'Big Brother' Eyes Make Us Act More Honestly

dylanduck quotes a NewScientist.com article that says "We all know the scene: the coffee room with the 'honesty box' where you pay for your drinks — or not, because no one is watching. But researchers have discovered that merely a picture of watching eyes trebled the amount of money paid." That's a pretty deep-rooted fear of getting caught, which could be useful for crime prevention perhaps. But whose eyes?"

Maybe..

[ReidMaynard]

Maybe flowers make you pay less?

great idea for toilets!

[pimpimpim]

Just so everyone will flush and wash their hands!

Which is the worse human trait?

[BadAnalogyGuy]

Is fear of getting caught a worse human trait than the tendency to be dishonest?

I'd like to think the better of my fellow man, but this story just tells me that I'm probably not being honest with myself.

Application for weight loss

[TripMaster Monkey]

Here's [a1m.org] a picture suitable for posting on your refrigerator, to aid with dieting efforts. It combines the 'watching eyes' effect with the 'I'm gonna hurl' effect to maximize effect.

I have an idea

[Ruins]

A single eye, composed of orange flames, sitting atop a tall tower, emitting a large beam of light, like a lighthouse, should work pretty well.

Then again, it didn't work out too well the last time someone tried it.

Re:Monitored Transactions

[BadAnalogyGuy]

no person could have possibly thought the eyes were real

You've never watched any Scooby Doo cartoons at all, have you?

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[BadAnalogyGuy]

If you look at the eyes, they look very concerned and hurt. I think that this probably triggered emotions of the coffee fund being an employee thing and you weren't taking coffee from the company but your fellow man.

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down?
We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.

- Jack Handy.

Cat's eyes

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.ceilingcat.com/ [ceilingcat.com]

I wonder if the effect is the same with cat's eyes ...

Whose eyes?

[pyite]

Those of TJ Eckleburg, of course.

Glass eye

[Anonymous Coward]

My dad lost an eye in WWII. He was a farmer in Kenya after the war, and would sometimes 'pop' his eye and leave it on a post to keep farm workers from slacking off. It worked well, until they figured out they just needed to put a hat over the eye.

Re:wow.

[egjertse]

Wether or not you're doing anything wrong - why would you mind a picture of a pair of eyes watching you? I'm as obsessive about privacy as the next guy, but seriously...

Eye choice is obvious

[blindcoder]

The choice of eyes is obvious: We need to put up Chuck Norris eyes everywhere!

Related news thread

[hey!]

In related news, researchers discover xeyes to be an effective treatment for Internet porn addiction.

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[bitt3n]

I suppose pretty soon the RIAA will demand that all blank CD's come pre-printed with a pair of teary puppy-dog eyes.

Honesty Box

[frankyfranky]

We all know the scene: the coffee room with the "honesty box" where you pay for your drinks - or not, because no one is watching.

I hardly ever pay for my drinks in regular coffee shops so why would I start paying in some honesty box?

We all know the scene, you go into the starbucks and order the double. Before paying you pretend you have to run to the washroom. When you get back the coffee is waiting for you so you snatch it and run out the door screaming "rape." Or you can just live here in Japan where some places you pay after you drink. In that case you pretend to go to the washroom after you finish your coffee and simply climb* out the window (shouting "rape").

* Note: There might be a bit of a fall if the shop is on the third floor**.
** This may or may not have been learned through experience.

Re:Monitored Transactions

[sharkey]

You think Scooby Doo is real?

Re:Angry librarian.

[arivanov]

Of course you know what happens.

You get banana skins thrown at you and have to deal with 200 pounds of extremely annoyed ape. Just make sure you do not call him monkey, cause in that case you are likely to have your head screwed off.

Re:wow.

[ozmanjusri]

Wether or not you're doing anything wrong - why would you mind a picture of a pair of eyes watching you?

And if this truly works, does that make xeyes a productivity tool?

Mount some speakers..

[The Creator]

...save on labor costs.

(@) l (@)

[Anonymous Coward]

now behave!

Tend to thine own house first.

[Valdrax]

thats "trebled", not tripled ;)

I am certain that one as perspicacious as thou was not remiss in making proper use of thine Capitals and Punctuation when reprimanding yonder knave for his abuse of the King's English.

Re:great idea for toilets!

[frantzdb]

Watching eyes in bathrooms? You mean like this [2loop.com]?

Re:I have an idea

[mooingyak]

Who exactly stole coffee from Sauron?

I think it worked just fine.

Re:wow.

[Dr_LHA]

straight out of 1984.

Err.... Exactly, that's why they used to the "Big Brother". Thanks for pointing out that comparison for those of us idiots who though Big Brother was just a TV show though.

Re:I always put change in the box.

[The Creator]

"I always pay up at the coffee pot, for I fear one day there won't be any! Then I'll be out $2 a cup from $LOCAL_CHAIN. Don't bite the hand that caffeinates you!"

YOU SELFISH BASTARD!!

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[mwvdlee]

And pretty soon you'd have an internet laden with "happy slapping" and snuff-videos of people cutting down trees.

Re:Mount some speakers..

[Alexandra Erenhart]

Not really, since sicko woodchoppers probably would take twice or triple the time to cut down a tree. I think they'd try to do it as slowly as they can, to enjoy it even more, IMO.


I just can imagine what Greenpeace would do in situations where trees can scream.

This is getting soooo offtopic :P

Mod me up!

[Nuffsaid]

Pleeease! I'm victim of a cruel lameness filter!
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Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[KDR_11k]

Which of course raises the question: When a tree screams and noone is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Re:Mount some speakers..

[The Creator]

That does'nt matter since they will do it for free, maby you can even charge them for the pleasure :)

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[Pirogoeth]

But if the trees had eyes [thesunflowerfarm.com], would you still cut them down?

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[kdemetter]

brings a whole new dimension to a forest fire :-)

Re:Honesty Box

[Eljas]

Or you can just live here in Japan where some places you pay after you drink. In that case you pretend to go to the washroom after you finish your coffee and simply climb* out the window (shouting "rape").

Considering you live in Japan, shouldn't that be "teentacle wape"?

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[octavist]

If a man is talking in a forest, and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[kabocox]

I suppose pretty soon the RIAA will demand that all blank CD's come pre-printed with a pair of teary puppy-dog eyes.

And then sales of blank CDRs will sky rocket and consumers will respond to surveys by saying that they just loved the puppy dog eyes on their CDs that they buy packs of 100 just because they are so cute!

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they should try hiring Terrible Terry Tate. [youtube.com]

Re:wow.

[14CharUsername]

If the Government isn't doing anything wrong then why should they mind us watching them.

Because its a national security issue, citzen. And hey look, gays want to get married... doesn't that make you angry?

Re:great idea for toilets!

[maxwell demon]

Of course, all those Windows users will have no clue how to use the three C shells :-)

Ok, here's how to do it:
Select one of the shells. Type "wipe ass" and press Enter. The rest is automatic.
So why are there three C shells? Well, redundancy, of course. It would be a shitty experience if one of the shells fails when you need it, and there's no replacement ...

Re:Humanizing the Coffee Fund

[general scruff]

Also a good poll:

What picture of eyes would you be honest around?
-Smiling Womans
-Concerned Mans
-Breasts
-CowBoyNeal is Watching