Ostrich Pillow - take a nap anywhere

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ostrich-pillow/ostrich-pillow

by deepakprakash • 14 years ago

59 44 14 years ago

kickstarter.com

taylorlapeyre• 14 years ago

I'm sorry, but this thing looks downright ridiculous.

marshray• 14 years ago

If you're willing to sleep in public then you already don't care about looking ridiculous.

I find this product highly appealing.

dchuk2• 14 years ago

I thought this was a nicely put together spoof of kick starter, I'm flabbergasted how that has raised so much money. The people using it look like the heaven's gate cult photos from years ago.

chao-• 14 years ago

I don't really understand the cult connection, even after Googling Heaven's Gate (I am too young to remember much about them directly).

But on the topic at hand, I would buy one of these, or at least, I definitely would if I were still in High School. On state standardized test days (normally a half-week occurring a few times per year), I (and many peers) would inevitably finish in about 2 of 4 hours. Of course we were obligated to stay in the room and remain completely silent for the entire 4, so I would fold a jacket such that it fashioned a very poorly-functioning version of this.

The main issue while using a jacket was having proper respiration between my face-down head and the desk. If this product solves this when it comes out (maybe I can try it out somewhere? Brookstone or some such?), I can see myself considering it.

BasDirks2• 14 years ago

You sound like a perfect actor for their next infomercial.

dchuk2• 14 years ago

They all committed suicide with cloth bags over their heads. It's an extremely creepy sight and I won't be linking to the photos for many obvious reasons, but...they look just like they're all wearing this product.

eckyptang3• 14 years ago

That's the first thing I thought of as well and I'm not ashamed to say I found it slightly funny.

On a more serious note, this is really a "how to get your stuff stolen" hat.

StavrosK• 14 years ago

Eh, just put them in the hat. Looks like there's enough space.

davidw• 14 years ago

> The people using it look like the heaven's gate cult photos from years ago.

I was thinking more along the lines of Guantanamo, but... hey, it was good for a morning chuckle.

anakha• 14 years ago

Using one of these in a public place will be an invitation to get mugged.

mdonahoe2• 14 years ago

I'm guessing this would get used in very loud public places, like airports or train stations. I'm also guessing that muggings would be rare because of all the bystanders.

However, wearing one of these in public is an invitation to get your picture taken and posted on twitter.

skeletonjelly2• 14 years ago

I think airports and university libraries are their big markets. Public space would be off limits in my opinion.

Trufa• 14 years ago

You're already sleeping so mugging must be out before, pillow or no pillow.

numlocked• 14 years ago

I thought there would be at least some sort of acknowledgment in the video of how absurd the thing looked - a little self awareness might go a long way towards connecting with people otherwise put off my looking like an insane person in public spaces.

dmix• 14 years ago

Queues PGs post on Segways

jlgreco• 14 years ago

Unless there are several of them, queuing them before cueing them is probably unnecessary. ;)

cdrxndr• 14 years ago

Dying watching this video over here. Watched it twice and couldn't stop laughing ...

Some missing FAQs:

* How fricking hot is it in that pillow-hat?

* How do you prevent people from messing with you when sleeping on the train?

On a regrettably serious aside, I am curious if there is a natural advantage to sleeping with you hands over your head - opens your lungs up, but would make circulation more difficult ...

mdonahoe2• 14 years ago

I too wondered about the heat. That is usually the first thing that affects my ability to sleep.

eckyptang3• 14 years ago

Yes you have to be careful with being messed with on a train. Whilst drunk and unconcious on a train, a friend of mine had a penis drawn on his head in bic biro (this was UK, London, Kingston loop)

nekopa• 14 years ago

Who knows, snuggies (I think that's the name, the backwards bathrobe/blanket looking thing) have made lots of money...

nivla2• 14 years ago

I agree, by looking at the percentage already funded, I think it has to the potential to follow Snuggie's success. Infact, I found Snuggie to be a ridiculous invention when it first came out and have good doubts about its success. Well, its just a blanket with sleeves, who wouldn't see that through! right? but boy was I wrong. It even made it to the people's top holiday shopping list. So when I have a chance I snagged the misspelled variation of its domain http://www.snugies.com when it expired from a domain squatter and did it referral redirect to the product page on Amazon.

lambtron• 14 years ago

Just curious, how meaningful was the monetary return on the referral redirects from snugies? Wondering if we should do the same and get ostrichpillows or something.

