Blink...blink...blink....

[dvandom]

I got one of the new wave of Sigma 6 GIJoe figures the other day (Hi-Tech, with HOUND autonomous drone). It had this blinking red LED in the package that could not be shut off. The whole shelf of them was blinking out of synch (although, if they were IN synch it woulda been kinda scary). I figured, well, okay, light-up gimmick for the toy. Cool.

Tonight I finally got around to opening it up.

The LED has a battery pack with 2 AA's. And it has NOTHING to do with the actual toy. At all. Not even a way to connect it to the footlocker you make out of the package endcaps. It's only there to make the packaging more eye-catching.

I'm old enough to remember when LEDs were actually something kinda special. I know they've been dirt cheap for years, but it's still a sort of future shock to realize that they're now at the level of disposable packaging glitz. Wow.

Comments

[5eh.livejournal.com]

...LED Graffitti... (http://www.instructables.com/id/E9D2ZJ3FG0EP286JEJ/)

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Cute. :) This takes it a step farther, though, and has a tiny circuit board to run the blinking.

[5eh.livejournal.com]

An electro-graf is a graffiti piece or throw-up that uses conductive and magnetic paint to embed LED display electronics. (http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=13#video)

[jarodrussell.livejournal.com]

I still experience future shock whenever McDonald's gives away video games in their Happy Meals. Sure they're stupid little LED games no more complex than Pong, but back in the early 90's this level of technology was twice as big and $20 a pop.

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

Pink Floyd's Pulse, 1995. Years of sitting in the living room of my apartment, being constantly, subliminally distracted by Zoner's goddam copy of Pulse, blinking relentlessly on the bookshelf across the way. The horror. The horror.

[z4nd4r.livejournal.com]

Oh how I -=HATED=- that album.
For the exact reasons you describe...

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Heh. At least that was packaging you were supposed to retain. Sigma 6 packaging is very difficult to reuse, because you have to cut apart so much to get it apart (at least cut a lot of tape, and then undo some very finicky tabs).

[unicronq.livejournal.com]

I saw those the other day at work (while on my lunch), and I was looking all over the package for what kind of gimmick they were before I realized it was just to make the package eye catching. I've seen that on display packages of different items, but never actually on each item. Just imagine how annoying that would be if every toy in the toy isle had that :P.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

I think it's not so much the complexity of the packaging (a little plastic and metal ink aside), but the fact that it's powered that makes me raise an eyebrow. How much did it take to create and charge those batteries? And how much toxic waste is that package going to generate when it's thrown away?

And yeah, what's the deal with giving the package abilities that the contents don't have themselves? That's like wrapping a rock in a jukebox.

[5eh.livejournal.com]

THIS IS THE BEST ROCK EVER!

[z4nd4r.livejournal.com]

At least you get a blinky LED out of the deal. I am still trying to figure out WTF Firefly's Blunted Triangle of DOOM does.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

It's a spinny mine, supposedly.

[recharge138.livejournal.com]

Like spinny rims?

[z4nd4r.livejournal.com]

But more stupid. If that's possible.

[z4nd4r.livejournal.com]

But it doesn't spin. It doesn't work. I think someone at Hasbro had this really cool idea and then was out sick for a week and a mailroom clerk designed it because it had to be finished...

[nthmike.livejournal.com]

*Two* AAs? Yikes.

On the bright side, you get free batteries out of the whole thing. :)