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Interviews: Ask Blendtec Founder Tom Dickson What Won't Blend?
Reducing various items to a fine powder in one of his blenders earned Blendtec CEO Tom Dickson a cult following. One of, if not the greatest viral marketing campaigns of all time, the "Will It Blend?" series has been watched almost 221,000,000 times on YouTube. In addition to receiving many marketing awards, Tom and his blenders have been featured on The Tonight Show and the History Channel series Modern Marvels. He has agreed to take a break from pureeing household objects and answer your questions. As usual, you're invited to ask as many questions as you'd like, but please divide them, one question per post.
Didn't know this was what was being referred to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8SoE-DszMU
What was your inspiration for this product?
Which things really suprpised you by how well, or poorly, they blended?
Did all those YouTube views, interviews, awards, and features result in increased profits?
I once took an excursion to Reddit, and later HN. Unlimited up/down voting sucks when dealing with a hive-mind.
Are you going to go for a rematch with the Tuff-Writer pen?
Passionately Indifferent
Have you ever put a slingshot in a blender or, conversely, created a blender that could be fired by slingshot?
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
Which household pets are tastiest after being blended?
William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
Have you considered embedding a blender in the door of a refrigerator with hoppers and a timer and a dispenser, so that we could be awakened by an automatically created fresh smoothie/milkshake waiting for us in our fridges?
Were there any things that you blended where the outcome was not what you expected?
Will you be interred, cremated, or blended?
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
Did anyone blend something they really shouldn't have and then send in for a warranty repair?
That's what I was told to ask...
Can you blend the blades of the blender?
Going all meta here
Have you ever tried to blend a second Blend Tec blender?
Have you ever attempted to blend a Blendtec blender?
If so, did you start to feel the universe collapsing upon itself?
What product created the most noxious byproducts after being blended? Have you ever had to get medical treatment or call out a HazMat team after blending a product?
That your products seem to be of much higher quality than average, I believe there is no question. However, people will always find something to complain about, or will attempt something clearly out of scope and then blame the product for the "failure." There is also, of course, those times when things just don't go so well, like on this video. Does that kind of thing "stick" and make people reconsider the product, and how bad does it get?
I own a blendtec. Wife loves it. My OCD and I hate it.
you can put anything into it and be 100% assured that 3-4 tablespoons of any liquid you put into that blender will end up in the cavity of the lid. the lid seems purposely designed to accept these liquids as if you wanted to save them for later or as a place to hold samples. not only that, but the lid is designed in such a way as most of the liquid that is collected in the lid and will never make it back into the container where it originated. the mitigate these problems they engineered the lid to be easily broken down and cleaned. this happens no matter what speed you use and despite what kind of liquid you use - and yes ice is counted as a liquid in this sense.
Anonymous Coward doesn't know the difference between one question and three questions ...
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Have you ever tried to blend a Blendtec? Perhaps a failed prototype or perhaps even a successful one that had outlived its usefulness?
Have you ever had to call emergency services or get a hazmat team after blending a product?
Do you ever feel bad about being so wasteful or do you think marketing a blender worth the destruction of so much actually useful stuff?
I'd like to know how you got the idea to do the "Will it blend?" videos in the first place? As mentioned in the summary, it's one of, if not the greatest viral marketing campaigns of all time. Did someone at BlendTec just suggest out of the blue "You should do videos on YouTube", or were you looking for a new advertising idea and a clever marketer had this idea?
Love the videos, by they way.
In your opinion what is the item that blended most poorly or caused you to regret the attempt?
What is the virtue of blending?
They always touted the Ginsu knife as being one of the most durable knives that "never needs sharpening".
And, of course my question is.... Will it blend? ;)
"We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem."
Blenders do not seem like an area of technology with a lot of room for innovation, but I've been surprised before (Sears has a "hammer research division" that is kind of amazing). What do you see as the next big thing in blending? Perhaps plans for a reassembler?
Will it blend a whole, uncut pineapple?
I ask because I've broken a blender on the hard center of a pineapple in the past.
How did you end up deciding that blending everyday objects would be a great form of advertising, and how did you even know that you could do this? Were you one day blending a hockey puck for some internal product testing, only to realize that it'd make for a great video?
Do you ever plan to try blending a larger item, but broken up and over the course of say... a dozen or more blendings?
Like say for example, it would be amusing to see a montage of the blendtek blender destroying an entire office desk, complete with computer, monitors, phone, stapler (if it can handle that), coffee mug with coffee, paperwork, pens, the plastic trash bin, and all cords and other miscellaneous things for all of the above? The larger items would obviously have to be broken down into blender-sized chunks (smashing them with an axe, or cutting them with a chainsaw would be interesting too), but to have a montage of the blender(s) slowly consume a massive amount of things like that would be awesome.
I would have suggested trying to blend an entire car over the course of a lot of blendings, but as much as I think it'd blend the siding, glass, tires, and maybe even aluminum rims, it'd never get through the engine block or other heavy steel parts.
But seriously, you should do a really 'big', complex item like that, but something that can actually BE blended obviously.
Note: Unfortunately unable to log in from work. Username 'Kabuthunk' if you require that to respond.
Was the intro song written specifically for the videos, or did it already exist elsewhere? It is very reminiscent of the The Price is Right theme song.
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
Are we just all in one big blender sitting at the top? How has blending changed your perspectives and philosophies on life?
The G
Your blenders are expensive in part because they're "designed and assembled in the USA". Do you have any plans to automate the assembly process and reduce costs? I have a crappy $40 Chinese blender that might last another couple years. Any plans to replace Chinese labor with American robots, and make Blendtec affordable to the masses?
