Fake gadgets (gift boxes) put the 'Gotcha!' in giving

[Liberal_in_LA]

GotchaBoxes are decoy gift boxes sold through the online store of The Onion

Boxes feature such fake "products" as a USB toaster and a 28-piece whisk set

Pranksters put real gifts inside the empty gag boxes, then watch the recipient squirm

Boxes are the brainchild of Arik Nordby, a Minnesota graphic designer

Fake gadgets put the 'Gotcha!' in giving

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/12/16/gotcha.boxes.onion/index.html


That's the punch line of the GotchaBox, a series of decoy gift boxes sold through the online store of The Onion, the satirical fake-news outfit. Other GotchaBoxes have featured such nonexistent products as a 28-piece "professional" whisk set and a build-your-own-umbrella kit.

Pranksters are encouraged to put their real gifts inside the gag boxes, then keep a straight face -- or better yet, ask sweetly, "How do you like it?" -- as the recipient squirms with discomfort.

The boxes are the brainchild of Arik Nordby, a graphic designer from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, who got the idea in 2004 after a birthday party for a friend's young son. The boy was visibly dismayed when a toy came wrapped in a box for a coffee pot.

:rofl: