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Recently Google engineers tested a Maps feature that equated the distance you walk to a number of mini-cupcakes you would burn off in equivalent calories. The only problem is, their fun little cupcake idea was a trigger for some people with eating disorders and others were just annoyed at the unsolicited suggestion. The feature and … Read more
In this short video of a BBC newscaster reporting about the “Royal Baby” announcement, you see a rare moment of truth where newsman Simon McCoy shows us what he really thinks about reading a relatively unimportant announcement as if it was “Breaking News,” when he knows it clearly isn’t. Which leaves us with the perfect … Read more
It takes some serious Non-Obvious thinking to dream up using discarded chicken feathers as a super efficient home insulation material – but that’s the idea from a London duo who created “Aeropowder” and are testing its fire safety before making it a commercial product. I love these kinds of stories because it takes something we … Read more
It is sadly rare to see a brand that is truly great at self-disruption but IKEA is one worth watching. They made the bold announcement this week that they would pilot test shipping products via other retailer sites instead of only their own. Combined with its recent acquisition of TaskRabbit and their experimentation with augmented reality, the brand … Read more
The last 50 feet is a problem for automated delivery and I have seen lots of solutions, from Amazon’s parachute drones to Mercedes’ delivery truck with drones. What if you could send the drone to a person instead of to a place? If you combined this with a tracking app on your phone or even … Read more
Did you hear Google was buying Apple for only $9b? The story went out over the wires earlier this week and immediately triggered automated investment bots to start trading in Apple stock, jumping the price from $156 to $158 (not an insignificant jump). Then the story was quickly taken down and attributed to a tech glitch. … Read more
What would you do if you had to market a product that is competing with duct tape? Here’s a great 5 step strategy from the team at Adventure Tape … (1) Attack what people dislike about the market leader (duct tape leaves a sticky residue). (2) Get endorsed by media outlet targeting innovators (this story … Read more
Every year in October, I visit Staten Island to participate in the Future of Storytelling Festival (FoST). This week I tried 3D audio recording headphones, watched a performance with music created by artificial intelligence, played a voice controlled sci-fi game and shared ideas with storytellers from some of the biggest brands in the world. This article is a compilation … Read more
Just in time for Oktoberfest, Adidas in Germany launched a new pair of sneakers with a durable leather coated in what Adidas is calling “DPBR” coating: durable puke and beer repellent. You have to love the acronym and the idea behind these shoes. They are affectionately called “the München,” after the home of the biggest … Read more
This story has made the rounds this week, but it deserves it. The Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah received a one star review, based on how insanely difficult the mountain was … so they embraced it. The original review reads: “I’ve heard Snowbird is a tough mountain, but this is ridiculous. It felt like every trail … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my upcoming book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - coming 09/24!
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ten books.
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Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
