"The zap is an electric sensation that ranges from pleasant to slightly uncomfortable."
That's probably not the best pitch for a product, but it certainly grabs your attention. And if you're the type of person who has trouble sticking to a budget, it might be for you.
The Pavlok (the name riffs off Pavlov and his salivating dog), is a wearable device designed to rid you of your bad habits. Reaching for that jelly doughnut? Shock yourself. Biting your fingernails? Give yourself a buzz. Having masochistic thoughts? Zap yourself. Several times.
The idea is to learn to associate undesirable habits with unpleasant sensations, and so break the habit.
The latest application of the Pavlok comes courtesy of British-based software company Intelligent Environments, as the Independent reported. The company has devised a system that links your wristband to your bank account. It also saves you the bother of shocking yourself.
While it can't detect cash transactions, making virtual payments (through smartphones, tapping, or other methods) means your Pavlok can tell you when you're about to blow your budget. As your spending nears the limit you've set, the device sends a text, or vibrates. Go over the limit, and zap! Pavlok delivers an electric shock as high as 340 volts.
If you think the whole thing sounds a bit, well, odd, bear in mind it was invented by a guy who introduces himself on Pavlok's website with the words: "Hi! I'm Maneesh Sethi. A few years ago, I hired a girl to slap me in the face whenever I used Facebook. My productivity increased 4x – so I knew I was on to something."
You call that Mickey Mouse?
It's a Mickey Mouse auction, but the prices are anything but Mickey Mouse.
The "Collecting Disney" sale slated for June 18 at Van Eaton Galleries in Los Angeles will see about 700 lots go under the hammer and is expected to rake in $2-million (U.S.) to $3-million, as Fortune reported Monday.
The highlight is what is believed to be one of the first Mickey Mouse dolls ever made, with one foot signed by Walt Disney. It's expected to fetch in the neighbourhood of $50,000 to $70,000, gallery owner Mike Van Eaton said.
A 1928 drawing of Mickey and Minnie from the cartoon Plane Crazy is another highlight. The black-and-white art – so primitive you can barely tell it's them – is on a 9.5-by-12-inch sheet of paper, with the image itself measuring just 2.5 by 2.25 – or 5.5 square inches.
The higher end of its estimate is $5,500 –that works out to $1,000 a square inch.
Nothing Mickey Mouse about that.
Hershey's unlikely move
What springs to mind when you think of iconic U.S. brand Hershey? Chocolate? Chocolate and peanut butter? Chocolate and almonds? Beef jerky?
You read that right – Hershey is making inroads into a new market. It may be the biggest chocolate maker in the United States, but sales fell in 2015 and are expected to continue dropping as consumers turn away from sugary treats. Its foray into China has not gone well, either, with a loss booked in 2015 and another expected for this year, as Bloomberg reports.
And that's where the beef jerky comes in.
The company acquired Krave Pure Foods last year, which gave it access to the Whole Foods chain to sell its premium beef jerky. Getting a Hershey brand into a health-food store is probably one of the last things anyone could have predicted, but the growing segment of protein-based foods offers the company a chance to offset some of the declines in chocolate sales. On Monday, Food Business News reported Hershey is introducing a product its hopes will combine the best of both words: beef jerky bars.
The 122-year-old Pennsylvania company has extremely strong brand recognition, but knows that that's not always enough to keep the business in the black, Tony Tyree, the vice-president of Hershey's global snack business, told Bloomberg.
"We don't want to be a Blockbuster. We don't want to be a Kodak."
Making do, on $380,000 a year
If you think the stratospheric housing prices in Vancouver and Toronto are making life difficult for new home buyers, just be thankful you don't live in London.
In a story that is unlikely to prompt many readers to get out their violins, a couple living in South London who earn a combined income of £200,000 ($380,000) say they're struggling to get by.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Nish Sharma says they are feeling the middle-class squeeze as they make mortgage payments on their £700,000 home, and pay soaring school fees for their daughter.
So quit moping about your own life.
"If you're earning millions of pounds, then you're okay," Ms. Sharma says. "And at the other end of the spectrum, you get everything paid for. We are caught in the middle where we are paying for everything."