skeletonjelly2• 14 years ago

Snuggies are designed to be used in the comforts of your own home though. This however will come under the scrutiny of the public.

phy6• 14 years ago

Kind of expensive, I'll wait for a cheap Chinese knock-off on eBay.

halcyondaze• 14 years ago

You suck at life

BasDirks2• 14 years ago

The design is based on a terribly unergonomic position, it's ugly, and it looks perfectly possibly to suffocate yourself with it.

malandrew2• 14 years ago

I backed the project and I kind of agree that the armholes are kind of unnecessary because that's not the most ergonomic way to use it, at least for me. However that doesn't preclude using it the way I plan on using it, which is arms crossed on the table in front of me outside the ostrich pillow with my head in the pillow resting on top of my crossed arms. That's perfectly ergonomic and a position I've slept in multiple times.

This project is particularly interesting to me because I'm not physically able to sleep reclining or on my back because I snore so loudly and with such vigor that my uvula swells up to the point that I can partially swallow it into my throat. I welcome anything that makes sleeping face down, but still breathe. I also see this useful on those cold winter nights where you want to keep you head warm as well when in bed.

This is one of those project that either makes total sense to you or doesn't. For me, it'll be a godsend. There are tons of times I've wanted something like this, looking like a goofball be damned.

The pillow reduces not only light but sound too, while allowing you to breathe. This is already better than most other sleep aids for sleeping in public such as eye masks.

moocow01• 14 years ago

Unfortunate name in that wearing it in public will definitely get you ostracized - I have almost no doubt about that.

I think Id be genuinely afraid to wear this thing out in that it probably suffers from the same thing mascots suffer from - there is an urge to tackle you or bop you as if your a stuffed animal. I just feel like inevitably you'd be awoken by a whap to the back of the head by some teenager on a dare.

petewailes• 14 years ago

I think you mean ostrichized, no?

oliwarner• 14 years ago

England here and we think you both mean: ostracised.

hamoid• 14 years ago

I wonder if it includes flame retardant chemicals like other pillows do in some countries...

anmol• 14 years ago

I don't care how ridiculous it looks. If it solves the red-eye and airport sleeping problem for the rest of us, its worth it.

lambda• 14 years ago

Does this really belong on Hacker News? This is the stuff of your standard infomercial or Sharper Image catalog. Kind of gimmicky concept that tries to convince you that really, it's cooler and more useful than it looks. Not sure why this is on HN.

Also, doesn't this violate Kickstarter's new "Kickstarter is not a store" rules, such as no having the rewards simply be "1 of x, 2 of x, 5 of x, 10 of x"? And $75 plus $15 shipping? That seems pretty steep for... a pillow, even a fancy one.

Magenta• 14 years ago

I think you might be right:

"Offering multiple quantities of a reward is prohibited. Hardware and Product Design projects can only offer rewards in single quantities or a sensible set (some items only make sense as a pair or as a kit of several items, for instance). The development of new products can be especially complex for creators and offering multiple quantities feels premature, and can imply that products are shrink-wrapped and ready to ship."

Who the hell wants ten ostrich pillows anyway? A ten-headed narcoleptic hydra?

jonchang• 14 years ago

The guideline only affects projects started after September 20. This one was started on the 18th.

zamnedix• 14 years ago

I don't care how ridiculous it looks, I think this is an amazing idea. I do not do well in public places and have to find a way to detach every once in awhile or I gradually get more and more irritated. This pillow is a godsend. The next $75 I get is going straight to this.

malandrew2• 14 years ago

This with an inflatable cheese wedge pillow would be the best thing on flights.

Something like this:

http://www.travelersjoy.com/images/item_images/archive/00000...

Leaning forward on flights like that is my favorite flight sleeping position.

sixQuarks• 14 years ago

I don't know how anyone could actually use the wedge pillow on a flight. There is never enough room to use it.

paulmcpazzi• 14 years ago

Basically it's like sleeping with an Half-Life headcrab in your head.

wslh• 14 years ago

It make me laugh! Is it a "joke" ala http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokal_affair ?

scotty79• 14 years ago

Might make a hilarious sex toy. Absurd for any other purposes.

monk_e_boy• 14 years ago

Sleeping in a public place? With a bag on your head (and you hands tucked into it)? Isn't that just asking to be molested or robbed?

Ostrich Pillow - take a nap anywhere

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