Tyrant alarm clock dials your contacts if you refuse to wake

We've seen alarm clocks institute some fairly unorthodox methods of waking users up, but this is exceptionally high on the list of "oh, no they didn'ts." Alice Wang's Tyrant, which we can only assume is a concept, actually dials a random number in one's mobile contact list for every three minutes that the sleeper doesn't address the obnoxiously loud ringing. In other words, unless you pick yourself up out of bed within ten minutes of the alarm going off, you'll have three angry friends wondering why they're getting phone calls from you everyday at O-five-hundred hours. Brilliant. Pure, sadistic, barbarous brilliance.

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

[MasterAndew @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:48AM]

I LOVE IT!

[Robyn @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:55AM]

Actually, this is a really good idea for people with medical conditions that can cause you to not be able to wake up, or slip into a coma overnight.
Or you could just buy one for your lazy-assed friend that's always late, and don't tell them about the phoning feature...

[iamian @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:42AM]

I seriously need one of these. The pressure of social embarassment should wake me up better than some noise or movement.

Having been without any reason to get up for ages, I've now become immune to alarm clocks. I even tried my friend's helicopter alarm clock, but kicked it out of the air and went straight ack to sleep.

[Ellianth @ Jul 2nd 2008 6:37PM]

Have you tried getting a job? Sometimes that helps... having to go to work to pay the bills and all...

(sorry)

[iamian @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:35PM]

Well ya, the sustained illness, and weight loss have played against me in that regard. I'm pretty much house-bound.

But ya, a job would be great. If anyone has a job for me that requires no actual input, and a lot of lying down, let me know. Even blogging would be good.

[Brian Lam @ Jul 2nd 2008 10:42PM]

I have a perfect job for you. Mattress tester! Yea, it's a tough job, but someone has got to do it. You spend hours and hours doing the same thing...

[iamian @ Jul 3rd 2008 7:47AM]

Hmm, could get tough at times... anyone get that subtle pun?...I'll be going now.

[neofolklore @ Jul 3rd 2008 8:20AM]

O0O0O0O this is a GREAT gag gift!

[Shannon @ Jul 3rd 2008 11:17AM]

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/nasa-offers-500.html

[Kevin @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:43AM]

I will disown any friend who buys this.

[KP @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:45AM]

Indeed!!!

[whowhatme @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:56AM]

lucky for me, i have no friends!

[nerdtalker @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:18PM]

After a second or third call, I will promptly destroy said "friend's" phone and alarm clock.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:43AM]

lol, this is hilarious

[LiqwidZero @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:46AM]

I'm buying one.

[DefPo3t @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:48AM]

buy this and a gophone. Put one contact onthe phone of a person you don't like and sleep in

[BMErdin @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:11PM]

Or set the alarm and go on vacation.

[BratPAQ @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:48AM]

and its program to send text message to your boss "i'm tired of my job, im gonna quit today, please find a replacement for me"

or message to your mom "hey mom, can you come down to my pad and give me a long good scolding cause im too lazy to wake up?"

or a message to your GF "hey gina my love (GF name is anna), i miss you today, how about we have a dinner tonight?"

[Ace b @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:01PM]

Dude....

I love you.

[Bobby @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:49AM]

I need this so bad.

[Bryce Fischer @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:59PM]

Came here to say what you did. My mother is getting up there in age (65), and has severe type 1 diabetes. Several times a year, she has a bad reaction where I have to inject her with a glucose stick just to get her conscious. I have to call her every morning to make sure she gets up. This would be perfect for us, as if the didn't get up, this would call me.

[Tim @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:50AM]

I can just imagine parents giving this as a gift for college-bound kids.

"uhhh, mom? why are you calling so early?"
"Oh, I just wanted to make sure you were on time for class."
"How did you even know when m class started?!?"
"Must be mother's intuition!"

[JAmerican @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:03PM]

In that case, don't plug it in or better... sell it on ebay. :)

[Kingus @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:48PM]

sell it on ebay??? Better hope that the person who buys it actually gets up, huh?

[Zippy @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:51AM]

this is designed for caretakers/children of senior citizens living alone....

[Puntachu @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:31PM]

Ya know, I thought of that too; but then the "random" nature of the dialing screwed it up. If you can set it for one number (say, an emergency contact) it's fine. If it randomly calls the wrong person, your screwed even worse.

Now, just think if it piped that person back into the speakerphone. Calling in "sick" from work just got easier. No longer a need to get out of bed.

[aether @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:03PM]

Rather than encouraging you to wake up, it would be better if it interfaced with your calendar. Then it could call up the people you were about to no-show and let them know that "something urgent came up".

[granny down east @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:58AM]

This might be good for older people or those who are ill and live alone.
Not for me, though.

