Kickstarter is a great concept for those who need to raise money for a project. It’s the kind of platform that allows anyone to get online and post their needs and their reasons for needing funding, and then the general public offers that funding. Many of the Kickstarter campaigns that have succeeded have been ones that are well-known and very popular (the Oculus Rift, for example) and there have been more than 69,000 successful products over the past five years that have raised more than $1 billion in funds.
While most of the successful concepts have been worthwhile for those who donate, not all of them have been. Some are questionable at best. On a platform where you can literally ask for money for just about everything you can imagine, it’s only natural that some people will ask for things that you might not consider normal. Read on to find out which 20 Kickstarter campaigns are the world’s strangest.
Potato Salad
A man by the name of Zack Danger Brown decided he wanted to make potato salad in 2014. We don’t really know if he wanted to make potato salad and simply didn’t have the money to purchase the ingredients or if he just wanted to see if people would really fund his project, but he asked for $10. In the course of his campaign to make potato salad, he raised more than $55,000. He made his potato salad and now he’s spending his money to fight homelessness in Ohio.
Cat Bath
Cats are not easy to bathe, which is why a woman by the name of Valerie Dixon decided she would create a product that would trap cats in the bath long enough for them to take a bath. This product is one that allows her to put cats in the tub so that they cannot escape. She was asking to raise more than $500 for her project, but it turns out that she wasn’t able to do it. Why? Because her contraption is a big, plastic box that can be purchased at your local store for a few dollars. She raised approximately $8 from only four backers.
Corgis are Not Nice
Nicholas Homan is a hater of corgi dogs. He created a Kickstarter campaign that calls them an inappropriate word that begins with an “A” and asked for funding to start a website that will allow him to gather videos of these particular dogs that shows them behaving poorly so that he can make his point that they are dogs that are not much more than a waste of breath and life. He wanted to raise a significant amount of money, but it turns out he was only able to raise a dollar in the course of his campaign.
Whoozeapp
Nurija Museljic Masic is a man who decided that some people don’t like to become insomniacs. When they are awake in the middle of the night, they have no one to talk to or chat with online. This app that he wants to create will take $35,000, and he’s looking to raise it with a Kickstarter campaign. The app is going to allow people to get up and find people also online in their region where it is also the middle of the night. They can chat and have a good time, but their conversation will be erased completely at 6 am. It’s secretive and interesting.
Southpaw Protector
Mary-Anne O’Connell-Pope knows what it’s like to be a left-handed person trying to keep her hands clean when she’s writing. The ink from the paper gets all over her hands and it’s a problem for her, so she began a campaign that asks for donations so she can create a half glove that protects her hands from the ink and other stuff that makes it impossible for her to write when she’s in the mood. She managed to raise more than $200 for her campaign, even though it’s something right-handed people don’t see as an issue.
Yorkies Briefs
The name might imply that this Kickstarter campaign had something to do with dogs, but it really didn’t have anything to do with the animals. This campaign was actual funding a pair of men’s underwear with an enhancing pouch designed to make a man’s private area look larger. The campaign managed to raise more than $7,525 for the product. They even come with private codes printed on the back of the pouch.
Ron Paul Video Game
Instead of watching Super Mario run around the screen when you play video games, wouldn’t you love to see a Ron Paul version? The Libertarian asked for money to fund a video game that would allow him to create something that used the likes of Ron Paul, and it was something those who fund projects thought might be somewhat successful considering the man behind the campaign managed to raise more than $11,000 for his cause. Of course, he wasn’t able to pull it off and the game never happened.
5 O’Clock Shadow
If you’re a man that wants a bit of a shadow at the end of the day, you can purchase one that will make your face warm while also giving you a relatively interesting look. The 5 O’Clock shadow was a Kickstarter campaign that managed to raise something like $3,000 to help men stay warm and look cool. The concept is the men’s version of a scarf or headwrap that so many man just won’t wear during the winter months.
The World’s Largest Jockstrap
When you have an idea, you have to run with it. When Michael Barrett decided he wanted to have a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, he needed some funds to create his one-of-a-kind idea. He decided he wanted to create the world’s largest jock strap, which was an idea that actually made him some money. The jock strap is ten times the size of a normal jock strap, and it’s one that earned him $854.
