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.
Re:Will it microwave? (Score:5, Interesting)
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which ones surprised you (Score:5, Interesting)
Which things really suprpised you by how well, or poorly, they blended?
Did it work? (Score:5, Insightful)
non-blended pen (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:non-blended pen (Score:4, Informative)
Are you going to go for a rematch with the Tuff-Writer pen?
It would have been nice to include a link to their "Will It Blend" - style video [tuffwriter.com].
Branching out (Score:3)
Pets (Score:5, Funny)
Which household pets are tastiest after being blended?
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Puppies [www.imao.us], if Glenn Reynolds is to be believed.
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?
Re:Automatic refrigerator/blender? (Score:5, Funny)
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On a related note they do have a pro model that the motor base is mounted UNDER your counter. (think permanent install)
Nice, but sorry, $650 is a ripoff. I dont care if it can shit tiffany cufflinks. I just want to make a smoothie.
http://www.blendtec.com/products/professional_series [blendtec.com]
(Still want one after seeing a similar setup on a former boss' cabin cruiser. kinda cool to remove the bit of removable countertop that plugged the hole and just drop the pitcher onto the base. No messing with the motor, plugging
What was Unexpected (Score:5, Interesting)
When the Big Appliance in the sky calls (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:When the Big Appliance in the sky calls (Score:4, Informative)
Cremated remains are already run through a cremulator [guardian.co.uk], to reduce obvious-looking chunks of bone into a fine powder.
"The remains are raked into a steel bin at the bottom of the cremator to cool, before being transferred into a machine called a cremulator, which contains steel balls that grind down the remains into a fine ash. [...] The cremulator may sound callous, but breaking down the remains is important because if you are going to have a scattering it means the remains can be dispersed as a fine ash rather than as bones, which is less distressing for the family."
A blender might also do the job.
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IIRC, they *did* blend an iPhone, I think it was a diversion from blending a crowbar...
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Don't breath this!
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Worst Warranty Request? (Score:5, Interesting)
Did anyone blend something they really shouldn't have and then send in for a warranty repair?
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Blades? (Score:5, Interesting)
Self blending? (Score:4, Interesting)
Have you ever tried to blend a second Blend Tec blender?
Will it...? (Score:1)
Have you ever attempted to blend a Blendtec blender?
If so, did you start to feel the universe collapsing upon itself?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=Gy1WNc4buPk [youtube.com]
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?
Does "backfire" hurt business for you? (Score:2)
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 [youtube.com]. Does that kind of thing "stick" and make people reconsider the product, and how bad does it get?
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?
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?
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No no no, you have them try to blend a Vitamix!
Why blend your stuff when you can blend the competition?
will it blend (Score:1)
Have you ever had to call emergency services or get a hazmat team after blending a product?
Do you ever feel bad about it? (Score:1)
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?
'waste' comes in many forms. (Score:2)
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 t
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?
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Please try to shake or stir a solid food item into another or a liquid.
I'll be waiting to find out how well that goes for you...
Re:Blending vs stirring or shaking... (Score:5, Funny)
Please try to shake or stir a solid food item into another or a liquid.
I'll be waiting to find out how well that goes for you...
Sounds like a job for ... Too Much Coffee Man!
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?
1. Put item in blender, 2. ???, 3. Profit! (Score:3)
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?
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Anyone can claim they are someone else without logging in.
See? I am the real Kabuthunk. (I am not... but you see what I did there?)
Spartacus is that you?
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.
Universe (Score:3)
Any plans to lower cost via automation? (Score:1)
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?
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.
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Obsidian (Score:1)
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?
Ever Spoof Yourself? (Score:3)
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.
Does it blend food? (Score:3)
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?
Shred or Blend Showdown (Score:1)
You would probably have to take one of their machines apart to fit into a Blendtec, but will it blend?
Ends in a question mark, so... (Score:2)
Ask Blendtec Founder Tom Dickson What Won't Blend?
Ends in a question mark, so... no.
Do the crowbar. We'll still love you. (Score:1)
There's nothing to lose at this point.
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.
Thank you! Wildside Jar! (Score:1)
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?
Durian (Score:2)
Ever tried blending a whole durian? If so, how was it? If not, you should.
Competing Blenders? (Score:1)
I think a "Magic Bullet" blender might fit... will it blend?
Has the Mythbusters asked you to go on the show? (Score:3)
Has the Mythbusters asked you to go on the show?
Can you blend some pinballs (Score:2)
Can you blend some pinballs
Previous projects? (Score:4, Interesting)
Will it blend ... (Score:1)
... Fermilab's Tevatron Accelerator? Bonus points for finding those Higgs particles their scientists mistook for pions.
Unfortunate accidents? (Score:1)
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...
Have you tried blending software? (Score:1)
Oobleck (Score:1)
I'm extremely curious what happens to non-Newtonian fluids (such as Oobleck [wikipedia.org]) in your powerful blenders.
The B2B Story (Score:2)
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Anonymous Coward doesn't know the difference between one question and three questions ...
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Anonymous Coward doesn't know the difference between one question and three questions ...
Did all the guerilla marketing result in increased profits?