Have you ever thought about marketing your blenders as Data Destruction devices?
Blending thumb drives or Hard Disks?
Or doing paid placements in movies for such? Seems like a Hollywood spy movies would make a great place for a product placement.
Will they blend?
Will it blend Minecraft Obsidian or is there a Diamond Blade upgrade option?
Since your viral campaign started I've wanted to see your machine blend a rival blender. Surely there's a cheap piece of crap at Walmart that would fit inside.
When are we going to see the Blendtec Garbage disposal or trash blender/compactor? Seriously if you think about this things ability to turn bulky objects into find powder, you could make a pretty good case for using that technology to help with landfill space and disposing of certain non toxic items in your sink with a blendtec garbage disposal.
How awesome is your job? As in, other than obliterating random household goods with a blender, what else does your position entail?
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Have you ever considered spoofing yourself, and/or a product you're blending?
I'm thinking of something along the lines of you sticking a copy of Windows 8 in the BlendTec, and having the camera go all BSOD.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
I find that sometimes when I show off something, people seem to forget its original purpose. Is there a large group of people who don't seem to realize that your device was meant to blend food?
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Have you ever considered a blender/shredder showdown with the Watch it Shred folks at http://www.ssiworld.com/
You would probably have to take one of their machines apart to fit into a Blendtec, but will it blend?
Will they blend?
Oh, They'll blend alright...
I wish I had a good sig, but all the good ones are copyrighted
A Blendtec Blender...will it blend?
Ask Blendtec Founder Tom Dickson What Won't Blend?
Ends in a question mark, so... no.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Typical Libertarian "Rules are for other people" elitist moron. One question per post, remember?
Raspberry Pi. Will it blend? (Probably...)
No, roman, I'm not afraid of your Randian retardery.
There's nothing to lose at this point.
Well, I actually am. But he's now modded to oblivion, so this little accident can be swiped under the rug.
I've pretty much hated every blender I've owned to date and recognize that there are only two or three blenders on the market that are actually good at their job, and they each cost as much as a new refrigerator. Clearly sticking a viscous blade on the end of a beefy motor isn't all there is to it.
So, please explain to the engineers who haunt this site what the challenges are in making a good blender.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Besides Chuck Norris, did anything else answer the question of "Will it Blend?" with a "No"?
First off... We have a Blendtec Wildside at home and we LOVE IT. It literally IS the best thing since sliced bread... However... that being said, I want a Wildside Jar made out of glass? Ever a possibility?
Anonymous Coward doesn't know the difference between one question and three questions ...
Did all the guerilla marketing result in increased profits?
Ever tried blending a whole durian? If so, how was it? If not, you should.
With the abuse the blenders on the will it blend segment received, how often are the blenders, or parts of the blender, replaced?
Consider that a Bendtec runs $400. We'll assume that the 'blend anything' is a 'once' event. They have to use a new blender each time.
Most of the things he blends are fairly cheap, but there are items like the iPhone. Let's say that it's another $400 on average, and he's not actually blending a virtually worthless broken iPhone.
That's a total of $800 and his time; the average production cost of a 30 second commercial is around $350k.
It probably costs more for the production, cutting the filming down to the youtube videos, than the items destroyed in the process, and it's still dirt cheap for a commercial.
If you assume he mostly uses useless or already(if not visibly) broken stuff and that the blender can normally be fixed if damaged, and even if it's damaged it simply becomes research/durability testing material, you're looking at more like 'only' $100-200 worth of damage per commercial. Oh, and $400 is retail for the blender - factory cost is probably closer to $100.
I don't read AC A human right
What can you tell us about the future of Blendtec? Do you have any plans to branch out into manufacturing other household appliances?
I think a "Magic Bullet" blender might fit... will it blend?
Has the Mythbusters asked you to go on the show?
Can you blend some pinballs
I'm interesting in what kind of background did you have that lead to this series? Did you do any video productions prior to "Will it Blend"?
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
... Fermilab's Tevatron Accelerator? Bonus points for finding those Higgs particles their scientists mistook for pions.
How to make thick ice cream from frozen fruits in Blendtec blender without a tamper? Or said in a different way: "Two pounds of frozen fruit - will it blend? That is the question!"
I'm pretty happy with my Vitamix on that front and I'm glad I did not fall for your entertaining marketing. Ice cream made from frozen fruits is our family's favorite dessert and it can't possibly be made with Blendtec.
Have there been any "unfortunate accidents" in the lab while developing your blender, perhaps while testing the limits of what will blend, or perhaps even while actually filming a "Will it Blend?" episode? Powerful motor... whirling blades... common, something must have gone wrong at some point...
How are your lungs? Do you get regular cancer checks? I hold my breath every time I see you take the lid off and see the fine dust composed of many dangerous materials rise in the air.
How much fan mail did you get for blending the iPad?
If not, then do you plan to come up with Blendtec for software? It think it would be fun to watch, for example, windows 8 blending.
Ever blend something super-sticky like caramel and have it gum up the blender?
Why is the blender so bad at blending sticky substances ?
My blender started smoking after trying a combination of almonds and assorted dried fruits - did you ever consider some kind of fail safe turn off ?
Apparently neodymium magnets don't blend as well as blendtec claims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvIY0w4j1FA
Can you open your blender programming interface so I can web enable my blender?
I'm extremely curious what happens to non-Newtonian fluids (such as Oobleck) in your powerful blenders.
The story about Blendtec that almost NEVER gets told is how your salesforce used the videos to convince smoothie shops to go with you rather than, say, Black & Decker. Can you talk about the videos' *offline* success in driving revenue?