The mystery box

[Rattja]

Hello to all you clever people out there, I need your help. Not sure if I am in the right place but it's worth a shot.

I have this idea about giving a box to a friend of mine to test her curiosity. The idea is somewhat like a kid with a christmas present.
However it's not any old box I have in mind, currently I have an idea for it, but not quite sure how to make it work.

The idea is to have a rather simple to open box, with something inside, could be anything really as it is not that important. I would say that she is not allowed to open it, and see how long it takes, if at all.

What I would like is a way to know when it is opened without actually seeing the box.
The problem is how to do that.
I have no idea how I would be able to tell without seeing the box or her telling me so, which is unlikely, but could possibly double as a honesty test. In wich case I would need to make sure if it was opened or not at some point.
I could put something in there to get a specific reaction or behaviour, and then look for that. But since she is an actor I doubt that would work.

I work as a electromechanic for a living, building control cabinets, so actually making the thing would not be that hard.
Mind you that this is not an IQ test, so puzzle solving lock mechanisms are out of the question.


So.. any ideas?

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

You could fill it with all the worlds ills, and then the next time anything bad happens you know why.

I suppose if you put a smart phone in it, with some app similar to the find friends thing, then you could find out when she switches it on. That way the battery wouldn't be used up. On the other hand, she'd probably call you anyway wondering why you gave her a phone and told her not to get to it.

Alternatively, design the box so that the lid is effectively a switch ( maybe opening it causes metal contacts to touch), this switch will activate a radio transmitter hidden in the box, on a frequency of your choosing. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electronics-kit-Audio-FM-transmitter-Make-a-FM-Transmitter-/251254078872?pt=UK_Mobile_Phones_Communication_Ham_Radio_Receivers_Transceivers&hash=item3a7fe8fd98 This option will have limited range.

I'm afraid I can't come up with anything more advanced than that.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Put a wedding ring in it with a note 'Will you marry me?'

You'll totally know when she opens it.

 

[DoPo]

Alternatively, design the box so that the lid is effectively a switch ( maybe opening it causes metal contacts to touch)

It would be easier to do the opposite - while it's closed, the metal contacts touch, if you open the box, they stop. In that case, you only need a small battery on the lid and something to monitor the currency in the box (or vice versa, whatever). You can add a SIM card and a device that would contact you if the power fails. Or, provided there is wireless access, you could use a Raspberry Pi/Arduino or something. I'm pretty sure the Raspberry Pi is easy to set up with wireless, you can also make it monitor if there is power currently, so all you really need it to do is send a message - email should work, or you hitting a webpage that would notify you or something. The tricky bit would be to find a power source and make sure it won't go off accidental, like if shaken or something.

Actually, revising my idea a bit - if you have the power source on the lid and the device in the box (or vice versa - again, doesn't matter), you can just have it sending messages while it's alive, and when the box is opened, the power goes out, the device hoes out, you stop getting the messages. Closing the box shouldn't restart it, then, even if it powers it. And done, it's simple and effective. You can have the "I'm alive" messages every once in a while - 10 minutes or 30 minutes or an hour, however often you feel is needed, you'd notice when they stop. The simplest would be something using a SIM card - that way, you have access to Internet all the time (well, provided there is coverage, which is a reasonable assumption) and all you need for the access is a prepaid SIM, which shouldn't be too expensive. I'm guessing the device that would utilise the SIM would also not be that expensive but I don't actually know.

 

[boradam]

Put a wedding ring in it with a note 'Will you marry me?'

You'll totally know when she opens it.

What if she says yes?

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

Alternatively, design the box so that the lid is effectively a switch ( maybe opening it causes metal contacts to touch)

It would be easier to do the opposite - while it's closed, the metal contacts touch, if you open the box, they stop. In that case, you only need a small battery on the lid and something to monitor the currency in the box (or vice versa, whatever). You can add a SIM card and a device that would contact you if the power fails. Or, provided there is wireless access, you could use a Raspberry Pi/Arduino or something. I'm pretty sure the Raspberry Pi is easy to set up with wireless, you can also make it monitor if there is power currently, so all you really need it to do is send a message - email should work, or you hitting a webpage that would notify you or something. The tricky bit would be to find a power source and make sure it won't go off accidental, like if shaken or something.

