Bright spark Megan Ward has designed a keyring-sized 3D pair of lungs that depicts the amount of tar in just four packets of cigarettes.Admiration for her obvious talent at design while so young, and unease at the way she seems to have swallowed government propaganda so easily.
And her genius design has been picked up by a company, which has ordered 25,000 of the miniature lungs to dish out across the country.
Megan, of The Avenue, Whyteleafe, said: "Smoking is just horrible because you die. Everyone who smokes should just stop. I would be so happy if just one person saw my invention and it stopped them smoking."
And at how the obvious talents she possesses are used by the NuPuritans:
Megan sent off her prototype to a professional model-making company to give it a more seamless style. She then sent it to GASP, a national anti-smoking company, which was so impressed they ordered 25,000 units.I wonder how many will then be flogged to central and local government..?
Paula said: "School isn't always easy for Megan because she's dyslexic and struggles with reading and writing.Yes. I’m sure you’ve raised a bright and creative daughter.
"But she's so creative and full of ideas. I think it's amazing that she can think in this way.
"We are so very proud of her and feel this whole experience has been brilliant for her confidence."
Or possibly, you’ve raised another glassy-eyed drone who swallows all that’s put before her and sees opportunities to alter the world to suit her own prejudices, heedless of free will. It’s hard to say…
I think I vaguely saw this item on the news last night.
ReplyDeleteSomething looking like a pair of lungs, squeeze one side - black stuff goes to the other.
Squeeze the other side, black stuff goes to the first side...
Said contraption was probably about 3''x3''.
Black stuff was clearly visible, taking up about 50% of one side of said device when squeezed. (Ignore, humour me for the moment, that stuff in your lungs doesn't do that...)
Now, about that description about what it's supposed to represent... is the amount of black stuff in this toy the amount of tar in 80 fags, in a miniturised version of our lungs?
Or is it to scale?
And of that 80 fags worth of tar, how much of it:
1) goes into our lungs? (Bear in mind, that of the 5 or whatever minutes it takes to burn a fag, only a small percentage of that is actually *inhaled*. Ignoring chimney smokers, not all of the products of combustion of a fag ends up, and stays in, in *anyone's* lungs)
2) actually stays there. The whole of our body regenerates at a rate of (search QI) days.
There's so much wrong with this toy, beyond the fact it's trying to scare people about smoking, it's just not funny if you actually think about it, if it's being used in any educational sort of way. For any age group.
... excuse my ethanol enhanced state, but I do believe this post should be brought to the attention of another blogger - the 'smokey-drinky place' one. Probably OH, but I may be misremebering the place I dropped the 'semi-skimmed milk is bad for you' links. I think it was his.
ReplyDeletePlease delete this if my ethanol content is too high (above 0%?) or if it may damage my future employment which will depend on the (past/current/future - who am I kidding, any) gubbmint regulations.
'I'm a non-smoker'
'We're required to inspect your premises for lack of tobacco debris... You have an ashtray but you claim not to smoke.
Please come to the station...'
'I don't smoke. No-one in my family smokes!!!'
'Whatever. Get in the van.'
As a university design student this makes me want to puke. The recurring message across the course is to make profit from consumers by improving peoples lives through good design.
ReplyDeleteThis is a total fail at both. Instead of improving anyones life, it's a tool for inflicting misery. Instead of being market viable and able to support a healthy company if it were mass manufactured, it's sold to Righteous Quangos at taxpayers expense.
Total, total piece of shit. The world needs this product like it needs another chenobyl. The environment costs of producing non-recycable plastic garbage like this are massive, all for something that achieves nothing other than wasting taxpayers money insulting them.
Which is another thing, how come children are fucking worshipped as being smart and right about everything? We've had the Childrens Say on Climate Change, like it's somehow meant to be Worth a Damn, and now we have a "Creative" kid being exalted as the next Labour Phillipe Starcke. They're fucking kids! They don't know anything about anything!
Brats.
/rant.
"There's so much wrong with this toy, beyond the fact it's trying to scare people about smoking, it's just not funny if you actually think about it..."
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Hence my dilemma. Can't fault her enthusiams, but...
"...I do believe this post should be brought to the attention of another blogger - the 'smokey-drinky place' one. Probably OH, but I may be misremebering the place..."
Ah, that'll be Leg-Iron. He does read here. And he's well worth bookmarking for future reading.
"The recurring message across the course is to make profit from consumers by improving peoples lives through good design.
This is a total fail at both. Instead of improving anyones life, it's a tool for inflicting misery."
Which we need more of like we need a hole in the head!
Fantastic. I'll take a dozen.
ReplyDeleteWhat a chat-up line. "I'm a smoker. My lungs can do this" (squidge squidge).
They just will not see it. All this stuff is just FUNNY. I love the silly pictures on the tobacco packets. I howl at the ridiculous warnings. I buy the ashtrays that cough and the ones surrounded by skulls and I use them.
I'll buy the squidgy lung keyrings too. At the tobacco counter.
What I'd really like is a non-smokng Action Man that coughs and dies when you blow smoke at it.
If anyone invents such a thing, put me down for ten.
You know Leg-Iron, that's not such a bad idea for my final year project.
ReplyDeleteAll I have to do is somehow relate it to climate change and I'll be walking on water at state funded design conferences