Skip to main content

DIY alarm clock will shred your money if you don’t wake up on time

diy money shredding alarm clock
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There are a slew of alarm clocks out there designed to get you up and out of bed in a reasonable manner. Ones that’ll deliver electric shocks. Ones that’ll run away from you. But nothing, we say, nothing beats the cold hard incentive like threatening your wealth. Ladies and gents, we present to you this DIY alarm clock that’ll start shredding your dollar bills if you don’t wake the heck up.

Desperate times call for desperate measure, and Rich Olson of NothingLabs.com found the wackiest solution. The home-modded USB alarm clock looks and sounds kind of like a ticking time bomb. When the set time comes, the clock will start beeping loudly. If you don’t get up to dismantle the alarm in time, say goodbye to your precious dollar bill as it starts going down the shredder. Oh, and you’ve got just 10 seconds to do it.

Olson recommends that if you’re really bad at getting up, stick larger monetary values in there to better motivate yourself to get out of bed. After a while, you’re bound to either wake up in time or go broke. If you plan on tinkering with a SparkFun ClockIt device to make your own ticking money bomb, just remember that depending on where you’re based, purposely destroying money may be illegal in your country. But if you have to resort to this method to get up in a timely fashion in the first place, you probably already hate where you’re living.

Editors' Recommendations

Natt Garun
Former Digital Trends Contributor
An avid gadgets and Internet culture enthusiast, Natt Garun spends her days bringing you the funniest, coolest, and strangest…
How to convert WMA to MP3 on Mac, Windows, and Web
The JBL Tune 760NC wireless headphones on someone's head.

Remember when Windows Media Player ruled the earth? Before the world was inundated with versatile playback tools like VLC and countless other platforms, most users flocked to the built-in OS media players provided by Windows and Apple (the latter being the minds behind QuickTime). In fact, you’ve probably come across a handful of WMA files in your life of using computers.

Read more
The 6 best laptops for realtors in 2024
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED front view showing display and keyboard.

If you're a realtor, trying to find a good laptop can be just as challenging as finding the perfect home for your clients. Not only do you need something that looks professional and can withstand the daily demands of the modern work environment, but it also needs to be portable and durable. After all, there's a good chance you'll be lugging it around with you to your showings, so a clunky laptop simply won't cut it.

That means you'll need a laptop that's portable, reliable, responsive, and boasts a professional design that'll impress your clients. That's quite the checklist – but thankfully, there are plenty of great laptops for realtors that fit all these criteria.

Read more
The most common Skype problems and how to fix them
best mac apps for small business skype

Skype is an excellent option for video chats with your friends and family or conducting a videoconference call with your colleagues.  However, Skype is not without its bugs, hiccups, and issues that can make getting face-to-face with someone seem like an ordeal. To make things easier on everyone, we've compiled a selection of the most common Skype problems and how to fix them.
Video not working
If you can't get your camera to work or experience issues seeing other's connections, you might as well be using an actual telephone instead of Skype. Thankfully, these issues can usually be resolved with a bit of tinkering on your end, or they may just be service disruptions on Skype's end.

One of the more common problems that crop up is visual issues due to Skype not having access to your PC or phone's camera. For desktop users, open the Skype application and select the Three horizontal dots near the notification bell icon to access the Skype menu. Select Settings > Audio and video. If your picture fails to appear in the Skype camera preview window, you'll know there's a connection issue.

Read more