold on quite a few 2nd-law violations. Latest windmill-on-a-car variation was an EV with a “really good alternator” that charged itself, suggested by a taxi driver near Detroit. Oh, you are referring to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. For some reason I thought that you were referring to the Second Law of Robotics, and was trying to figure out how a windmill on a car would refuse to obey orders. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/73 "2023-11-02T20:18:07Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Choose Your Own Adventure films DC did something along those lines with [the animated version of “Death In The Family”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_Death_in_the_Family) (expanding on the previous “Under the Red Hood”). At various points, viewer-selected options (the “Robin lives or dies” from the original comic and various others like “Capture or kill the Joker”) lead to different outcomes. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/74 "2023-11-02T20:36:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Customers pestered by salespeople in a bar will go to another bar No salespeople here, just friendly personable attractive individuals offering a service to a population I think would appreciate the service. Their brief presence (they are in&out in seconds if there’s zero interest) would happen a couple times a day. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/75 "2023-11-02T20:53:00Z")
I had that happen to me in a bar actually, a guy came in selling glasses/phone screen cleaner and would do a free demonstration on your glasses/screen in exchange for hearing his spiel. It was fine but when I was in it was relatively slow so he could take his time, I feel if the bar was crowded he’d probably take up space and do a half-assed job. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/76 "2023-11-02T20:57:42Z")
I know someone who did something quite similar, except instead of going to bars and the like he went to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, retirement communities, and similar: places with a high population of people with limited transportation options and who overwhelmingly wore eyeglasses. He carried a small duffel bag that had all sorts of tools and repair parts, even taking along the machine that heated eyeglasses frames so they could be re-shaped if. He charged a pittance but since he had something of a captive audience he made a decent living. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/77 "2023-11-02T20:59:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Customers pestered by salespeople in a bar will go to another bar. My million dollar business plan is to buy a bar and send salespeople to all the other bars. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/78 "2023-11-02T21:03:43Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > > [@Ruken](#): > > > > I’ve been sold on quite a few 2nd-law violations. Latest windmill-on-a-car variation was an EV with a “really good alternator” that charged itself, suggested by a taxi driver near Detroit. > > Oh, you are referring to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. For some reason I thought that you were referring to the Second Law of Robotics, and was trying to figure out how a windmill on a car would refuse to obey orders. I at first though that his “2nd-law” was really 2nd Amendment, and was trying to figure out how firearms and gun control would fix windmills on cars. Once I got to “windmill turns alternator” I realized he was talking about a plain old stupid perpetual motion machine. But your or my ideas would be much more interesting inventions. As to the walk-through glasses-cleaning service, when you’re in a tourist zone in many countries there’s a continuous stream of peddlers hawing junk at you as you try to eat or drink or walk the streets or sit on the beach. A total blight on the experience. I’d leave a venue in the US that allowed peddlers into their bar / restaurant. I’ll make an exception for a mariachi band in a Mexican eatery, but I’d much rather they serenade a different table, not mine. And only because those folks are a) traditional, and b) entertainingly good or entertainingly bad musicians. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/79 "2023-11-02T21:07:41Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > And ISTR a guy on Howard Stern many years ago had a painting business where topless women paint your apartment for only 3x the normal going rate for painters That’s probably based on an old Chris Rock joke: > A woman comes up to me and says “Chris for $200 I will do anything you want.” > > And I said “OK here’s $200. Now paint my house!” There were few expletives in it that I left out. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447/80 "2023-11-02T21:11:02Z")
That joke predates Chris Rock by centuries [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dumbest-worst-next-million-dollar-idea-someone-has-shared-with-you/992447.md?page=5)