Building A Better Mouse Trap, German Style

When we were in Vienna, I was listening to my podcasts of, "This American Life" (TAL). It's one of my favorite shows. It's both funny and full of crazy, interesting information. You know, the stuff that makes the you ponder the world and everyone in it. I couldn't believe what I heard that night listening to a segment called, "Building a Better Mouse Trap".

The host, Ira Glass, talks with Andy Woolworth, an executive vice president in charge of new product development at the world's largest manufacturer of mousetraps, Woodstream Corporation, in Lititz, Pennsylvania. About once a month, Andy is contacted by someone who thinks he's invented a better mousetrap. He and Ira review some of the ideas that seemed particularly bad. The one that caught my attention is especially bizarre. I clipped it out of the program - this is an MP3 of it (1.2MB give it a minute to download into your browser). Get your head around that one!