Got a great idea for you, Emerald Moron. How about you start your own web site dedicated to only common sense ideas. You could require an IQ test to post. Oh, that won't work because if you required an IQ higher than 10 or 11 you wouldn't be able to post to your own site. Forget I mentioned it.

What you don't seem to understand is there are a lot of children who wander onto this site. They haven't learned why or how things work and sometimes wish for stuff that is totally impossible. Don't flame them for trying to participate.

Other people who post ideas don't have the technological background to know why an idea isn't practical. Hopefully they can learn a little from the "constructive" comments of the posters.

I do think your suggestion to Google first is a good one. I suspect that many people found this site when they Googled for something else. I know I did.

And I apologise for flaming you in the first paragraph.

Every idea, whether or not it is practical, can be a seed of inspiration to those that read it. Imagine for instance the Graviton. Currently this is purely conceptual with no basis for laboratory experimentation. Yet, it is discussed regularly in the science and physics communities.

We must temper our closed minds with abstract reasoning. Just because something is not Common Sense in your world, doesn't mean that it is not useful for inspiration in someone elses world.

Perpetual motion machines are to date, not possible. However, the concepts proposed have often led to more efficient processes to convert energies. The mag-levitator for mass transit is one such innovation.

You personally, only know what is possible in a very narrow set of conditions! For instance, the Earth (Gaia) could very realistically have a cognitive intelligence. The body you recognize as being real, could suddenly squirt out of our atmosphere out into space. Gaia is both possible and at some level probable. Anti-gravity is possible and probable, but given our current technologies, undetectable. A Black Hole is supposedly a Graviton node existing without any mass. Common sense doesn't seem to come into play here.

Just because a particular reader doesn't have the insight to get outside of their box to see an ideas applications in other environments, does not diminish the importance of an idea proposed. It only makes obvious the narrow minded individuals that find it too frustrating to use their minds for more than simple minded critique. Almost all ideas can be expanded into something useful.

A concept like the self-lighting cigarette, could be a practical marketing tool for cigarettes. The first lighters were self lighting. One only pulled a wick out of a case and the wick lit itself via a chemical reaction with the air.

All ideas are valuable. Some are just more immediately useful than others.

So far, you have NOT contributed anything original yourself. From what pulpit are you standing to preach?

If you want to blame someone for having to read other peoples ideas that are not immediately practical, then read the post that recommended WhyNot provide a rating based on that criteria.

Rate the Following (0-9 where 9 is strong)

Amusing
Engineering Viable
Ethically Sound
Market Value
Originality

There are good arguments on both sides of the problem. Wild ideas without some reasonable understanding of the technological difficulties and possibilities can frequently be quite annoying to someone informed and aware of the elemental investigative techniques available on the web. But also a naive idea may spark an informed person to work out a possible solution. Merely proposing what would be a good thing without thinking through all the resulting disasters can spur counterproposals that reveal further problems or alternate solutions. But there are limits. Some so-called ideas are merely childish wishful thinking and some are so uninformed and incoherent that they reveal a mind replete with basic cognitive glitches in dire need of professional help.

(Long post, summary at bottom)JunkStopsHere, are you looking at the same web page I am? Or at least the same thread? These aren't abstract thoughts, these are absolutely asinine "penny-in-the-well" type suggestions. The ones that aren't have been out for quite some time, and the poster could have easily followed up before wasting everyone's time with it. That's all I'm asking for, a little common sense before posting. If people want to have abstract ideas, fine. Concrete bicycling tunnels? Yeah, pretty expensive for not a lot of effect, but there's some seeds there.

I noticed you only had the fortitude to only address one of the examples I brought up, the first one, to be exact. Lighters were self-lighting because they're a tool. They're a tool used for lighting. Making a more efficient tool can't even begin to compare to lighting up a cigarette 5 seconds faster. It's not even close to the same concept, even if it's both creating fire, the idea behind the invention isn't even close.

Also, I have not read the post about the suggestion for WhyNot's search criteria, I shall do so immediately, it's an excellent idea. Hopefully, this would bump magically flying skateboards off of the same list as some of the ideas that AT LEAST have a little common sense in them.

It seems that I especially got you riled up, Junk, and the truth is, you're exactly the person this wasn't meant for. Your ideas are at least imaginative, and while a few of those that I read lacked a little specific knowledge, they were sound, and well within reason to at least be considered by someone that has that knowledge.

I'm not asking for the posters here to suddenly gain large amounts of knowledge, so their imaginations are quenched before even starting here. Just think a little. Google the idea just to make sure it's not already out. Try asking questions about specific areas of the idea so that the collective knowledge could help smooth it out. I've had crazy ideas my entire life, people look at me like I'm from another planet. By the time, I get to actually doing it though, I have enough knowledge to make it work. Those crazy ideas with vague references to thingys and pieces become wires and switches and situational knowledge. That's what inventions are about.

You might have some useful info in this rant. However, it's somewhat diminished by the use of idiots, ass, and autistic. I'd suggest rewriting...maybe list five things to consider or evaluate before posting...and possibly(?) with a positive tone.

