DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the odder side of life…
The Google Gnome.
Last Saturday was 1st April – April Fool’s Day – so we thought we’d make note of some of the pranks we came across online.
• Google was among tech companies which jumped in on the fun with the release of the “Google Gnome”, a smart, voice activated weather station which can also “garden, Marco Polo in the pool, and hide and seek in the yard”. “It can even “play fetch”, mow the lawn or use any other backyard tools you can think of and comes with a range of accessories to dress it up in. Sound a little over the top?
• The Golden Arches was also in on the act, releasing the ‘Micro Mac’, a tiny version of the Big Mac so small it would barely fill a thimble made in a specially created tiny kitchen with tiny utensils. As the slogan goes – “The Micro Mac, because sometimes you’re just a tiny bit hungry”. Don’t expect to find one in your local McDonald’s.
• And, in a quick round-up: Swedish furniture giant Ikea announced plans to launch a low cost airline named Flikea which would offer the first non-stop flights between Australia and Sweden – it also agreed to an amnesty for the return of those little pencils you find (and no doubt take) from its stores; Krispy Kreme unveiled plans for the world’s first doughnut-themed amusement park to be located in Perth; and, the councils of Adelaide and Kangaroo Island announced plans to conduct a ‘landswap’.