[article] Cuckoo idea has Swiss artists laughing all the way to the bank

Tabnabs

DEREK SCALLY in Berlin

Wed, Feb 25, 2009

IN THESE gloomy times, the world is full of people promising true happiness and solutions to pressing problems. But three Swiss artists claim true happiness is not about having nothing to worry about, but about successfully solving problems. They have now set up a website to prove their point.

The idea behind the site, www.needaproblem.com, began, as so many good ideas do, in the pub. “We were talking about how absolutely everything can be bought and sold online, from dodgy loans to secondhand sailing gloves,” said Hansmartin Amrein, one of the creators. “We continued this point ad absurdum to the conclusion that we could even sell a problem on the internet.”

They set up the website as a kind of art project, drawing on Arthur Schopenhauer’s remark that “the greatest enemy of happiness is – apart from pain – boredom”. Then the inquiries started rolling in from people who apparently hadn’t enough going on in their lives, and who viewed the site as a legitimate service.

Website visitors decide whether they want to solve one of the “trivial problems” at a cost of $1, or up to $5,000 for a nearly “unsolvable problem”. In between are “simple”, “normal” and “difficult” problems at $5, $50 and $500 each. All problems are thought up by the three website owners and delivered by e-mail.

A $1 problem bought yesterday in the interests of research asked the buyer to “tell us what the term ‘starboard’ means”.

Just four $500 (difficult) problems have been sold. One involved a woman winning a free flight in a plane’s cockpit. So where’s the problem? Mid-flight, the pilot simulated a heart attack, leaving her to steer the plane for a few minutes with instructions from the tower. The pilot recovered in time to land the plane. Another Swiss woman is considering buying a $5,000 deluxe model, involving an interview to create a made-to-measure problem.

Hansmartin Amrein doesn’t like to reveal too much about these expensive problems because that would ruin the surprise.

“People tell us that solving the problem didn’t just make them happy, but expanded their horizons, helped them experience something interesting, learn something new or even overcome inhibitions.” There is a strict no-return policy on all problems and the website is happy to deliver problems as last-minute presents for loved ones. The delivery area is limited to earth because, the website says: “we are not sure if there are bored life forms on other planets”.

© 2009 The Irish Times

People on here have been asking for ideas for websites...

Dabko

Now thats using your head and having the balls to do something about it! Nice one:D

DubTony

Amazing !

I won't be a customer. I've enough ****ing problems without paying for more. Contentment my eye !!!

conolan

Aren't these ideas wonderful. Gets us all saying "why didn't I think of that".
Reality is of course for every successful madcap web venture there are thousands that didn't make it. Even I've had a few....