As requested by EmeraldFalcon: Here are some useful things that could come out of the inspiration of posting ideas. I do not have the fortitude to go read all of these posts, so I will comment based only upon what you have chosen to post.

Self-lit cigarette- As noted earlier, a possible marketing gimmick based on the original self-lighting cigarette lighters. Obviously this would require effort in making it an acceptable liability. However, this site is not about creating a total development, only listing potentially interesting ideas.

Car taser- A taser to interupt vehicle electronics is feasible, but currently uses wires or conductors to implement the taser. Ionized conductors created by low power lasers could provide repeated attempts at immobilizing a vehicle. In addition, by actively controlling the electromagnetic characteristics of the current, the same tool could be used in riot control and instances where a non-lethal weapon is desired.

Waterproof earbuds- The present earbuds do not compensate for frequency variations due to the water environment. Small conductors in the earbuds could detect the presence of water and tie in a filter to compensate for the high propagation speeds in water to better balance the frequency spectrum so that the media content sounds normal whether in or out of the water.

Jerk-alert toilet seat- I just don't have the interest in commenting on this one, other than it could have market interest.

Soda cans w/ temp gauge- A temperature sensitive dot on the top of the can could indicate which cans (soda or beer) in the cooler have cooled down and which are still warm. This could have market value when similar companies are in competition.

Govt co-op.- I haven't a clue as to what this is about. But I'll promote my idea of eliminating all political corruption here. Establish State elected doctors of science to ethically manage and develop the National Security Agency.

Auto collisions and smoke- In the near future autopilot will become available on vehicles. Whenever a vehicle vectors different than the prescribed course by some margin, a colored and flourescent Baking Soda compound could be dispensed to create a trail to help identify vehicles that unintentionally leave the roadway. A smoke apparatus would only deploy if the vehicle left the roadway by more than 50 feet.

Electricity producing speedbump.- Possibly already been done, but it is difficult to find unless you use certain keywords. Even a simple speed bump might produce enough electricity to signal a camera to take a picture if the driver is wrecklessly speeding across speedbumps. Event plus time delay = take picture of license plate. Is this worth the investment, I haven't done the market research to know. But it is possible.

Blow-up cars- I'm assuming this has to do with creating a cabin by inflating it. This could be useful for boats. How often and how many speed boats are at the mercy of the weather when far from their landing? Create an inflatable cabin that rolls up and stows in the gunnels of the boat. When a thunderstorm rolls in, get off the water as soon as possible, but at least you've got cover if you can't. As for it being dangerous to be in a storm out on the water. What do you think happens to people living on sailboats.

Electromagnetic engine- This has had useful applications proposed. A small remote controlled aircraft was launched in the power stream of a high power radar dish. The electromagnetic collector on the airplane ran a small electric motor that allowed it to fly continuously. The proposal was for instrumentation remaining aloft at various altitudes in the power stream of a space based power generation system. The concept was to convert solar energy into microwave energy; which efficiently converts to electricity on the ground.

Hover Board- This could potentially have useful application in Theme Parks like Disney World. Skate Boarders could potentially levitate above a floor built upon electromagnetic coils that sense the configuration of the hover board and dynamically creates the opposing fields necessary to levitate. How many people can ride skate boards, that's a market research problem.

Remote Detonation- Without putting Demolition personnel in harms way, the lowest cost method of detonating an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is a BomBot. This robotic device costs less than $1,000 and is reuseable. Unfortunately it can not traverse rough terrain or soft sand. Also, it can only be used on clearly exposed explosive devices. The Remote Detonation using a Gyrotron potentially allows for disrupting the electronic circuits from a safe distance and in a diversity of IED configurations. It is meant only to be yet another non-disposable tool for remotely detonating IED's. To safely destroy an IED with another explosive, it MUST be placed precisely so as not to displace the IED into an adjacent uncontrolled area. The Israelis use a high power laser on some forms of land mines; but not on all explosive devices. For instruments of destruction, unique methods must be developed for each. It's a good thing I have no interest in developing weapons.

These inspirations came from your rant, imagine what could have been developed by someone more experienced than myself, had they read the original post by each author!

EmeraldFalcon, you are correct. Your rhetoric inflammed my response because of your condescending attitude and that everyone needs a place to post their creative ideas. Rather than limit the individual, I would rather see automated tools provided by the WhyNot website to help individual authors.

The rating system I previously mentioned.

A search facility that automatically creates a list of keywords based upon the content and category of authors posting ideas. With simple expert system software the amount of duplication could be significantly reduced, and more importantly, to spur the author to think about their concepts further and in alternate applications. Further, existing patents would be searched automatically to help the author identify how to use their ideas in applications different than already identified in a patent. A patent can be gotten around by using the patent content in applications that are significantly different than cited in the patent.

An Engineering and Science group, perhaps on Yahoo Groups, where people can go with their idea to get insight from persons with more education and experience to discuss the shortcomings of their ideas. And how to evolve their idea further into something more meaningful.

No idea based upon good intent, is a bad idea. I have often come here to read peoples ideas, to exercise my mind by finding something useful from their content.

I hope that when I am old and grey, that I have more wrinkles upon my brain than I have on my face. Ask if you don't know what I am referring to.