Candy Cane Chopsticks

Whenever I eat Chinese food, I use chopsticks. Guess what. Billions of Chinese people also use chopsticks when they eat Chinese food. Of course, they just call it food.

Disposable bamboo chopsticks have become a huge problem in China and Japan. Their production is taxing the environment, and causing quite a mess. Japan has just passed a tax on chopsticks to try to encourage restaurants to switch to plastic, reusable chopsticks, but many critics think that this won't help because the cost and ease of the disposable chopsticks is not effected enough by the tax.


Many people are working on different options and solutions. The best being edible chopsticks made from sorghum flour and the worst being a bra with a pouch to carry collapsible chopsticks in, which happens to be a little too close to the armpit for my taste. (click this for video)

I started thinking about edible chopsticks today in the shower. Don't ask me why. Yeah, no, I don't know why. Don't ask. Anyway, I was thinking about it, and this is what I came up with.


My idea: Candy Cane Chopsticks. Straighten out that cane, and you got a stick.

As tasty as sorghum flour chopsticks sound, I think that most people, would much rather have a sweet and tasty treat after eating their squid dumplings and chicken feet. Also, I believe that candy cane chopsticks will be more durable, and last longer in storage. Plus, red and white candy canes are the color of the Japanese flag, and I think I have seen yellow and red ones too, so Chinese people can have patriotic candy cane chopsticks too. Moreover, candy canes are awesome!

Some of you are probably thinking that candy cane chopstick would be, well, sticky. The beauty of this is that you leave the wrapper on until you are done with them. Take off the wrapper, or lick off the soy sauce, and save it for later. You even have two candy canes, so you have one to share.

Do you know how many people there are in China and Japan? Close to 1.4 billion people. I am no math whiz, but if on any given day, one half of that population were to use disposable chopsticks, and you only had a 10% market share of that half, selling the chopsticks at 4 cents each, you would be looking at 2.8 million in gross sales a day. That translates into over a billion dollars a year in gross sales. Of course, you have to take out production, shipping, and advertising costs, and take into account variables such as the fluctuating cost of sugar and corn syrup, but still. And, I didn't even consider sales in the US and worldwide. You could make a lot of money.


Go do this. Make this happen, and taste that sweet success. But, don't forget to do what Santa has never done, write me a check for a couple of hundred thousand dollars or yen.

P.S. It's not too late! You can still sign up for IdeasByChuck.com. Do it now!

P.P.S. Don't forget, it's a lot harder to change the world, than you change your underwear.

Drink Or Cane

A few years back, I was interning at CAMA (Cable Advertising of Metro Atlanta). We were responsible for all the really bad commercials on cable TV. CAMA also had control of a cable channel which aired infomercials around the clock, interrupted every once in a while by two original content shows that we produced, both sports related.

One day my boss said to me, "If you have any show ideas or ideas in general, let me know."

I told him that I thought we should get the syndication rights to a Japanese show that I had seen while summering in Europe. I described the show to him and found him some pictures and information on the show. I pitched it at him hard.

My idea was ultimately dismissed and ignored.

The show was Takeshi's Castle. Two years later Spike TV premiered Takeshi's Castle under the name MXC or Most Extreme Challenge. MXC was among the highest rated shows on cable television for a while and is still one of Spike TV's signature shows. Furthermore, within the next couple of weeks several TV networks are premiering game shows based directly on Takeshi's Castle.

Why did I tell you this little story? I want you to understand that I know what people want to watch when it comes to ridiculous and painful game shows, so that when I tell you that my game, Drink or Cane, has everything that people want to see, you will believe me.

Drink or Cane is played by five contestants above the age of twenty-one who pass a physical exam.

In the first round, contestants must answer a set of fifteen increasingly difficult questions. They must answer each question within three seconds. If they answer correctly, they decide the fate of the other contestants, deciding between the other contestants all taking shots or all being hit in the back of the legs with a bamboo cane. If they answer incorrectly or fail to answer, they must then make the choice between a severe blow to the backs of their legs with a bamboo cane, and taking a shot of an alcoholic beverage. The shots and blows will be administered by sexy and scantily clad women.

The second round is all about competitive eating. Contestants have two minutes to eat as many hot dogs (or some similar item) as they can. For every hot dog that they eat they receive one second off their time in round three.


The third round is an obstacle course similar to the one on Double Dare. Everything comes down to round three. The contestant with the best time on the obstacle course wins the game.


Rounds one and two culminate to affect the third round. Contestants must, in the first round, choose between being physically diminished by the cane or alcohol. If they receive too many blows to the backs of their legs they will suffer on the obstacle course. Likewise, if they drink too much they will perform just as poorly. Similarly, in the second round, contestants have the chance to shave time off their final performance in round three, but if they eat too much, they won't be able to function well. It is hard to throw up and run at the same time. Trust me.

This is a game of strategy.

Make this game happen. It is everything that anyone could ever want in a game show. Plus, there is built in product placement. Sure you might have a hard time getting it on TV here in the US, but TV is old news, and there are no censors on the internet, at least not yet.