Many of you know about Magic Hat. The lucky ones among you have had a chance to play it. But for the uninitiated, Magic Hat is my signature improvised, and comedic, pitch game that makes an appearance at almost all of my workshops and events. And, like the nerd that I am, I saved all of the game’s wacky business ideas over the past year just so that I could write this post.
The rules of Magic Hat are quite simple. Everyone writes down a funny or weird business idea on a piece of paper, folds it up, and puts it in the hat. Then, one-by-one, people come up to the front of the room, pull out an idea, and convincingly pitch the idea to the group – no matter how ridiculous it may be. That’s why the hat is magic, because you never know what obscure treasures are going to come out of it. And boy have there been some treasures.
So, without further ado, below are the 65 best Magic Hat ideas (in no particular order) out of the many hundred that were pitched throughout 2014. They’re yours to pursue if you think any of them have legs.
- Bacon-scented air conditioning system
- Fake ID vending machine
- Fast food restaurant serving insect burgers
- Netflix service powered by a treadmill
- Turkey-scented cologne
- Training classes for soon-to-be samurai warriors
- Bakery selling cakes covered with ham
- Bakery selling half-eaten muffins
- App to tell your friends when they’re being assholes
- Device that alerts you when you’ve drank too much
- Beer that makes you smarter
- App that lets you rate the quality of toilet paper in public bathrooms
- White noise machines for bathroom stalls
- Edible shoelaces
- Mittens with individual fingers and thumbs (a.k.a gloves)
- Parachuting bunnies for delivering engagement rings
- Pre-mixed cocktails for pets
- App that senses when you’re about to hit on someone and provides the perfect pick-up line
- Animal wardrobe advisory firm
- Web design classes for babies
- Thomas the Train brand e-cigarettes for kids
- Party planning service for chihuahuas
- Service that measures our coolness by how many Apple products we own
- Service to hire someone to seduce a significant other so you have a reason to break up with them
- Bras with heated cups
- Leather jogging pants
- Pre-chewed lunches for lazy people
- Uber for camel rides
- Phone shaped like an ear
- Shoes without soles
- Service for eliminating hipsters
- Service to test medical marijuana to make sure it’s “safe”
- Coats made from turkey feathers
- App to find and order a clown to your house
- App for tracking your pet’s bowel movements
- Landscaping service that sings to your plants
- Yelp-like website to review and complain about your coworkers
- Juggling classes for cats
- Flyswatter that tracks how many flies you’ve swatted and lets you compete with others over Wi-Fi
- Service to make you instantly fat so you’re ready for winter
- App that records all of the information about your dates so you don’t get mixed up
- Clothes made entirely from macaroni
- Phone that doubles as a whisky flask
- Twurkey – the twerking turkey toy for kids
- Swivel chair roller derby
- Climate-controlled bubble for bicycles
- Drone that delivers breakfast in bed
- Hipstagram – an app that tells you how hipster any product or object is
- Shapewear for men
- Backpack that surrounds you in a private, soundproof bubble at the pull of a string
- Lawn service that uses goats to both cut and fertilize your grass
- Live bumblebee eyeglasses
- Light-up handbags that display the tweets of passers by
- Service that allows workers to de-stress on their lunch break by playing with animals
- Bacon mouthwash
- App that flushes the toilet so you don’t have to touch the handle
- Manscaping salon for guys
- Premium, pay-per-use port-a-potties
- App to trade dinner left-overs
- Turkey suits for pigeons
- Bike-share service that uses horses instead of bikes
- Backwards megaphone that turns your voice into a whisper
- IKEA furniture assembly parties
- App that tells you if you’re too old to do something
- Service that lets you pay someone to wait in line for you at the Apple Store
What will come out of the Magic Hat in the future? It’s a mystery, indeed.