[Timothy Sottek @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:59AM]

"SNOOZE, dammit!"

"... I can't let you do that, Ms. Wang."

[temizlik @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:01PM]

thank you wery much

[John H. @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:07PM]

*gasp* it's coming for me!!!

[IT-Accountant @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:20PM]

That's what she said.

[Wicker24 @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:37PM]

+1 to IT

[Joshua Walters @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:07PM]

One problem with this.

I would find myself deleting all the people I talked to from my contact list, and then setting the alarm to go off at random intervals through the night in the other room.

What? Its not bothering me any.

[Lowest Ranked @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:07PM]

I wonder how well this work sif your contact list is empty.

[Benson @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:35PM]

Well, surely you have ICE, at least?

[Danakin @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:12PM]

terrible, just terrible...people really need to just start taking responsibility for their lives and going to bed earlier if they know they have to wake up in the morning. stop using alarms altogether.

[Citrico @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:47PM]

Old people, people with medical conditions that could have complications overnight, stuff like that. They don't need to take responsibility and go to bed earlier, but they would probably like their family or friends to get concerned if they don't wake up in the morning and come help them.

This concept is less practical, with the random contact thing, but the idea is sound for the application I described.

[Danakin @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:52PM]

agreed, my statement was directed towards the general public (I don't consider old people [age 70+] general public), not your specialized conditions with which this would be very useful for.

[derX @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:16PM]

Are you serious? You do realize that the general population likes sleep, right? At least in my case, when are student who has had the "luck" to be placed in groups to work on assignment with deliquents, alarm clocks are quite the God send. Working until 4am on a project and having to wake up at 6am for school.

You may be bionic and have an internal mechanism to wake you up exactly when you need it, but the rest of us need an external technological assist.

Dude, srsly, who hates on alarm clocks?


[Yeah, I'm getting the feeling I missed some poorly-executed sarcasm.]

[Danakin @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:41PM]

Duh people like to sleep, that's why I'm saying they could get more of it by going to bed at a decent hour. Teachers & Professors give students plenty of time to work on projects, homework, etc., but the students choose not to do them until the last minute, they procrastinate, and that is their own fault.

Everyone has an internal timing system, you do too... try it some weekend...TELL yourself that you will wake up at 10am (provided you are going to get at least 6 hours of sleep), then look at the clock before you close your eyes...You will wake up somewhere within 15 minutes of 10. To seriously do it, you have to truly tell yourself you want to wake up at that time...It worked for me all through senior year, and it was amazing to not wake up to buzzing or talk radio...you feel so much more refreshed!

^^no sarcasm here^^ *sigh*

[01 @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:31PM]

It's not that I don't agree with you somewhat, but having been in college (like others have said, nights where I was lucky if I got an hour of sleep) and worked on campaigns (16/20 hours a day working) you body is not going to allow you to get by with that little sleep. Period.

[Andrew @ Jul 2nd 2008 5:43PM]

Danakin, you are right. I can usually wake up before a certain time if I make sure I think about it before I fall asleep. But it's not 100% reliable and it does depend on how tired you are and how late you went to bed. I can manage to get awake on time even when I went to bed late and tired but not always.

When I was a kid (elementary school) I was able to wake up at 6am sharp. Plus minus a minute!

[Xanatos451 @ Jul 3rd 2008 11:16AM]

Dude, some of us are just wired differently. Without a clock, I easily can sleep 12-13 hours. I don't know about you, but sleeping half the day plays hell with my schedule.

Seriously, if I don't set my alarm clock, I'll sleep about 12 hours. I have several friends that say the same thing. Frankly, I wish I had an internal mechanism to wake me up at a certain time. Even sunlight doesn't do the trick. I'd wake up with a sunburn if I was in direct sunlight.

And for the record, I'm not lazy, I just have a different internal clock. If I didn't have clocks, I'd probably be on a 36 hour day. When I'm not working, I find that I stay up for about 24 hours and sleep for 12 naturally. Circadian rhythms can differ from person to person naturally.

[Xanatos451 @ Jul 3rd 2008 11:18AM]

Besides, who the hell decided 8am was a good time to work anyway? I don't know about you, but I work better later in the day.

The person who made 8am the standard work time should be drug out into the street and shot.

[Russ @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:14PM]

Well, here's a good incentive to hide your caller ID...

[M @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:14PM]

umm 911...?

[Danakin @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:42PM]

...who has 911 as a contact?

[Noam @ Jul 2nd 2008 7:06PM]

Not everyone remembers 911's phone number by heart, you know...


But Poison Control could be rather amusing...

[engadgetier @ Jul 2nd 2008 10:28PM]

"911 whats your emergence?"

"STFU CARL!!!"

"Excuse me sir?!?!"

"You heard me, I said STFU CARL!"