- [Narrator] Necessity is
the mother of invention. Whenever a need for something arises, ideas come flooding out of our brain, providing possible solutions
for the problem at hand. But sometimes, our mind brings out ideas that are a little illogical or outlandish or just downright crazy. Funny thing is, there are scenarios when these wacky ideas actually work. Here are the top 20 crazy
ideas that actually worked. (soft music) - Amazing! - [Narrator] Number 20, police as K9's. K9 units are effective
at catching runaways and instilling fear in criminals. There is one problem for the Connecticut
police officers, though. They don't have one. That did not stop them from
apprehending two thieves who holed up inside a residential house. As the officers cannot force their way in without risking the family's safety, they thought of an ingenious plan, have someone act like a K9 unit. Making their way inside the house, one officer barked furiously, which led to the thieves surrendering for fear that they might be
the dog's meal for the night. Number 19, weird hiccup cure. Hiccups are annoying. They go away as sudden as they come. However, there is a simple
solution to this problem, albeit a little bit gross, giving your inner rectum a massage. The reasoning behind this
is because the vagus nerve, the one responsible for
you getting hiccups, can be found on your inner rectum. Giving it a little
massage will send signals from your rectum all the way to the brain, putting a halt to your hiccups. Try not to do this in public, though. Number 18, cross legs movement. There is an old saying that goes hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. This is especially true in Colombia, as several mothers suffered
from the loss of their children due to a neglected road project. Instead of resorting to violence, they protested in a way that got the attention
of the local authorities. They declared that they
will abstain themselves from any sexual activity
until the road is fixed. The protest was successful,
as the road was constructed, saving the lives of
soon-to-be born children. Number 17, pot pigs. Washington state allows for
the use of medical marijuana, but that left pot growers
with leftovers they can't use. Fortunately for them, pig farms were quick
to buy these leftovers. They mixed these leftovers
into the pigs' chow, which, unsurprisingly, resulted in the pigs getting the munchies, becoming fatter and
apparently also tastier. In the end, it's a total win-win. Pot growers got more money while pig farms got super-effective feed, boosting their profits in the process. Number 16, condor cluster. Giving the Air Force Research
Laboratory a low budget did not stop them from building
their own supercomputer. Having not enough money
to buy a supercomputer, they decided to buy 1760
PlayStation 3 units. After a bit of tinkering, the interlinked consoles became
a functional supercomputer, even surpassing the capabilities
of a normal supercomputer. It's also easier to repair thanks to the availability
of PS3 parts in the market, and should a unit break down, they can just buy another
one to replace it. And if they get bored, they can probably use one of
those to play a round or two. Number 15, colors to influence behaviors. According to scientific research, some colors are effective in reducing one's negative thoughts, be it suicidal tendencies
or aggressiveness. They tested this theory in Japan, where suicide rates are high,
especially in train stations. After installing blue
lights in certain stations, suicide cases were
effectively cut in half. It's still not clear why blue lights should have such an effect, but some research has shown that blue lights can induce calm, as it's a color often
associated with authority, particularly the police. Another test was done inside
football teams' lockers at Iowa State University, wherein they painted the
walls of opponent locker rooms a calming Baker-Miller pink color to reduce their aggressiveness. Which, for a contact sport, gives home teams a slight advantage. Number 14, plastic wishbones. It's traditional for two people to break apart a bird's wishbone after extracting it from a cooked dinner. But only two people at the
table ever get a chance to feel like they might
have their wishes granted. Don't worry, as Ken
Ahroni has got your back. For just a couple of dollars, you can get yourself a plastic wishbone and make all your wishes come true. Or not. As crazy as this sounds, Ken pocketed a huge sum of
money for this invention, to the tune of a million dollars. While this is incredibly
beneficial for him and a few others who probably got lucky, our environment will
suffer from this in return. We've had enough plastics
in our landfills, so think twice about buying this if your only goal is to get lucky. Number 13, bottled air and bags of dirt. When travelling overseas, it is always a good
idea to bring something that reminds you of your home. However, these two companies may have taken it a bit too extreme. Vitality Air, a Canadian-based company, sells what they claim to be 100% clean air from the Rocky Mountains. For $32 a bottle, this
product is a said to be a must buy for people
travelling to countries where pollution is prevalent. The second company, Auld Sod,
sells official Irish dirt. The idea behind this is that Irish people, no matter wherever they may be, would want Irish soil in their homes. Thanks to the nostalgia
factor of the product, both products were able to make bank, netting them millions of
dollars in the process. Number 12, shooter stopped with a hug. If you ever encounter a man with a gun, your natural instinct would be to hide or run away as fast as you can. That's not the case with Jencie Fagan, a Nevada gym teacher who
basically risked her life to save her students. James Newman, a 14-year old student, decided to end his
streak of getting bullied by brandishing his mother's gun and shooting his schoolmates. Unfazed, Fagan slowly approached Newman, pleading him to put the
gun down, which he did, and wrapped him in a bear hug until the police came to restrain him. Her idea may sound crazy, but her selfless act saved
the lives of many students. Number 11, black-dyed water. It is said that the more
you prohibit people, the more they are inclined to do it. But in Derbyshire's case, they have a good reason to prohibit people from swimming in the Blue Lagoon. It is filled with
extremely toxic chemicals. Putting up signs didn't work, so they decided to opt
for the extreme solution, dye the water black. This deterred would-be
swimmers of the lagoon as they saw it unfit to
bathe in dirty waters as it can be dangerous to one's health. Funnily enough, the signs around the lagoon
already mentioned that fact way before it was dyed black. Number 10, face masks
