The answer for an energy hungry world.

[Oneway]

Gather round my friends, for you have been chosen to witness the premiere of an idea so simple, yet so revolutionary that it may very well change world as we know it.

Within days of this publication, websites around the world will publish this ridiculously cunning idea as being their own and scientists and companies will push their patent experts to their limits in trying to obtain a monopoly in the practical uses of my idea. It's all good though. As long the world becomes a better place because of it, i'll be a happy man. Just remember you read it here first.

As you all very well know, cosmopolitans as you are, our society is like an insatiable beast with a hunger for energy so big that it is only surpassed by our hunger for power. Fossil fuels like oil and coal are consumed at an alarming and ever increasing rate. And while international agreements try to limit the exhaust of toxic fumes, the actual consumption of fuels is still growing.

We need to find an answer, a solution that will make us change our logic and way of thinking. Something that will render our attempts to save the environment of the last few decades completely ridiculous. And, humble as i may be, i can't stay silent any longer. For i believe i have such an answer.

The TongueWarmer

[/size]

The concept is simple and inspired by the well known fact of 'relative thermal sensory experience' or R.T.S.E for short.
This states that temperatures perceived are dependant on the surface temperature of our body. To clarify:

Suppose you are taking a shower. The water is a comfortable temperature of 38 C/100 F.
Now you raise the temperature to 40 C/ 104 F and further to 42 C/ 108 F. You will feel the sensation of the water getting warmer. This sensation typically lasts only a couple of seconds untill your skin temperature is raised to almost match the water temperature.
Now, lower the water temperature again to 38 C/100 F and you will shiver. The water will seem cold while initially, at the start of the shower, you perceived water of the same temparature to be comfortably warm. You have exeprienced two different water temperatures while the actual water temperature was identical.

After having explained this, i'm convinced you'll be impressed by the simplicity of my idea of the tonguewarmer.
Instead of cooling vast amounts of liquids and solids, all you have to do is warm up your tongue and you'll perceive the temperature of the food or drink as cooler than it actually is.
Wouldn't it be far more energy efficient to just warm up a piece of flesh, not even weighing an ounce, than it is to cool the entire contents of a fridge?

A 5 Watt tonguewarmer will be so much friendlier to your power-bill than a 140 Watt fridge.  A tonguewarmer that you'll only have to turn on when you eat or drink. This against the 24-hour use of a fridge.

My friends, you are in awe, i can tell. It really is this simple. Anyone could have gotten this idea. I was merely one of many who could have received this blessed gift. Now that i have shared with you the wonder that is the tonguewarmer, i ask a favour in return.
Spread the word! Let the masses know and see that there IS a solution. Encourage webmasters to publish this story. Let the corporate world know there is money to be made on this. And realise, that your life, is about to get better.

[Nikolas]

Not bad idea for an adventure game... but still:

1. The cool water we drink is 4-10 C, which means that in order to succed you would have to warm your tongue to 70-78 C, which is blistering hot.
2. It's not the tongue that gives the impression of the cold/hot. Is all the throat. Now if we could drink a hot coffee and then taste the water, then maybe... But again, however many times I've tried that, it didn't work.

But again, this is a good idea for a puzzle in an adventure game

[LGM]

But if you don't have a fridge... Dairy products and the like would spoil rather quickly.

[Mr Jake]

Yes. The main use for them is to keep meat and diary non-germ ridden and non-rotten

[SSH]

But if you don't have a fridge... Dairy products and the like would spoil rather quickly.

You just need to warm the toungues of all the bacteria, too, so that THEY think the food is cold, too. Given that bacteria have very very small toungues, this should not greatly increase the power consumption... 

Yes. The main use for them is to keep meat and diary non-germ ridden and non-rotten

Well, most of the diaries on livejournal are pretty rotten: maybe they need some refrigeration.

[Kweepa]

You just need to warm the toungues of all the bacteria, too, so that THEY think the food is cold, too. Given that bacteria have very very small toungues, this should not greatly increase the power consumption... 

Dare I say it? I think this is an even better idea than the TongueWarmer itself!

[Paper Carnival]

Wow, I'm amazed!

But... Try putting something in your mouth of strong mint flavor (preferably just brush your stinky teeth) and then drink water. The water will seem colder now. I don't need no TongueWarmer 8)!

[Andail]

All weekend, I tortured myself with a whip, some nails and a big hammer.
Even if university turns out really boring or stressful, it will still feel like a relief after that horrible weekend.

[InCreator]

Tonguewarmer... we could all just emigrate to North or South Pole and live on a chunk of ice:

* No fuel needed, no cars, no electricity, etc
* While temperature near zero all the time even heat increase of few degrees will feel good - but therefore consume a little power too
* Cold food is always easy one to get!
* With all people living on same place, no plane travel needed. How much do planes consume fuel every day? A save.
* World peace and overall uniting may occur
* Global pollution drops near zero, rainforests are saved
* All endangered species become stable... well, except penguins maybe, who will be one now
* Classes unite, all people have same possibilities and education level, which also doesn't matter so much then after all...
* ...which means no unemployment, stressing education race and so forth - hunting and fishing are not that hard to learn
* Crime gets low as well, also, the number of different crimes drops (you can't, for example, jack a car!)
* Terrorism gets stopped or heavily slowed down - "suicide terrorist blows up an igloo" is worst that can happen, and even then the casualities are minimal
* Our planet/humankind will be both easier to defend/destroy (both?)
* Number of different diseases takes a hard drop, especially tropical ones
* natural resources change their values, firewood price skyrockets while oil will be cheaper
* Drug usage drops heavily, since people being high will probably freeze to death and make a nice example for others
* I edited this post 10? times, but still could go on whole day
* This may generate into cool sci-fi adventure game (with somewhat easy backgrounds to draw! )

So we save on about 3-4 billion (assuming all 6 bil. people don't have one) refridgerators, cars, tv's, computers, central heating and water system for all, etc

Time to pack!
Who's with me?

[passer-by]

* Global pollution drops near zero, rainforests are saved
* ...which means no unemployment, stressing education race and so forth - hunting and fishing are not that hard to learn
* Number of different diseases takes a hard drop, especially tropical ones

I don't know about rainforests but I'm sure we'll find a way to keep the global pollution at its current status.
Nothing is *really* hard to learn, but this doesn't mean equal opportunities. Good work places will always be hard to find.
You forgot TAXES!
Tropical diseases disappear but we get new ones by feeding the penguins with modified crops and causing local algae to resist to the bacteria we brought from home.

My suggestion? Stay home and do your best from there...Why do I need a pool at my backyard when I live within walking distance from the beach?

[hint]I know the thread is jokish [/hint]

[Oneway]

Dare I say it? I think this is an even better idea than the TongueWarmer itself!

I would agree! But if we have the technology to warm the tongues of individual bacteria we might aswell kill them and get rid of that horrbile smelly french cheese!


I'm quite disappointed at people who instantly tried to point out the design flaws in my wonderful idea. This isn't the Critics Lounge!
The enthousiasm i was expecting would have helped to spread the word, now i'm sure it will stay confined to this forum..

Oh well, back to the drawing board i guess.

[Nikolas]

The enthousiasm i was expecting would have helped to spread the word, now i'm sure it will stay confined to this forum..

No, no, I told my wife and we had a terrible laugh, last night. AND NO SEX! I hate you for that





Just kidding, of course...