Your brilliant idea here ...

[ERD50]

When my son was about seven he suggested that electrical cords should change color if they are live. ....

There are some extension cords that have neon lights at the socket end, so you can see that they are 'live'. Hmmmm, maybe a fiber optic light pipe along the length would be even better? Especially for a cord draped across the floor in the dark.

Did he apply for a patent? He can use my fiber optic idea if it helps

...

I would like to see cul-de-sacs or blocs of homes all with solar systems that connect to battery storage system. In times of natural disaster, smart meters on the homes would report line or socket damage. If the system survived intact it would automatically disconnect from the grid and send the utility a message to that effect, allowing the utility workers to concentrate their efforts on neighborhoods that need their assistance. If there was damage the system would not accept electricity from those homes, but it would still provide electricity to undamaged circuits. It would also have the capability of disconnecting the 220 sockets in all homes, while leaving the 110 sockets live.

This could easily be done today, if people were willing to pay for it.

Pay for it? That takes it from "easy" to "not easy"! Or "you first!".


Most of those kinds of brilliant ideas involve getting someone else to pay for it!

-ERD50

 

[Rianne]

Our friends bought an extravagant tree house in southern California a few years ago. I thought, "What a great idea!" Until last year. They continue to send us 2# of deluxe mixed nuts for Christmas.

 

[Sunset]

When parking at the grocery store, walmart etc, I always park next to a buggy return area. The parking space next to them are wider than normal, so nobody door bumps my new truck. Plus, it is easier to unload, then stick the buggy in a return slot.
Only other thing I can think of is that I used to hate sorting socks. I threw away all of my different brand and color of socks and just bought all black in the same brand. Now any two socks I pick up match.

+1
I buy all white socks, just to rub it in that I am retired

 

[Lsbcal]

Maybe we should have a sock swap meeting.

I have a few unpaired socks too. Plus I have lots of black ones. The white ones are for running. DW does the folding after I do the wash. So I do the dirty work and she gets the pattern matching.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Entice the consumer to buy. In Hershey PA and Magic Kingdom Main Street USA in Florida there is chocolate smells that get pumped into the air. Makes the tourists go bonkers.

In Hershey the chocolate smell became less noticeable when the factory moved to the edge of town. My town near Hershey frequently smells like-Purina. Doesn’t make me want to get a cat or dog though.

 

[ncbill]

A Roomba-style robot that can scour the inside of your shower so I don't have to stand inside mine scrubbing discolored grout lines with a toothbrush while trying not to be overwhelmed by the fumes of the bleach-based shower cleaner I'm using.

It should also have the ability to strip the moldy silicone caulk between the tile wall and tile floor (or tub) and replace it with a perfect new bead of caulk.

 

[ncbill]

When my son was about seven he suggested that electrical cords should change color if they are live.

I would like to see cul-de-sacs or blocs of homes all with solar systems that connect to battery storage system. In times of natural disaster, smart meters on the homes would report line or socket damage. If the system survived intact it would automatically disconnect from the grid and send the utility a message to that effect, allowing the utility workers to concentrate their efforts on neighborhoods that need their assistance. If there was damage the system would not accept electricity from those homes, but it would still provide electricity to undamaged circuits. It would also have the capability of disconnecting the 220 sockets in all homes, while leaving the 110 sockets live.

Forget the solar part, I'd just like to have a (much) cheaper Powerwall-style product...I'd move critical circuits to a sub-panel & back those up with it, allowing me to get rid of the multiple UPS units I currently use.

Maybe add an option to recharge from a portable generator in case of an extended power outage.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Tiny , low profile windmills along busy and fast freeways, whose movement is somehow shielded from drivers’ views to prevent distraction. All that wind generated by cars and trucks along I-5, I-80 and the like gets wasted when it could be generating electricity.

Also, why not set up treadmills and elliptical to generate electricity from people’s workouts? Same as my Prius recharging it’s battery while I drive.

 

[Lsbcal]

A Roomba-style robot that can scour the inside of your shower so I don't have to stand inside mine scrubbing discolored grout lines with a toothbrush while trying not to be overwhelmed by the fumes of the bleach-based shower cleaner I'm using.

It should also have the ability to strip the moldy silicone caulk between the tile wall and tile floor (or tub) and replace it with a perfect new bead of caulk.

My recent solution for this was to purchase a long handled short nylon bristle brush from Home Depot. It worked great on the deck with just water and elbow grease. You can get some pressure going without being down on your knees.

So I tried it in the tiled shower with just water and it worked nicely there too. You can do this naked or clothed. But not recommended naked if working on your deck.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

License plates indicating if the driver has been prosecuted for DUI/DWI and a number indicating how many times. To serve as the Scarlett letter and give warning to other motorists. HaloFIRE thunk this up.

