EXHIBIT HALL
Internet experiments, sorted by what they asked of you
Every so often somebody puts a very simple thing on the internet, with one rule, and waits to see what a crowd does with it. Sometimes the crowd builds something. Sometimes it fights. It nearly always stays longer than it meant to.
These are some of the well-known ones, grouped by what they asked each person to give up.
They asked for a click
- 01
The Button (2015)
Reddit put up a button and a 60-second countdown. Any press reset the timer, and each account could press once, ever. More than a million people did before the timer finally ran out about two months later.
- 02
One Million Checkboxes (2024)
A page of a million checkboxes where checking one checked it for everyone. People drew pictures, wrote messages in binary and unchecked each other’s work for two weeks.
They asked for your patience
- 01
r/place (2017, 2022, 2023)
A shared canvas where each person could place one pixel every few minutes. Communities organised to draw flags and logos and to defend them from the neighbours.
- 02
Twitch Plays Pokémon (2014)
One copy of Pokémon Red, controlled by everybody typing commands into the same chat at once. It took sixteen days to finish the game.
They asked for money
- 01
The Million Dollar Homepage (2005)
A million pixels at $1 each, sold in blocks, on a page that promised to stay online. It sold out in under five months.
- 02
The potato salad Kickstarter (2014)
A man asked for $10 to make potato salad. He received $55,492.
- 03
Cards Against Humanity’s $5 for nothing (2015)
A Black Friday offer to pay $5 and receive nothing. It collected $71,145.
- 04
I Am Rich (2008)
A $999.99 iPhone app that displayed a red gem. Eight copies sold in the day before it was removed.
- 05
PaidOneDollar.com (running now)
Pay at least $1 to learn how many people paid, and get a row on a leaderboard ranked by how much. The amounts are hidden unless you paid as much. This is the one on the list you can still take part in.
What they have in common
One rule, visible to everyone. A result that depends on how many people turn up. And a small cost of entry, which matters more than it seems: people care a great deal about things they have paid for, even when the payment was a click.
Questions
- What is an internet experiment?
- A simple website or event with one rule, where the outcome depends on what a large number of strangers decide to do.
- Are there internet experiments I can still join?
- Most of the famous ones have ended. PaidOneDollar.com is open: pay at least $1 and you’re on the leaderboard.
- What was The Button on Reddit?
- A 2015 April Fools’ experiment: a button with a 60-second timer that reset whenever anyone pressed it. Each account could press once.