Regruntled.com

Reader jde alerted me to a new product in Japan: a soybean simulator. The idea is that instead of fidgeting by popping bubble wrap, one can fidget by popping soybeans out of their pod. The pods are plastic, the beans are plastic, and the beans can be popped out over and over again.

I’m not fond of soybeans, but I do like peanuts, and I do find it satisfying to open the shells. But I eat the peanuts, and I open the shells in order to eat the peanuts. I don’t eat the peanuts because I like to open the shells.

There is something perverse about separating an activity from its reward, and offering people a fake activity without the reward. It’s like teaching Pavlov’s dog to ring his own bell.

See also:

• Bubble wrap