Curious to explore this notion, Redditor Stenik0522 asked:
"What is the dumbest idea you have ever had that actually worked?"
Some experiments really pay off.
Successful Fraud
"In my freshman year of college, my grades were really not great. And my parents were really strict about getting good grades. When my dad asked to see my grades, I panicked and did the inspect command on the computer where you can change type faces on the screen to read different words and letters. I changed all of my sh**ty grades to good grades. My dad was so happy that I did 'good' my first year of school. He asked me to print my results. I did, and turns out he had to send them to our car insurance company for a 'good student discount'. Ultimately, I committed insurance fraud by accident. But I got the discount."
– DreamRader
Vision Protector
"Wearing a motorcycle helmet while snowblowing. I did it because i missed riding, it kept my face warm and when snow would fly back at me the visor would protect me"
– Fortknoxgaming
Makeshift ID
"I forgot to bring a resume to a job interview, but I had an index card in my bag. I cut the index card in half and wrote my name, my contact info, and 'creative problem solver' in my best handwriting, and gave a copy of my 'business card' to both the interviewers."
"I got the job."
– kayification
Tossing Jewelry
"Not my idea but my mom's. I dropped one of my earrings and couldn't find it so she threw my other earring on the floor and it happened to land next to the first one."
– linguinenoodles
Redditors reflect on a younger time when they could've given themselves a pat on the back.
Retro Appreciation
"When I was like 7 years old I was playing in my back garden with those incredibly bouncy little balls you got, just bouncing them high off the house and letting them bounce randomly before trying to catch them, as you did."
"One time I went for this huge throw off the wall and it bounced crazily off various surfaces so fast I completely lost track of it. So my 7 year old logic was to stand back in the same place and throw another ball the same way. I watched it bounce this way and that about 10 times before finally hitting a plant and coming to a rest in a flower bed. I went over to pull back the foliage and sure enough there were both balls literally lying touching each other in the mud."
"At the time I was like 'yep, makes sense...' but over the years since then I’ve often thought about it and how the hell it worked!"
– c0p0u7
VIP Scam
"A friend and I once snuck 15 people into a Warped Tour by giving them some bracelets from a party supply store and clipboards full of paper. Walked up to the side gate and said we were with Rock The Vote. The security guard waved us right in."
– Goodgoodgodgod
Cold Case
"When I was younger I got called into HR because I drew a very detailed picture of a penis. It was really really good."
"The HR meeting happened like a week after I drew it and my only defense was 'I dont recall doing that, do you happen to have the picture? It might jog my memory.' They didnt have it of course because I had it, and because I didnt confess they couldn't do sh*t."
"Investigation results inconclusive, have a nice day."
– anon
Multi-Tasker
"When I was young and broke I bought a sofa from a used furniture store. I had no way to take the sofa home. I went to a used car lot a couple of blocks away and took a truck for a test drive..."
– luckyhenry
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
Crisis Avoided
"A storm broke a limb on a tree hanging over my house in my back yard, but it was still hanging on by a few splinters. I didn't want it to fall, and it wasn't in a place where I could use my ladder to get to it."
"So I found some rope, tied a brick to it, threw the brick and rope over the limb, made a crude rope swing, and swung and pulled at the branch until it finished breaking."
"It wasn't until I was using the chainsaw to cut it up that I realized how many times during my stupid idea I could have easily hurt or even killed myself."
– Mr_Vorland
Must Have Coffee
"Our power was out due to a storm. I had a campstove to use for boiling water to make a coffee pour-thru, but I couldn't use my electric grinder for the coffee beans. I tried fashioning a mortal and pestle but it was taking too long. So, I put the coffee beans in a couple of ziplock bags, placed the bag right behind a car tire, then ran over it back and forth a couple of times to crush the beans. Worked like a charm."
– EugeneStargazer
Holy Access
"Put Jesus in as WiFi password in church. It worked."
– Succulant_Kiwi
It may sound ridiculous on paper, but any solution that comes to mind when you're in a quandary is manifesting in your brain cells for a reason.
Never dismiss what seems like a dumb idea, for it could open up possibilities you never knew existed.