Actually, revising my idea a bit - if you have the power source on the lid and the device in the box (or vice versa - again, doesn't matter), you can just have it sending messages while it's alive, and when the box is opened, the power goes out, the device hoes out, you stop getting the messages. Closing the box shouldn't restart it, then, even if it powers it. And done, it's simple and effective. You can have the "I'm alive" messages every once in a while - 10 minutes or 30 minutes or an hour, however often you feel is needed, you'd notice when they stop. The simplest would be something using a SIM card - that way, you have access to Internet all the time (well, provided there is coverage, which is a reasonable assumption) and all you need for the access is a prepaid SIM, which shouldn't be too expensive. I'm guessing the device that would utilise the SIM would also not be that expensive but I don't actually know.

I had the setup that way round so that battery life wouldn't be an issue as it would be 'off' until opened. I like your other suggestions for how to send the message though. I couldn't really work out how to do that bit satisfactorily.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Put a wedding ring in it with a note 'Will you marry me?'

You'll totally know when she opens it.

I like this idea. Doubly so if she's already in a relationship. You should totally do it.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Put a wedding ring in it with a note 'Will you marry me?'

You'll totally know when she opens it.

What if she says yes?

Ka-ching?

Probably would get pretty awkward, though. Still, sometimes one must suffer for SCIENCE!

 

[crudus]

There's a couple different ways you could do it. I would recommend something sensitive to light. Old film negatives would probably work.

For best results we need more information. How much contact will you have with this box? How often do you see her? How big will the box be? Will you need to look in the box to see if she has opened it?

Put a wedding ring in it with a note 'Will you marry me?'

You'll totally know when she opens it.

Probably the best way though.

You could fill it with all the worlds ills, and then the next time anything bad happens you know why.

I was thinking the same things actually.

 

[Rattja]

Alternatively, design the box so that the lid is effectively a switch

I thought about that at first, but I am worried about the signal. We do it where I work, and it is sort of a pain to set up =P
Besides, it is kinda ovbious, not getting the "how did you know?" factor, and thus not as fun.
Also the battery, as I have no idea how long something like this would take.

 

[Launcelot111]

Rig a stink bomb to go off if the box is opened. That'll teach her for breaking the rules

 

[Rattja]

Put a wedding ring in it with a note 'Will you marry me?'

You'll totally know when she opens it.

I.. am so tempted to do this, but I don't think it would end well. I sure as hell would know though!
I like the idea.

For best results we need more information. How much contact will you have with this box? How often do you see her? How big will the box be? Will you need to look in the box to see if she has opened it?

Right, I would like to have as little contact as possible, I want to avoid asking to see the box. I may have to do it that way though.

I don't see her that often, once or twice a week, normally not at home which is why I would like to not having to see the box to be able to tell.
As for how big? Well, just not too big. Small enough to carry without too much effort.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Easy. Buy a burner phone for a tenner she isnt familiar with, write the number down on a piece of paper and write something incredibly cryptic on it like: "Call" or just nothing at all and put it in the box. Keep the burner phone on you. Now the test will test if she opens the box AND if she calls the number.

 

[Esotera]

You should totally put plague, pestilence, famine, and war into the box if you're going for a moral lesson...

Anyway, I think DoPo's solution is probably the best if you have a Raspberry Pi hooked up to the internet. Or alternatively if you're going to be near when the box is opened, you could consider investing in an air horn or some other loud device.

 

[crudus]

Right, I would like to have as little contact as possible, I want to avoid asking to see the box. I may have to do it that way though.

I don't see her that often, once or twice a week, normally not at home which is why I would like to not having to see the box to be able to tell.
As for how big? Well, just not too big. Small enough to carry without too much effort.

All of the simple low-tech ways (without accidentally getting engaged) involve you inspecting the box and any contents or looking for a reaction (like the wedding ring thing). Higher tech options have a chance of failing (or being illegal). If you are wanting to know if the box has been opened without needing to inspect, it will need a power source for whatever device you use to monitor it which I don't see it going over well when you say "keep this box, don't open it, also could you remember to plug it in?" Things like cameras would work if the box was in the room (easy to avoid if it is the shoebox I am imagining it is) also illegal.

If you want this to work a low-tech way you are going to need to ask for the box back. To do it that way you will need multiple people. One holds onto a box for a day, another person holds onto a box for three days, another person a week, etc. You can't ask the same person over and over again to hold onto a box multiple times.

