[cardguy]

Just finished reading a book called 'The World's Greatest Ideas'. It is collection of ingenious ideas for improving society on a large scale - and a small scale.

The subtitle of the book is 'An Encyclopedia of Social Inventions'.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Worlds-Greates...0865714436

Anyway - the book didn't really grab me. But there were a few very good ideas. And I thought it would be neat to pass them along here:

1) CANCEL CAR INSURANCE - AND INSTEAD ADD AN INSURANCE PREMIUM TO THE PRICE OF FILLING UP THE TANK WITH GASOLINE.

2) SAN JOSE GEOLOGIST HAS PREDICTED OVER 270 EARTH TREMORS AND EARTHQUAKES BY WATCHING FOR SUDDEN INCREASES IN THE NUMBER OF LOST PET ADS IN LOCAL NEWSPAPERS.

3) WHEN VISITING A SICK PATIENT WHO IS ASLEEP ALOT. HAVE A VISITING BOOK FOR VISITORS TO LEAVE MESSAGES AND STORIES IF THE PATIENT WAS NOT AWAKE WHEN THEY VISITED. THAT WAY THE PATIENT CAN STILL RECEIVE SOME COMFORT EVEN IF THEY WERE NOT AWAKE WHEN THE PERSON CAME TO VISIT.

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The book above reminds me of another great idea I heard once. It is simple proposal to eventally ensure everybody in the world stops smoking.

You simply increase the age at which people can smoke.

By one year.

Every year.

In 90 years time. No more smokers!

[The Lizard of Oz]

Not fair -- I'm planning to start smoking at 100 if I make it.

[pheonix500000]

(02-01-2014 07:52 PM)cardguy Wrote:  

Just finished reading a book called 'The World's Greatest Ideas'. It is collection of ingenious ideas for improving society on a large scale - and a small scale.

The subtitle of the book is 'An Encyclopedia of Social Inventions'.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Worlds-Greates...0865714436

Anyway - the book didn't really grab me. But there were a few very good ideas. And I thought it would be neat to pass them along here:

1) CANCEL CAR INSURANCE - AND INSTEAD ADD AN INSURANCE PREMIUM TO THE PRICE OF FILLING UP THE TANK WITH GASOLINE.

2) SAN JOSE GEOLOGIST HAS PREDICTED OVER 270 EARTH TREMORS AND EARTHQUAKES BY WATCHING FOR SUDDEN INCREASES IN THE NUMBER OF LOST PET ADS IN LOCAL NEWSPAPERS.

3) WHEN VISITING A SICK PATIENT WHO IS ASLEEP ALOT. HAVE A VISITING BOOK FOR VISITORS TO LEAVE MESSAGES AND STORIES IF THE PATIENT WAS NOT AWAKE WHEN THEY VISITED. THAT WAY THE PATIENT CAN STILL RECEIVE SOME COMFORT EVEN IF THEY WERE NOT AWAKE WHEN THE PERSON CAME TO VISIT.

-------------------

The book above reminds me of another great idea I heard once. It is simple proposal to eventally ensure everybody in the world stops smoking.

You simply increase the age at which people can smoke.

By one year.

Every year.

In 90 years time. No more smokers!

Because every knows people always follow the rules.

[Basil Ransom]

(02-01-2014 07:52 PM)cardguy Wrote:  

1) CANCEL CAR INSURANCE - AND INSTEAD ADD AN INSURANCE PREMIUM TO THE PRICE OF FILLING UP THE TANK WITH GASOLINE.

Sounds like Obamacare. Take people of wildly different risk profiles and make them all pay the same rate!

Terrible idea.

However, car insurance should be cross-registered with your car renewal - no active insurance, no license plate sticker for you.

Hell, many cruisers have a device that photographs license plates and checks them against stolen cars databases, several thousand times a day. Do the same for license plates - centralized database with every single license plate with insurance. If it doesn't appear in the database, the cop gets warned to pull the motorist over, and the motorist gets towed for driving without insurance.

[cardguy]

The more you drive - the more you should pay for insurance.

Therefore - linking the cost you pay for insurance to how you often is a nice idea. And putting a premium on the price of gasoline would do that.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

(02-01-2014 07:52 PM)cardguy Wrote:  

1) CANCEL CAR INSURANCE - AND INSTEAD ADD AN INSURANCE PREMIUM TO THE PRICE OF FILLING UP THE TANK WITH GASOLINE.

In South Africa we have something like that but specifically to cover medical bills and to provide a disability payout. It's a national insurance scheme that is paid for by a fuel levy. It's helped a lot of people out, especially the extreme poor, although in the early days it was badly riddled with corruption.

[Cincinnatus]

(02-02-2014 08:56 AM)cardguy Wrote:  

The more you drive - the more you should pay for insurance.

Therefore - linking the cost you pay for insurance to how you often is a nice idea. And putting a premium on the price of gasoline would do that.

Gonna disagree with you here, cardguy. Insurance should be based on a multitude of factors, not just how much you drive.

I know people that put 15,000 - 20,000 miles per year yet haven't had an accident in a decade. I know a couple of others that probably drive half as much yet seem to be in an accident every other week. Should the guy that drives more miles, more safely pay more, or even the same, as somebody that drives less (or even the same amount) yet wrecks more?

[Cincinnatus]

(02-02-2014 12:57 AM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  

Hell, many cruisers have a device that photographs license plates and checks them against stolen cars databases, several thousand times a day. Do the same for license plates - centralized database with every single license plate with insurance. If it doesn't appear in the database, the cop gets warned to pull the motorist over, and the motorist gets towed for driving without insurance.

It's already being done where I live. The computer in the police cruiser scans the plate and checks a number of things:

1.) If the registration is up to date.

2.) If the division of motor vehicles has been notified of a lapse in insurance coverage

3.) If the registered owner of the vehicle has any outstanding warrants

A police officer I know was telling me about this a while back. The technology is advanced enough to scan any visible license plates, whether they be in front of the cruiser, parked on the street, or driving in the opposite direction.

[germanico]

(02-01-2014 07:52 PM)cardguy Wrote:  

The book above reminds me of another great idea I heard once. It is simple proposal to eventally ensure everybody in the world stops smoking.

You simply increase the age at which people can smoke.

By one year.

Every year.

In 90 years time. No more smokers!

This would ABSOLUTELY work!

Because, you know, people with an age restriction simple follow the rules, always. Thats the reason there are no teenage drinkers. Or smokers.

Also because there is absolutely no way you could obtain products or subtances that are forbidden to you. Like drugs you know? You need a prescription for that and then you can only buy them in law-abbiding pharmacies.