Interviews: Ask Blendtec Founder Tom Dickson What Won't Blend? 118
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.
which ones surprised you (Score:5, Interesting)
Which things really suprpised you by how well, or poorly, they blended?
non-blended pen (Score:4, Interesting)
Automatic refrigerator/blender? (Score:5, Interesting)
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?
What was Unexpected (Score:5, Interesting)
When the Big Appliance in the sky calls (Score:5, Interesting)
Worst Warranty Request? (Score:5, Interesting)
Did anyone blend something they really shouldn't have and then send in for a warranty repair?
Blades? (Score:5, Interesting)
Self blending? (Score:4, Interesting)
Have you ever tried to blend a second Blend Tec blender?
Will It Blend (Score:5, Interesting)
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?
Will a Blendtec blend? (Score:4, Interesting)
Have you ever tried to blend a Blendtec? Perhaps a failed prototype or perhaps even a successful one that had outlived its usefulness?
Why did you start doing the videos? (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
What has been the least successful outcome? (Score:4, Interesting)
In your opinion what is the item that blended most poorly or caused you to regret the attempt?
Showdown: Blendtec blender vs. Ginsu knife! (Score:5, Interesting)
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? ;)
What is next for blender R&D? (Score:5, Interesting)
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?
The intro song (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Will it microwave? (Score:5, Interesting)
Data destruction device (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
Re:BlendTec - what they don't tell you... (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
In light of complaints about the design of the BlendTec lid, are there any plans to incorporate customer suggestions and introduce a new, improved model?
How Awesome (Score:4, Interesting)
How awesome is your job? As in, other than obliterating random household goods with a blender, what else does your position entail?
Why Are Blenders Hard? (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Previous projects? (Score:4, Interesting)