Sensor Abuse: Fancy Minibar Charges You for Merely Moving Drinks

Adam Frucci — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:28:21 EST

It used to be that if you stayed at a hotel with a minibar, you could down some $8 bags of chips or whatever else was stored in there as long as you replaced them before you checked out to avoid getting ripped off. No more. Now minibars have motion sensors and scales built in, so if you so much as move an item you automatically purchase it. The latest offender is the minibar at the Wynn in Las Vegas.

It has tasty-looking food sitting on top of the minibar, but that classy-looking tray is actually a scale. If you take something off, it'll know about it via scales and sensors, and you'll suddenly find $25 worth of mixed nuts charged to your room bill. Better hope you don't want to check out the nutritional info or anything. Don't worry, however: standing close and smelling the packages is still OK, as is staring from afar. At least for now; you never know what sensors they're working on. [Upgrade: Travel Better via Consumerist]

Car Tent Makes Willful Homelessness Seem Like Some Creative Choice

Adam Frucci — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:00:00 EDT

Hotels are really expensive, especially in dense metropolitan areas such as Manhattan. If you're looking to crash in a city but don't feel like dropping bills on a closet-sized hotel room, just go camping in your Car Tent.

Sure, camping on the side of the road is illegal and dangerous, but no one will know you're there. That's because the Car Tent looks like a car with a cover on it, keeping you hidden from sight while you live the dream of being so cheap that you're willing to literally sleep in the gutter to save a buck.

Car Tent [Geekologie]

Gizmodo: cheapskates

Sensor Abuse: Fancy Minibar Charges You for Merely Moving Drinks

Car Tent Makes Willful Homelessness Seem Like Some Creative Choice