Comic Transcripts

JOSH: I got a great idea for a product. It’s perfect, it fills a needs, solves a common problem.
TAD: But you have absolutely NO engineering knowhow, seed capital, or business acumen whatsoever!
JOSH: ABSOLUTELY none. In fact, LESS than none, considering what information I DO have is irrevocably flawed.

JOSH: So what do I DO with my idea? I mean, it is SO great!
How do I CASH IN without having to do anything HARD?
TAD: If there’s really NOTHING you can do with it yourself, you have three options.
You can TURN IT OVER to the world, to someone who CAN do something with it.
You can cling to it, and nine years from now when somebody else comes up with it independently, moan that it was your idea.
OR, you can write a letter to the President of Inventions explaining your idea, and he’ll send you a form to fill out with a check to follow.

CAPTION: NINE YEARS LATER
OFFPANEL VOICE: …have developed a way to reprocess COW METHANE into JET FUEL.
JOSH: THAT WAS MY FRIKKIN IDEA
TAD: Man, EVERYBODY picks option two.

{{Header: come up with WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{Alt-text: Writing to the President of Inventions is like writing to Santa Claus, except that the President of Inventions is a notorious intellectual-property thief and Santa Claus is imaginary.}}

#541; In which I thought of it First transcribed by in

JOSH: I got a great idea for a product. It's perfect, it fills a needs, solves a common problem.
TAD: But you have absolutely NO engineering knowhow, seed capital, or business acumen whatsoever!
JOSH: ABSOLUTELY none. In fact, LESS than none, considering what information I DO have is irrevocably flawed.

JOSH: So what do I DO with my idea? I mean, it is SO great!
How do I CASH IN without having to do anything HARD?
TAD: If there's really NOTHING you can do with it yourself, you have three options.
You can TURN IT OVER to the world, to someone who CAN do something with it.
You can cling to it, and nine years from now when somebody else comes up with it independently, moan that it was your idea.
OR, you can write a letter to the President of Inventions explaining your idea, and he'll send you a form to fill out with a check to follow.

CAPTION: NINE YEARS LATER
OFFPANEL VOICE: ...have developed a way to reprocess COW METHANE into JET FUEL.
JOSH: THAT WAS MY FRIKKIN IDEA
TAD: Man, EVERYBODY picks option two.

{{Header: come up with WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{Alt-text: Writing to the President of Inventions is like writing to Santa Claus, except that the President of Inventions is a notorious intellectual-property thief and Santa Claus is imaginary.}}

Writing to the President of Inventions is like writing to Santa Claus, except that the President of Inventions is a notorious intellectual-property thief and Santa Claus is imaginary.

#541; In which I thought of it First

  — August 7th, 2009

[ Tags: , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/541/

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Applications open for Genius Northwest – an IRL gaming competition

May 8, 2026 by David Malki !

Last year, I participated in Genius Northwest, a gaming competition inspired by the Korean gameshow The Genius and its ilk.

It’s a reality show without the cameras — a 3-day, all-inclusive weekend retreat structured around a series of challenges and puzzles, in which personalities and dealmaking matter as much as playing games.

It’s truly a remarkable thing. I came in dead last in the competition, but I still had a great time participating.

The event is held annually in the Pacific Northwest (hence the name) and applications are now open to participate in the 2026 competition!

Learn more — and apply — at GeniusNW.com.


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