Wet Diaper Keychain
This project has actually received more than $12,000 for funding. It’s one that’s quite interesting. Since babies and toddlers can’t speak up about their wet diapers at all times, an engineer by the name of Eric Schul decided to create a project that would allow him to check for wet or dirty diapers a simple way; with a keychain. All you have to do is touch the keychain to a diaper. If it’s wet, the chain is alerted and it lights up. If it’s not, it doesn’t. It’s something that more than 600 backers have decided is a project worth their time and energy.
Senpai Bear Date
Toni Rocca thinks that traditional dating is for the birds. Or the bears would be a better description of what she wants. She thinks that she needs a place where people can flirt and interact – with an adorable bear. So she is looking to raise money to start a date simulator that will allow people who are interested in bears to flirt and interact with the giant animals. She wants to raise money to make this work, though she will not allow it to become sexual in nature.
Crystal Bacon
People love bacon. It’s something that is known around the world. People just love bacon. It’s delicious and wonderful and it’s something that really makes people happy. However, we don’t think that we understand the concept of raising money for something call crystal bacon, which is a strip of plastic that’s shaped like bacon that shines and shimmers so that it can be used as decoration. However, the fund has raised more than $2,786 for the project, so it simply goes to show that people really, really love bacon.
My Little Pony Essays
Kids love My Little Pony, which is a child’s cartoon that’s been around for decades. It’s still as popular today as it was when most of us were kids, and apparently it’s so popular that some people are looking to read essays about it. In fact, this particular Kickstarter campaign is so successful that people have donate almost $1,100 for the project, which is pretty impressive.
Remee
This is a sleep mask that does a bit more than the everyday sleep mask. This one is designed to help people really do something fantastic. Remee is designed to help men and women stimulate their dreams by using seemingly random light patterns that work with your various stages of sleep. The idea was interesting and the creator wanted to raise something like $35,000, but he managed to raise more than $572,891 for its creation.
Cat Calendar
Life would be so much more interesting if we had a super awesome cat calendar to stare at, and that’s what one person described her calendar as when she created the Kickstarter campaign. The pitch was, “Do you enjoy photos of cats dressed up as magical creatures? Do you use a calendar? Yes? Then we have something awesome for you,” and the concept was looking to raise $3,500. It raised more than $25,000 while it was being held.
Kitchenware Combat
Who doesn’t want kitchen cookware that’s not just a pan but also a sword or other kind of combat weapon? From the success of this particular Kickstarter campaign, a lot of people would like this kind of cookware. In 2014, an inventor came up with the concept of creating a line of cookware that’s designed to have weaponry as handles. The project raised more than $46,000 for its creation.
Missy for President
When a woman by the name of Sakura Bready had a dream about rapper Missy Eliot running for President of the United States, she decided she would create a line of track suits all about her dream. These one-of-a-kind track suits cannot be found anywhere else, so she needs money to create the product. People loved the concept, apparently, because she was able to raise more than $2,492 for her goals.
Burrito Graphing
Noboro Bitoy wanted to buy a burrito from chipotle, but he couldn’t find any money with which to purchase his burrito. So what did he do? He went online looking to raise $8 so he could buy a burrito. He managed to raise more than $1,050 because he promised his fans he would then get online and rate the amazing taste of his burrito. He did, and his supporters were very happy that he did so in a very quick amount of time. Sometimes you just have to do what you can to get what you want.
Coloring
Sometimes it’s difficult to be a creative type. Just ask Ryan Staples, who loves to color. However, he’s a grown man with a lack of children and therefore he has no coloring books or crayons in his home. So he’s taken to asking the people who fund dreams on Kickstarter to go ahead and raise money so that he can purchase crayons and coloring books. He will actually allow you to have a private coloring session with him if you donate $100 toward his cause. He hasn’t exactly earned his money just yet. His campaign is ongoing, and he’s only raised $10.
A New Computer for Game Playing
Nancy, a Boston College graduate wants a new computer because she wants to play a video game by the name of Hearthstone. She can’t play it, however, without a new computer. If you donate money to her for a new computer, she will shout your name during one of her games. She will stream herself online playing the game so that you can hear her say your name as a way of thanking you for donating to her for her new computer. She has raised no money so far, even though she is asking for $1,000.
Take Out Food
Being generous with your wife and friends is not that easy. Andrew Reynolds would like to order takeout every night for a full week for himself, his wife and their friends. However, he needs the funds with which to do this. He’s created a campaign on Kickstarter that will allow him to raise the money he needs to bring home take out food every night for one week. What you get if you donate are his kind thoughts. He will take the time to think of you when he is eating the take out food he orders. He’s raised $1.
(Lead Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(Photos from Kickstarter)
