Monday, June 14, 2010

iPad un(chocolate)boxing « Ahead, Robot!

Survival of the easiest

iPad un(chocolate)boxing

June 12, 2010

by smagdali

Right, this is the rebirth of my blogging. My first post in at least 5 years, with a new domain and a new title.

Anyone who knows my wife, @kerrching, knows that she’s a Apple nut. Also, with a June birthday, she has conveniently positioned herself perfectly for the Apple release cycle. An iPad was inevitable for her birthday, but I knew that if I just delivered a wrapped box, there wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Where’s the fun in that? So I rang my friends James and Paul, who happens to run the finest chocolate shop in London, and said “Could you freeze an iPad in chocolate carbonite, and have it survive?”. They weren’t sure, but were willing to give it a go.

Additionally, iPads aren’t available yet in South Africa, so it had to smuggled over from London, without Kay finding out what was going on.

The prepared product:

P1030591

Unwrapping begins:

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The “I like chocolate, but you gave me 2 kg of it for my birthday, are you a bit nuts? look”:

IMG_1411

Why don’t you pull on that little ribbon embedded in the chocolate?

Pulling the little cord

Realisation!

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Revelation:

IMG_1446

Acceptance:

IMG_1442

IMG_1473

IMG_1476

Success!!!!!!!!

IMG_1491

With many many thanks to all the wonderful people who helped this to happen:

Simon , who waited in line forever at the London Apple Store to source the machine itself.

James and Paul, for successfully performing the carbon-freezing process, and

Karen, who went through a couple of hours of hell trying to explain what was going on to the South African customs people.

Oh, and just in case you’re worried: no iPads were harmed in this production :)

181 Comments leave one →
  1. Rethavs permalink
    June 12, 2010 3:23 pm

    Haha, brilliant! :-)

  2. June 12, 2010 11:24 pm

    Incredible! What a great surprise.

  3. Lee permalink
    June 13, 2010 1:19 pm

    Haha. That is awesome. What a surprise!

  4. June 13, 2010 2:10 pm

    Genius!

  5. June 13, 2010 2:15 pm

    Nice Idea! I’m sure you can’t wait for her reaction :-)

  6. June 13, 2010 2:17 pm

    Brilliant Idea ! So is the iPad working alright ?

  7. June 13, 2010 2:17 pm

    What a brilliant idea!
    I remember in high school, I used to think up ways for a friend to give money as a birthday present that wasn’t just like, “Here, have a 20.” One time he gave someone $20 in pennies and another I suggested that he put the $20 bill in a ziplock bag and put that in a bottle of coke. He ended up also freezing said bottle before giving it to our friend.

  8. June 13, 2010 2:18 pm

    This is absolutely something unexpected of the norm!! Haha, your wife must have felt sweeter than the chocolate itself :D happy birthday to her!

  9. June 13, 2010 2:19 pm

    This is quite genuinely superb!!

  10. nyota0uhura permalink
    June 13, 2010 2:26 pm

    Totally brilliant, I might steal that idea one day for a special someone’s birthday! I actually did the reverse once at an excavation (well, kinda sorta). We buried a box of goodies in the dirt and then forced the birthday boy to dig on THAT PARTICULAR SPOT until he hit the box. Got pretty much the same facial expressions out of it as your wife had. Great going!

  11. indigoaire permalink
    June 13, 2010 2:31 pm

    Now that’s a two fer, if ever I saw one… The best birthday ever!

  12. June 13, 2010 2:36 pm

    Marvelous idea! Wow, you took surprise to a whole new level. How will you top that in the future?

  13. June 13, 2010 2:38 pm

    fabulous! what a great surprise!

  14. June 13, 2010 2:52 pm

    Not only is that clever but soooooo romantic! And I can’t believe you risked wrapping it in chocolate without knowing if real damage could occur. LOL.

  15. June 13, 2010 2:54 pm

    That is absolute genius!!!!!!!!!!

    http://sylviangirl.wordpress.com/

  16. June 13, 2010 3:15 pm

    What a brilliantly nice thing to do!

    It’s Willy Wonka meets Steve Jobs! :-)

  17. June 13, 2010 3:25 pm

    Haha. That’s a wonderful present. ;P

  18. June 13, 2010 3:26 pm

    Hah, what a cool idea! Love it!

    http://www.stuffyoushouldhate.com

  19. June 13, 2010 3:27 pm

    That is amazing.

  20. June 13, 2010 3:43 pm

    Very cute! From the look on her face, you clearly got some major brownie points for that one! I wouldn’t be the biggest fan of the iPad myself (*gasp*), so I hope the chocolate was nice too. :)

    One year, I sent my husband on a treasure hunt to find his Christmas present, which itself was a printed photo of the gift, wrapped in a large box. (Long story short, it was too heavy to bring over on the plane.) Clues were hidden all over the house, even outside where he had to brave the freeze and snow to find them; that way it was a gift for me as well! Hehe. :)

    Natina

    http://crosswordcharlie.wordpress.com/

  21. Beng permalink
    June 13, 2010 3:45 pm

    May your tribe increase, Stefan! :) What a birthday gift for your wife. Genius!

  22. June 13, 2010 3:47 pm

    That’s A-1! What a great plan and brilliantly implemented.

    *Serious* Brownie Points (Brownie? Chocolate? I’ll get my coat).

  23. Shadz permalink
    June 13, 2010 3:53 pm

    chocolate + iPad for a birthday present! awww, can melt a woman’s heart. . .sweet.

  24. June 13, 2010 4:05 pm

    What a devine surprise – can I have one too!!

  25. grimaud50 permalink
    June 13, 2010 4:16 pm

    Very cool – and very gutsy since you didn’t know if any harm would occur!

  26. June 13, 2010 4:25 pm

    Brilliant and romantic idea…!!!!

  27. June 13, 2010 4:36 pm

    This story is amazing. The thought , effort and process alone that it took to get your wife what she wanted is beyond compliments. :) This is probably the best surprise-present story I’ve heard.

  28. June 13, 2010 4:41 pm

    Fan-freaking-tastic. I love creative gifts, and this one takes the cake! –er, the chocolate?

  29. June 13, 2010 4:46 pm

    Stu says the conversation with customs must have gone along the lines of “Yes, it’s a chocolate bar. With an Electronic device embedded in it. With magnets and all sorts. Certainly officer.”"

    Quite brilliant Stef, Kay is a lucky lady.

  30. gothichydran126 permalink
    June 13, 2010 5:11 pm

    Amazing!! I’d also love a chocolate covered Ipad! Wonder if it still smells like chocolate.

  31. June 13, 2010 5:30 pm

    [love it]
    [:

  32. Deb permalink
    June 13, 2010 5:34 pm

    That is… just brilliant.

    I want one!

  33. Aman K. Dhillon permalink
    June 13, 2010 6:03 pm

    This was such a sweet idea!

  34. June 13, 2010 6:06 pm

    That was sweet, wonderful and beyond amazing!!

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