👋 Hi, fellow dumdums!

What if the next big idea wasn’t born in a brainstorming session but at the tail end of a bad joke? Dumb ideas and terrible puns have a strange power—they lower the stakes, unlock creativity, and let you play with possibilities you’d otherwise dismiss.

The fact is, most great ideas don’t start with “Eureka!”

They start with “Wait… that’s hilarious, what if we actually tried that?”

Let’s get dumb.

What if humor wasn’t just a distraction, but the secret to genius?

In 2014, Zack Brown joked about making potato salad and launched a $10 Kickstarter campaign to fund his first batch. The internet ran with it, and soon the campaign raised over $55,000. What started as a joke turned into a viral phenomenon, a festival called PotatoStock, and donations to fight hunger and homelessness through the Columbus Foundation.

But this wasn’t a fluke. Some of the weirdest, most successful ideas started as laughs:

• Squatty Potty – What began as a gag about "optimal pooping posture" turned into a $30M+ business after a viral unicorn-themed ad.

• The ThighMaster – A ridiculous-looking infomercial product became a fitness empire, selling millions of units, all because the name made people laugh.

• Billy Bob Teeth – Jonah White partnered with dental student Rich Bailey to create fake hillbilly teeth as a joke. This novelty item became a multi-million-dollar business, selling millions of units worldwide.

The lesson? Jokes lower our guard. They let us play with ideas we’d normally dismiss until we realize they weren’t so dumb after all.

⏰ The Alarm Clock That Started as a Joke

Ever hear of Clocky? It’s an alarm clock that jumps off your nightstand and wheels itself across the room, forcing you to chase it to turn it off. Dumb, right? But it solved a real problem for heavy sleepers. 🤷 😂 

The Einstein Rule: Humor Fuels Genius

While he’s best known for reshaping physics, his real secret weapon might have been his sense of play.

Einstein believed that humor, curiosity, and imagination were essential to solving big problems. He famously worked out ideas through thought experiments—often absurd, almost cartoonish scenarios.

Dumb Word of the Day: Jape

What it means: A playful joke or prank.

Why it’s dumb (and brilliant):
Many of the best ideas start as a jape—something ridiculous, unserious, or outright absurd. The difference between a prank and a million-dollar idea? Someone deciding to take the joke seriously.

Takeaway:

Next time you hear a silly idea, don’t dismiss it. Ask, “What if we actually tried that?”

Take a joke, pun, or ridiculous statement and see if there’s an idea hiding inside it.

Ask yourself:

• How could this “joke” solve a real problem?

• What would it take to make it work?

Examples:

• A chair with a built-in phone charger—so you can “sit and stay connected.”

• Shoes with built-in vacuums—because “cleanliness starts from the ground up.”

• A blanket with sleeves—oh wait, that one already made millions.

The point isn’t to find the perfect idea—it’s to see how far you can take a laugh.

The Humor-Driven Innovation Toolkit

Want to turn a joke into a breakthrough? Here are five ways to use humor as a creative tool:

✓ The Absurd Filter – Take an over-the-top joke idea and ask, “What’s the smallest, simplest version of this that could actually work?” (Example: A self-driving fridge is absurd. A fridge that texts you when you're out of milk? That’s doable.)

✓ The Opposite Game – Flip a common product or idea on its head. What if coffee made you sleepy? What if umbrellas kept you dry from the knees down? Start dumb, then refine.

✓ The “What If We Actually Did It?” Test – When someone jokes, “Imagine if that were real,” instead of laughing it off, take it seriously for 60 seconds. How would it work? Who would love it? (See: every great novelty product ever.)

✓ The Viral Name Effect – If your idea makes people laugh just from the name, you’re onto something. (Squatty Potty, Liquid Death, Billy Bob Teeth—would they have succeeded without their names?)

✓ The Playtest Rule – If people laugh when you describe your idea, don’t dismiss it—prototype it. Fun ideas spread faster.

What’s the funniest idea you’ve ever turned into reality? Reply and let me know—I’d love to share it in a future edition.

Stay dumb, David

P.S. If you know someone who could use more humor in their creativity, forward this email to them. Who knows what it might spark?