It's not part of a common skill set.

But cops have to restrain unruly people as part of their job.

In India, cops rely on their ability to surprise and their ingenuity. Or strength in numbers.

In the US, the favored weapon is a taser to immobilise people temporarily.

However, it is highly painful and a traumatic experience for the victim.

Medical workers or those trying to secure violent patients have few other options.

There's an interesting device that shoots out a rope.

And it binds itself around the person in a flash.

It's called a Bola Wrap.

Before the person can react, they're all trussed up like a gift package.

And apart from being embarrassed, there's no pain involved.

It can be fired from a 10-25 metre range and will cause no physical harm.

Police get the vital time to move in and subdue offenders in tense situations.

The product is not sold to civilians and with good reason.

Too many pranksters would revel in the options that suddenly open up for them.

From an enforcement standpoint, this is a humane way to dial down a situation.

And it offers a non-violent solution with a unique advantage.

Not all solutions have to be sensible

This may seem pointless.

What do you do when a pencil you use gets too small to hold?

You throw it away, of course.

But trust the Japanese to find another way.

A company known for its pencil sharpeners came up with an idea.

In the land of Manga artists, pencils are still bought in large numbers and initial illustrations are painstakingly drawn on paper before scanning and coloring them on computers.

So, here's the essence of the concept.

You glue the small stub of the pencil on to another one. Like fitting a train compartment to another.

Nothing is wasted.

You may have the most unusual pencil on earth with 4-5 stubs stuck together.

In this day and age, finding new ways to use pencils is not exactly a priority.

But for those who still use them regularly to draw and make notes, this is an interesting twist.

And since no stub is wasted but flows into the lead of the next pencil, it extends the life of an unusable pencil without wasting it.

Even in businesses that are well past their prime, innovation does not have to falter.

As long as there are dogged designers who chip away.

VR Advertising is here

Facebook just made a public admission.

For VR to succeed, it needs advertising.

The current cost of an Oculus headset is around $300 or more.

And it leads to the typical chicken and egg situation. How low will the price have to drop for people to start buying and using the headsets?

The answer is that advertising will probably be the route to a mass VR revolution.

Back in the 50s, P&G got on to television and attracted a whole generation of housewives with serials.

That led to more TVs being sold and more serials being made, and stars being created. Which then led to more products advertising on TV.

That continues to this day, as people across the world tune in at around 7 pm and watch everything from sports to singing contests to family sagas and politics.

It's a relationship that has worked everywhere, literally. 

No matter how much advertising is trashed, and people talk of how little they believe in it, the simple equation of an advertising subsidy paying for mass reach is now etched in stone.

Facebook may be a social medium - but its engine is driven by the fuel of advertising.

That won't change, ever.

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.

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