There are some ridiculous inventions out there, but someone somewhere had the guts to pitch and promote their new product.

And while I’m glad that some of these items exist, I have to imagine the initial sell was bit challenging for them at times.

For instance, as much as I love hitting the snooze button—possibly multiple times—it’s an invention that doesn’t make rational sense.

(Inventor walks in late to the meeting, looking sheepish and rather disheveled)

Inventor: Sorry I’m late, but I have a really great excuse! I, uh, accidentally slept through my alarm. I mean, I heard it, but then I slapped the top of the alarm and accidentally shut it off. But that’s when I got this idea!

Executive: Excuse me, what? You overslept and that’s your excuse?

I: Well, yes, because it led me to this invention. You see, sometimes you want to give the pretense of getting up at a certain time without actually getting up at a certain time. With this “snooze” button I’m proposing, you can hear the alarm, turn it off and then hear the alarm 9 to10 minutes later, depending on your preference.

E: So let me get this straight. We have this device called an alarm that was invented so you can choose when you want to wake up and it will wake you up at that moment.

What you’re proposing is a “snooze” button so that when the alarm wakes you up—doing precisely what it’s supposed to do so that you can get somewhere on time, like a meeting—you can ignore the alarm and fall back to sleep for an insignificant amount of time, only to get up a few minutes later.

I: Exactly! I realize it sounds a bit strange, but hitting that “snooze” button delays the actual “getting up” part of the process. And let’s be honest. Getting out of bed in the morning is often the worst part of the day. Plus, this “snooze” gives one the illusion of actually being more rested.

E: So in essence, this “snooze” button allows you just enough time to toss and turn for 8-1/2 minutes and sleep for the remaining 30 seconds before starting the cycle all over again. It sounds like you relive the same agonizing moment of your morning over and over until you actually get out of bed.

I: That’s kind of a negative spin, don’t you think? Maybe you need some more sleep? Ha! Oh, sorry. I’ll give you some time to discuss my idea.

E: Right. How about you come back at 11:00?

I: Great. I’ll see you at 11. Or 11:09…11:18 at the latest.