fooling Bengal tigers. Bengal tigers are considered one of the most dangerous
predators in India. Should you see one, it is inevitable that you
will become its next prey. However, Bengal tigers will only attack if they believe they
have not been spotted, which is where the two-faced man, or more specifically, a man wearing a mask
behind his head, comes in. A risky experiment was conducted to see how they would react to someone who can see them from behind. To their surprise, people who wore masks were never attacked nor approached by these predatory cats. Perhaps it might be a
good idea to wear one too if your house cat is getting a bit rowdy. Number nine, ants for stitches. Sutures weren't a thing
back as early as 1000 BC, so our ancestors had to make do with what they had on their hands, plant fibers, animal hair, ants. Wait, what? You heard it correctly, ants. In Ancient China and some parts of Europe, huge ants the size of
your fingernails were used as replacement stitches for open wounds. Soldiers would use the ants' mandibles to bite and close off the
wound as a first aid treatment. They would then rip off the ant's body to leave behind its head,
closing the wound shut. Painful? Yes, but it was an effective treatment when they are out on the battlefield. Care to try out this method of treatment? Number eight, instant baggage claims. Having to wait to claim your baggage is extremely infuriating, especially if you just had a long flight. However, an airport in
Texas made it possible for passengers to claim their baggage without having to wait. Sounds good, right? Well, there is a small catch. You'll have to walk six miles to get to the baggage claim section. The airport management
got a number of complaints from passengers having
to wait 8 to 10 minutes to claim their baggage. Finding out that the baggage section was a short walk from the arrival gate, they decided to move it
further away to make it appear that passengers are able to
get their baggage instantly. Well played. Number seven, using
typewriters against spies. Within days of Edward
Snowden's revelations, Kremlin agents were quick to replace all their high-tech computers with something more
traditional, typewriters. By using typewriters, they are able to relay
information safely and securely, without the risk of getting
spied upon by the US government. Of course, other risks have sprung, such as getting these paper documents passed on to double agents or files going up in flames should there be a fire in the department. Number six, fish eating dead skin. Turkish people came up
with a weird solution to treat psoriasis, fish. Garra Rufa, also known as doctor fish, has a tendency to feast on dead skin. Schools of doctor fish are
placed in a small warm pool where people with psoriasis
can dip their feet in. The fishes will then swarm in
towards the patient's feet, nibbling off dead skin. After a few weeks' worth of treatment, psoriasis symptoms begin to diminish until it disappears completely. However, this type of treatment
can be very expensive, so it's safe to say that these fishes don't just suck away dead
skin, but your money as well. Number five, luxurious Norwegian prisons. Crime does not pay is one of the many common phrases we hear on detective films. However, in Norway, it actually does, as the prisoners there have the right to live a comfortable
lifestyle in the prison. Compared to prisons all around the world, Norwegian prisoners are
given a spacious room where they can rest and relax all day. In fact, they are not called prisoners, as they are referred to as residents. In many ways, the idea
of keeping prisoners in decent living conditions
sounds counter-intuitive. After all, shouldn't
they be punished harshly? Well, it's actually much more effective at rehabilitating criminals
than treating them poorly, so they don't commit crime again. It cut crime rate by a significant margin, as well as providing Norway with the lowest re-offending rate of 20%. Perhaps other countries can learn a thing or two from Norway. Number four, detecting mines. Land mines are hard to detect, especially during the night time. Thankfully, there are some
clever unconventional ways that soldiers can detect mines, like using rats and party items. While the idea seems
laughable, it really isn't. Rats are light and mobile
enough to not trigger the mines, but they are also able to sniff
them out from meters away. Party items, such as silly
string, are also effective, and help soldiers who perform night raids to check for trip mines
by spraying silly string all over common trip wire placements such as doors and windows. These two have saved hundreds
of lives all over the world, so though it may be ridiculous,
it gets the job done. Number three, piano stairs. Ever wish you can have fun
while using the stairs? Then piano stairs can do the trick. (piano plays) Recent studies have
shown that piano stairs reduced the need for escalators as more and more people
tend to use stairs. And why not? It's fun, it decreases your stress, and it gives you plenty of exercise. This might not be a crazy idea, after all. Number two, balls to reduce evaporation. California often
experiences drought spells, so to prevent the Ivanhoe
reservoir from getting dried up, they filled it balls, lots of it. Not only did it prevent rapid
evaporation of the water, it also prevented bacteria
and algae formation. Quite a ballsy idea, if I may say. Number one, flame weeding. Tired of plucking weeds all day? Worried about contaminating
the land with pesticides? Well, how about just
flame-thrower-ing the ground? Sounds crazy but this solution, called flame weeding is
an organic alternative, used by a number of conscious gardeners and agriculturalists around the world. By comparison to hand weeding
or spraying pesticides, it's quicker and has the
advantage of killing weed seeds near the surface of the soil. It also has a load of great advantages as compared to using a weeding hoe, you know, the gardening instrument, not a promiscuous gardener. Firstly, unlike a hoe, it doesn't bring more weed
seedlings to the surface, which would stimulate a new
rash of germinating weed seeds. Also, flame guns can be very useful over slow-to-germinate seeds like carrots as you can kill weeds just
before your seedlings germinate. Burning weeds also prevents
them from reshooting. There's quite a few
intricacies to consider before killing weeds with fire, but on the whole it's really effective. So much so that this farmer
made an innovative contraption to kill hundreds of
weeds in one fell swoop. A bit overkill, true, but if it gets the job done right, you would probably do this as well. Which one did you think
was the most ingenious? Ever thought of a crazy idea
that worked spectacularly? Let me know in the comments
section down below. Thanks for watching. (soft music)
