4 Hacks: Post-Its, Foam Cups and an Anti-Hack?

Here's a collection of hacks I've picked up the last few days:

1. Post-It Note Sketching - Melanie Reim shared this story of putting her jury duty waiting time to good use:

My fellow jurors and I sat and waited, and did that some more and the dreary, rainy day droned on. Most were bored out of their minds- for me- free models! Thank goodness for drawings -and post-its!

See what she created here.

2. A Post-It Note Powered Play - Could you tell a whole story using nothing but two actors, each armed with a stack of Post Its? Of course you can. The play appears to work, too. Let this further be a reminder: you can create your next masterpiece on a budget; just swap dollars for creativity.

3. The Foam Cup Timer - Grunt Doc nailed it when claimed this setup was "what genius looks like."

This makes me want to grab two cups and start timing something.

4. The Obvious Traffic Sign - I pass this sign all the time. Here's what it says:

(Text: "Don't hit the car in front of you")

You'd think, who'd need to be told this? And yet, according to the local police, it's helped cut down on the number of accidents at this on ramp.

If we assume that a hack is a clever and efficient solution to a problem, then is this sign an anti-hack? Or, is it the perfect hack? It does potentially deliver safety while costing almost nothing. On the other hand, putting up a sign in a location when you want drivers to pay close attention to the road seems counter productive. Not to mention, the real solution is to fix the road. In all fairness, the merge ramp that this sign sits at is absolutely a fender-bender trap. So taking any action is wise.