Infographic: Crowdfunding’s oddest start-up ideas

In December 2017 the world’s smallest phone, the 13-gram Zanco Tiny T1, was announced after its creators raised more than £180,000 on Kickstarter. In DG #29 we celebrated this great leap forward by looking at some of the less newsworthy crowdfunding projects to have surfaced recently…

MOKASE
“Mokase is the first 
multi-utility phone cover that brews espresso coffee whenever and wherever you want!”
€4,229 pledged of €75,000 goal before campaign suspended

illumiSAFE
“Why not secure a firearm in a discreet, safe-grade bedside lamp?”
$50,454 pledged of $50,000 goal

Solotugg!
“Tug-of-war dog toy that 
allows your dog to play alone! Simply insert the handle between any suitable door and door jam. Then, close the door, 
Now the tugging begins!”
$267 pledged 
of $5,000 goal

Flip-Hat
“Just as there is a hat for every occasion, there is an invention for every necessity! Construction on the first Flip-Hat [a hat with a built-in flipbook] prototype began two years ago… but they were difficult to make”
$23,000 pledged 
of $17,500 goal

Jawzrsize – 
Fitness 4 Your Face
“To be put in your 
mouth to chew 
on repetitively for 
muscle training… 
Get a distinctive masculine jawline and increase metabolism.”
$16,145 pledged of $10,000 goal

Titanium Straightedge for Artists | Builders | Designers
“A truly minimalistic 
product, each Straightedge 
is precision machined to 
make each side as straight as can be… Also extremely efficient as a ruler.”
$1,357 pledged 
of $3,500 goal

Barry & Joe – The Animated Series
“[Quantum Leap parody] Barack Obama and Joe Biden find themselves leaping throughout their own lifetime. Forever hoping that their next jump in time will take them to a future that’s not scary and fucked up.”
$107,904 pledged of $100,000 goal

Toasteroid – First App Controlled Smart Image Toaster
“A good ‘toast’ should be short, sweet and meaningful… Type in any text you want in the app to customize your toast [by burning the image into it]! Remember the last time you were THIS excited for a breakfast? Probably never.”
$187,849 pledged of $150,000 goal

Liberation 4.0
“Video installation: Two drones, each with a bird cage attached, perform a courtship dance in the air over Rio… The birds caught inside them* will grasp freedom solely as an ostensibly tangible ideal. 
*No birds will be flown through the air.”
€2,933 pledged of €2,800 goal

Illustrations: Christian Tate

Posted on Friday, June 8th, 2018 - Categories: Delayed Gratification magazine.