The Dumbest Ideas People Had That Actually Worked

When you're in a pinch and all out of ideas to remedy the situation, you can't be picky about solutions, no matter how lame they sound.

Sometimes, you have to throw everything at a wall and see what sticks.

Strangers online shared their surprising success stories when Redditor Skv1l asked:

"What is the dumbest idea you have had that actually worked?"

Best Trap Ever

"Trying to catch a mouse, I put an empty Pringles can on the floor against the wall and was going to attempt to kinda scoop him in there, but he got startled and ran along the wall right into the can, which I quickly picked up and brought outside."

"I honestly didn't really think it would work to begin with, let alone have it work so smoothly."

– Humble_Negotiation33

Penciling It In

"I was having an issue with a PS1 controller so I opened it up and found a broken trace. I was young and broke and didn't have any other options, so I got to thinking how those scantron tests worked; our teacher explained that HB pencil lead is conductive and the machine checks if the right spot is conductive to mark it."

"I grabbed a pencil and filled in the trace as much as I could, put it back together and it worked great. Still works as far as I know."

– Strongit

Changing Perspectives

"A clock at my grandparents’ house was running backward, so I unplugged it, turned the plug 180 degrees, and plugged it back in."

– Lilswingingdick212

"That's a good one. It would have also worked without flipping the plug, just taking it out and putting it back in. Telochron motors can sometimes run the wrong way on initial powering."

– quackerzdb

"The kind of motors used in clocks can rotate either direction and once started inertia will keep them going the same direction. When started, there’s a 50/50 chance on which direction they’ll go, depending on the direction the AC currently is flowing at the instant it is connected."

"There is a mechanism attached that pulls in and blocks the motor from turning if it’s going the wrong way. It will then start turning the other direction. That mechanism was probably broken in your case."

– 0x600dc0de

Lucky Transaction On Craig's List

"I've bought and sold junk on CL most of my life, like 20+ years now. At one point I had a unicycle that I didn't want, but I did want a minifridge. I found the single person on the planet with a minifridge who wanted a unicycle, and made the trade."

"I also traded a motorcycle seat for a freshly-baked red velvet cake. They were a baker by trade. lmao."

– ridethroughlife

Chance Exit

"I worked in an IT job that I absolutely hated. Got to the point that I just mailed it in. Did the bare minimum. I was hoping to get fired and collect unemployment and get my sanity back."

"Come in one day and the manager wants to talk. Go to an office with HR waiting. Told me they were eliminating my position. Offered me a sweet severance package with six months salary, stock options, and health benefits. Signed it immediately. Thinking they wanted me out but had nothing on me, did my work and never got written up or PIP'ed."

"Took a nice long vacation and got my sanity back. Afterwards I found a better job."

– etm105

Stroke Of Luck

"Gambling. I was desperate and couldn’t pay my rent one month, so like a desperate idiot I put my last £10 into credit on the National Lotto app. I played a mini game and won £2k. Haven’t touched it since as I know it was an astronomically small chance that one time."

– gingernut-ranger

Tuition Bargain

"Went back to college to get my bachelor's degree. Had a little less than two years worth of course credits to take, I think about 50 or so but didn’t want to pay for two years."

"My college had discounted summer courses and didn’t charge any extra for fall & spring course loads above 12 credits. So whether it was 12 or 20 credits during the year - same price."

"So anyway, I did 6 credits over the summer and about 42/43 credits total between spring & fall and escaped with a bachelor’s in comp sci. I had no life outside of school but pulled it off somehow. Saved at least the cost of one full-time semester, likely two."

"Edit: I forgot the best part! I transferred my prior credits to this school. (Wasn’t practical to return to original school at the time.) All colleges have a residency requirement that require you to be there for a certain amount of time before you get a degree. I guess so you can’t, say, take one class at Harvard and say you have a Harvard degree with all other credits from another school."

"Anyway, my summer courses began in early July and ended late August. The following two semesters were the normal fall & spring semesters with an end date in May. So was there early July to mid May, essentially."

"The kicker is that is technically less than one year and, according to the school’s residency requirements, I didn’t qualify for a degree because I’ve been there less than one year!!"

"I had to fight them for my degree! Eventually, I wore them down. I remember having them finally physically handing me the degree. I practically ran out of the admin building before they changed their mind!"

"Still remember that feeling, degree literally in hand, half walking / half running to my car, full of proud, nervous energy!"

– IWantTheLastSlice

Likely Excuse

"At the Uni I went to, you had to have 3 (or was it 6?) months 'relevant work experience' in order to graduate. Back in the 1920s or so this was easy - there were like 500 students in great demand. Over the years the 'relevant' was mildened, people got gas station attendant accepted for chemistry and landscaping for physics."

"All summer jobs while studying. I worked for the Royal Norwegian Postal Service during the summers. As graduation neared, hard at work on my thesis, I submitted the documentation. A while later, it was returned, with a note stapled to it saying 'not relevant enough.' "

"My thesis was due in like 6 weeks, tough ask to cram 3-6 months relevant experience in there. I simply carefully removed the note and the staple, carefully stapled them together again with a visually quite different staple. Did my thesis, when handing it in, they told me I lacked 'relevant experience.' "

"I did an Oscar-worthy scene of disbelief and frustration - 'I SENT YOU THE DOCUMENTATION AND YOU JUST RETURNED IT! If there was a problem, you should have SAID SOMETHING!' They agreed to 'review it again', and approved it."

– DaThug

Best Job Ever

"Taking a Job at this computer startup place wayyy back after I got out of getting my CE degree. 5 people. The owner, his wife, his son, a programmer and a IT guy working out of a converted house, that was now an office space. Thought it would be the worst decision ever. But they were offering me a job, and I was too lazy to go Job hunting elsewhere."

"Just took early retirement after 35 years there very well off, company had a 1000 employees worth a half a billion."

– WTFpe0ple

Lucky Guesses

"Had a very difficult test in college (Advanced Statistics). I didn't know the material well. Sat in the test and could very visibly see the answers of the two people in front of me. I was tempted to just copy some of their answers. At some point, I reached the conclusion that they don't know the material better than me and if I'm going down, it may as well be for my own mistakes."

"I answered what I could and made some random guesses on the questions I didn't know how to answer. Against all my expectations, I got a 90/100 with half the class failing (probably those two ahead of me). I think this is one of those rare situations where my random guesses were just lucky cause I certainly didn't have a deep understanding of the material."

– MiyagiJunior

Kicking Things Off

"Did it with an injection molding machine at my old job once. It absolutely refused to start. I was already drowning with other emergencies on the floor, and the second technician was out of ideas about what could be wrong with it. I jokingly kicked in the electronic panel."

"The Press started immediately regaining consciousness. Two days later, we finally found the time to open it, and the motherboard showed some serious corrosion damages in its connectors."

"We ordered a new one and since the problem hasn't repeated. My best guess is that the kicking was sufficient to reset slightly one of the other components connected to the motherboard who lost connection."

– Spiderbanana

The above examples demonstrate that you should never dismiss a dumb idea, even if you think it won't work.

Life is about taking chances, and you'll never know if you'll come out on top in a situation unless you go for it.