 

[DoPo]

There's a couple different ways you could do it. I would recommend something sensitive to light. Old film negatives would probably work.

That would still require seeing the box, even opening it.

OT: I think I got an even better suggestion building up on my previous one. Now, a Raspberry Pi is actually consumes a lot of power, especially if you include an extra module (for SIM or wireless) it'd be more. OK, not that much but impractical if you need it running for several days, few hours or a day are more within scope. However, I recalled that some people strip down mobile phones and use those. It's essentially the same idea, but you also get a convenient power source. You would need to flash the phone and probably write something custom (or find a custom software?) to make it behave properly, i.e., send you the keep alive messages. Also, smartphones usually last several days on battery, if you flash it with some custom firmware, it can very well get more life, as you can turn off stuff you don't need. I'm not sure how easy other "plain" phones would be to modify. At any rate, if you take one, strip it down, mod it and flash it, you get a portable computer, with its power source that would last for several days, maybe up to a week or more and even access to a network through the SIM. The downsides are that it'd probably involve more work, technical skills and money than other options.

Or...OK, this is idiotic - I only thought of it now...anyway - there are SIM alarms available. They do stuff pretty similar to what you need - monitor something and can even call/text you if triggered (also - call/text the police, but you can just not have that). You just need to find one suitable for being put in a box. Or actually, you can have other sort of alarms, too, not SIM ones but ones that can contact you in other ways. I guess something light sensitive would be a good idea, I'm not sure if you have alarms for "detect if a box opens" but there may very well be (I'd imagine it's useful to have them protecting a safe or a cabinet and going off, if open). That's actually the easiest way to go with the box - just look for some alarm that already does it.

Final thought I just had - put a mini transmitter of some sort in the box - it doesn't need to cover more than a few meters but if you have an appropriate receiver, all you need is to be a few paces away, not even in the same room. And then, you just need to do something when the lod opens - either the transmitter turns on or it turns off or maybe it does something more clever. At any rate, with a receiver in your pocket, you should be able to know if there was a change next time you visit.

 

[Bobic]

I recommend you get one of those dye blasters they put on clothes and in bags of money. Blast her face full of ink, that'll teach her to be trusting and honest. Definitely.

 

[flarty]

Hello to all you clever people out there, I need your help. Not sure if I am in the right place but it's worth a shot.

I have this idea about giving a box to a friend of mine to test her curiosity. The idea is somewhat like a kid with a christmas present.
However it's not any old box I have in mind, currently I have an idea for it, but not quite sure how to make it work.

The idea is to have a rather simple to open box, with something inside, could be anything really as it is not that important. I would say that she is not allowed to open it, and see how long it takes, if at all.

What I would like is a way to know when it is opened without actually seeing the box.
The problem is how to do that.
I have no idea how I would be able to tell without seeing the box or her telling me so, which is unlikely, but could possibly double as a honesty test. In wich case I would need to make sure if it was opened or not at some point.
I could put something in there to get a specific reaction or behaviour, and then look for that. But since she is an actor I doubt that would work.

I work as a electromechanic for a living, building control cabinets, so actually making the thing would not be that hard.
Mind you that this is not an IQ test, so puzzle solving lock mechanisms are out of the question.


So.. any ideas?

Put cyanide on the lock.

 

[an annoyed writer]

*obligatory Se7en reference*

Or you could just call her ugly. See if she cries from that.

Every time I encounter that reference, I feel a little bit of vomit boil up at the back of my throat. In Borderlands 2 I specifically avoid opening crates in The Dust so I can keep my stomach acid where it belongs. Thanks a lot for that, jerk.

..Don't worry, I still love ya though!

[sub]Just don't mention Gwen again...[/sub]

 

[lechat]

easy solution
hide a receiver in her house somewhere and have a sender in the box set up for when the lid opens. if you have the box set to an open circuit the battery will last basically forever.
as for the receiver you could set it up as a LED and a 9 volt battery which would give you a pretty good battery life or rig up a solar rig with about 5 bucks worth of garden solar lights from your local hardware.

there are a million different devices you can hack to do this sorta thing but off the top of my head i'd say garage door opener and walkie talkie. just be careful you don't use common frequencies.