A Startup So Ridiculous, It Just Might Work

The next Uber. If we’re lucky.

By The Editors
June 5, 2015 9:00 am

It was supposed to be a joke.

Let’s rewind: the day is April 1st, 2015.

FIFA is reputable (or at least more reputable). The Apple Watch seems like a good idea. “Uptown Funk” is playing somewhere within earshot.

In our Nation edition — which you’re reading now, thank you — yours truly published an April Fool’s piece on Stay, the “Uber of bathrooms.”

Essentially, we invented a service where you could order a luxed-out commode to your dwelling at the push of a button.

We then created a fake website, Photoshopped an old Popemobile to look like a port-a-john on wheels, and invited users to get on a waiting list.

Hilarity was supposed to ensue.

Joke’s on us.

Nearly 300 people signed up. And even those in on the gag seemed genuinely interested. “It’s probably April Fool’s, but this is a really good idea,” said one commenter.

As for the others: it struck a nerve. Or bladder. Several Uber drivers pitched themselves as potential employees. And two separate concert promoters wanted in immediately, citing the upcoming festival season.

Anyway, consider this a twist on a new phenomenon. A startup that’s so basic, it sounds fake

We’re not judging. If there’s a service out there to make your life just a bit easier, be it Uber, portable poopers or an app that cuts the “hassle” out of going to the gas station, it’s your right to use it.

Or invent it. That’s a startup, right?

Hopefully, you consider InsideHook a resource that saves you time and peace of mind (at least for the other 364 days of the year).

Outside of fake toilets, I think we’ve helped out in two special ways recently:

Coming up: our camping and grilling guides. Just 10 minutes of reading that will immeasurably improve your summer.

No joke.

And seriously, thanks for reading. If you’re on the loo, doubly so.

Kirk Miller
Nation Editor, InsideHook

P.S. Comments? Complaints? Suggestions? Want to send me flowers? I’m all ears 

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.