Pop Up Politics

Live debates are a terrible way to vet a president, but it's a tradition we appear to be stuck with. One way to improve them, and political speeches generally, would be a more integrated method of fact checking, perhaps along the lines of VH1's Pop Up Video format. In addition to the videos, a website with verifiable fact checking sources would be required for true credibility. There should be more than facts, though, as keeping it entertaining through humor will help more people stay engaged. I believe this is the driving force behind why Daily Show viewers have hisotrically had a high level of news knowledge: because they watch consistently. The popularity of that (I submitted the suggestion to them in 2008 and again in 2012, but never received a response) or a similar program would help offset diminished interest stemming from the fact that the political events would have already aired and they'd have the resources to achieve a rapid turnaround time. 

Easter Impractical Joke

Now bite off the head, Jimmy!

I've always thought it strange that edible items are made in the shape of cartoon characters and the like. Chewing off bits of the head of a Mickey Mouse popsicle, for example, just strikes me as macabre. With that in mind I came up with the following prank. Take a hollow chocolate Easter bunny and fill it (partially) with fake blood and reseal it. That way, when bitten it will "bleed". It'd be necessary to give it a quick shake right before presenting it to the intended target in order to coat all the interior surfaces as they'd probably start eating at the top. There are two obvious problems with this idea: firstly, it might be pretty traumatic (at least for a child), and second, it has a high potential for staining. Therefore, I don't suggest you try it. Pity.

Planning for the Future

Since the age of sixteen I have had a specific phrase that I could include in any communication from myself in the future in order for it to be certifiably authentic. While I don't expect a time traveling communication technology to be ever be invented (let alone within my lifetime), it seemed an easy enough preparation to make. Obviously I can't share the phrase with you or it would compromise its utility. I encourage everyone to spend a couple minutes coming up with a similar code phrase (or just a PIN number). It can't hurt, unless you're careless enough to tell a friend what it is; then the hoaxing possibilities are limitless.

I figure the cost benefit analysis breaks down like this:

Chance of it occurring = almost zero.
Importance if it did occur = very high.
Cost to prepare = almost zero.

Since the expected benefit, (almost zero)*(very high), is greater than the cost, almost zero, it's worth creating the password.