“Kitty Cat Death Mount”

A Better Mousetrap

By Kyle Humason

Creative thinking

April 24, 2011

Brainstorming Technique #1: Random word association

For this, I started with a random word my friend Paul came up with, then we took turns

making a random word association in order to come up with a 20 word list. The results below

are 5 separate sets of random word association.

Brainsorming technique #2: Word Combinations

Then I made random connections using 1 word from each set in order to make the

following 5-word combos.

The above techniques are my favorite to use because I am able to create a lot of

different ideas not only within the bounds of each set of words, but between words from

multiple sets of sets. I think I am able to come up with the most interesting ideas this way. Each

idea from each set is influence by the ideas of other sets as well which allow for free, creative

tweaking of the ideas.

Brainstorming Technique #3: Mindmapping

The follow is a mindmap I did which I think helped to generate some okay ideas. It’s not

my favorite techique however and applied to this project didn’t work particularly well but it

helped me come up with some pretty outrageous ideas anyways.

My Top Five Possible Moustraps

1. Swordfish, Crazy, Booze, Tunnel, Slippery (This would be a kit you could purchase at ACE)

a. This invention all begins with a tunnel. Once it is recognized that there is a

rodent problem, you install a series of crazy tunnels connecting known points of

mouse-origin. These are tunnels that range from 2in to 8in in width, and made of

flexible pvc/pvc joints. You then wait for the mouse to enter said tunnel and set

off the pressure sensitive inner-lining of the tunnels. By this point you will have

assembled your booze keg above the main entrance of the tunnel, located a few

feet above all tunnel tubing in order to allow gravity to force the booze to fall

through the tubes. The mouse is then forced through the gravity powered,

slippery, booze-filled tunnels, to whatever exit point you set up and into the

spear of a swordfish. Rat skewers anyone?

2. Arrow, Crazy, Airway, Gnarly, Pokey

a. Inspired by Indiana Jones, this invention involves air-powered arrows fired from

personally designated points throughout one’s home. Each arrow is barbed like a

pokey fishhook and drawn into firing tubes which work much like paintball guns

utilizing a firing pin and O2 cartridges to propel the arrows from the barrels.

These devices can be purchased individually or as sets and mounted anywhere in

one’s home whether it be on a wall, ceiling, floor, or in a wall, ceiling or floor.

Each is equipped with a motion/heat sensitive sight to target the mouse and an

auto-fire system to shoot the arrows at the opportune moment. For personal

safety, they can be turned on and off by the home-owners flick of a switch.

3. Longer, Box, Table, Shred, Beach

a. This technique uses an intriguing looking box which, to a mouse, would appear

to be filled with cheese. This draws the mouse into the lengthy box before it

realizes what it’s true fate may be. Once inside, a motion sensor shuts the

entrance off with a steel plate, trapping the mouse inside. It has nowhere to go

but onward. Eventually it will find the end of the long box, located where the box

opens up to a tabletop on the beach. This is not just any table top however. It is

covered in spinning, roaming saw blades and covered by a Plexiglas case. This is

where the mouse will be ended. Eventually the tide rises and fills the box

through small holes in the roof of the case, and drains through the bottom when

the tide goes out, cleaning the case.

4. Ten, Crazy, Chinese, Greasy, Dip

a. This is relatively self-explanatory. You hire ten crazy Chinese people with buckets

of grease to chase the mouse and splatter it with thumb tacks dipped in the

gross grease. They get stuck and injured and the kind Chinese people clean it up

in the end as well.

5. Shorter, Acid, Squirt guns, Fast, Pokey

a. This is similar to the arrow design, but substitute the air-powered arrows with

Squirt Guns filled with acid and needles. Each fires a poisonous, acid filled,

hypodermic needle with precision aim into the mouse. It quickly dies of the acid

poison/burn/infection.

Alternate Ideas/Additions

1. Gang Box

a. This is a box full of gangsters that gets shipped straight from the streets. Each

Gangster is strapped with Gats and pops a few rounds into any mouse they see

without hesitation.

2. Cat Arrows

a. Take the air-powered arrow, mount it to a cat, add a video feed and a remote

control and you have the best moving mousetrap game ever. The remote allows

you to fire the arrow when the mouse is in the video’s crosshairs.

3. Cat Fireworks

a. Take the above idea and replace arrows with contact-explosives.

4. Slingshot Gunpowder

a. This is just fun because you get to shoot gun-powder fireworks from a slingshot

at a mouse.

Final Mousetrap invention

I chose to use invention 2 as the final mousetrap. I call it the “Kitty Cat Death Mount.”

Combining the inspiration from Indiana Jones, and my love for remote controlled devices

strapped to things, I came up with this solution. The effectiveness varies based on the cat, the controller

and the mouse. The following image shows the device in its two main parts and what it is comprised of.

This is the belt strap and mounting plate. This is wrapped and strapped around the cat’s waist. It

is flexible enough to allow plenty of comfort for the cat but is tight enough to not spin around the cat.

This is the arrow cannon mount. You can see the mounting plate which attaches to the belt. This

also illustrates the rotating/self-stabilizing base for the arrow cannon.

This last view is a bird’s eye view of the mount/arrow cannon. You can also see the camera on

top of the canon which sends a live video feed to your TV or any portable video device. The heat sensor

on the side also helps with auto-tracking of the mouse. This is useful for when the cat is on the chase

and bouncing around a bit. The stabilizer takes care of most of this issue.

Fin