 

[ERD50]

Tiny , low profile windmills along busy and fast freeways, whose movement is somehow shielded from drivers’ views to prevent distraction. All that wind generated by cars and trucks along I-5, I-80 and the like gets wasted when it could be generating electricity.

Also, why not set up treadmills and elliptical to generate electricity from people’s workouts? Same as my Prius recharging it’s battery while I drive.

That sounds good until you actually do the math on it. You find very quickly that you will unlikely to ever recoup the energy it took to build those things in the first place.

And I'm pretty sure that if windmills along side a road were actually capturing energy from the passing cars/trucks, that it would result in added drag on those vehicles. In effect, you'd be doing an extremely inefficient job of converting gasoline/diesel/kWh into a windmill/generator of X% efficiency, to return some of that energy back to the grid. IOW, it would be lost energy overall, not a gain at all. You are robbing Peter to pay Paul, and Saul is the middle-man, taking his cut.

-ERD50

 

[Rianne]

Mandatory finance classes starting in 5th grade. Title the class Grow Your Wealth so it will be appealing, rather than Integers or calculus or math.

 

[Walt34]

Mandatory finance classes starting in 5th grade. Title the class Grow Your Wealth so it will be appealing, rather than Integers or calculus or math.

One of the most practical and useful classes I took in high school was a class in personal finance. It was basic stuff, the difference between a checking and savings account, how to write a check, calculating interest, the effects of compound interest, loan amortization, and the like. One of the few classes that I actually paid attention to.

Another class that I wanted to take but couldn't at the time since I'm male was Home Economics. A few years after I graduated HS they took essentially the same curriculum, renamed it Bachelor Survival, and offered it to the guys. Turned out to be a popular class.

 

[Lsbcal]

...

Also, why not set up treadmills and elliptical to generate electricity from people’s workouts? Same as my Prius recharging it’s battery while I drive.

That could generate the energy to run a candy bar machine to handout free refreshments after your workout. Gyms would be even more popular.

 

[MRG]

One of the most practical and useful classes I took in high school was a class in personal finance. It was basic stuff, the difference between a checking and savings account, how to write a check, calculating interest, the effects of compound interest, loan amortization, and the like. One of the few classes that I actually paid attention to.

Another class that I wanted to take but couldn't at the time since I'm male was Home Economics. A few years after I graduated HS they took essentially the same curriculum, renamed it Bachelor Survival, and offered it to the guys. Turned out to be a popular class.

I had something like that. I needed an easy math credit and this was recommended. Best most useful class I ever had. Only class I ever tried at. It should have been required.

 

[Rustic23]

Our country is divided like never before. So let's make love, not war.

No doubt you can find congressman to volunteer for that!

 

[Rustic23]

For those that still wear ties, place a small strip of self-adhesive on the back of the main tie and front of the tail. Never have to worry about the tail sticking out.

 

[Rustic23]

Require all AC/Heat units to come with a CO2 scrubber. No more worry about global warming.

 

[Boose]

A returnable can/bottle machine that eats your can and delivers a jackpot periodically. Or even a scratch ticket. You might not always get your 0.05 or 0.10 per bottle, but you could possibly win $100.

 

[Marita40]

Mandatory GPS in microchips for pets. We have one lost in my neighborhood right now with impending -35 wind chills this week.
Any solution to get rid of cars. Personal drones on our feet to wing us places?
Before cars are done away with, mandatory dash installed buzzer system hooked up to children in the back seat so that no child ever dies again from parents "forgetting" they are there. Simple.

 

[Nick12]

Mandatory Spanish language classes in counties where non speaking residents outnumber English speaking residents in the county. May make it easier to understand what the heck they are talking about. Or I charge $50/hr per hour / 3 students to a class. Cash only.

 

[Tetto]

Realistic android for giving massages; never gets tired!

 

[cbo111]

True but those flashlights don't respond to cursing. The purse light should do this.

Yes, they actually do respond to cursing. A friend just showed me on his iPhone, he said "hey Siri turn on the Fu##### flashlight." And it came on. But I think it also works without using a dirty word.

 

[Clone]

Every Home Depot and Lowe’s should have a burger joint in their lumber section.

A great idea, but 20 years too late! And it did not end well for the Home Depot experiment. I thought it was a neat idea, but they were never very busy.

Admitting defeat after losing several million dollars, the parent company for Fuddruckers has closed 12 restaurants in Home Depot stores around the country.

"It looked good on paper," said Moore. "It's an area that we were familiar with as a company." But the restaurants were not profitable. Most Fuddruckers Cafes were open only about one to two years.

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1997/09/29/story7.html

 

[braumeister]

Actually, my favorite Home Depot has a Burger King right next door (they share the same parking lot).