Possibly the world’s most evil gift (Picture: Kickstarter)

Brothers Travis and Nick Peterson want to revolutionise the world.

They plan to do that by driving us all crazy with their Joker birthday card.

This truly evil invention won’t stop playing music for at least three hours – or until it’s destroyed, whichever comes first.

As the brothers (grim?) explain, it’s a simple idea. ‘We like to mess with our friends. This is an inexpensive and effective way to drive someone crazy: a card that won’t shut up unless it’s physically destroyed. Who wouldn’t want that? “Some people just want to watch the world burn” says Alfred. We just want to laugh at our friends.’




The concept stemmed from a discussion the brothers had about hating musical cards. What if we could build one that played forever, they thought?

And two years later, they are crowdfunding their wicked idea on Kickstarter, with somewhat surprising success – they’ve already surpassed their $7,500 goal with the total raised now standing at $31,000.

The cards (still available for a pledge of $15/£10 online) are delivered in ‘safe mode’, which means you can start and stop the ‘jaunty’ happy birthday tune as much as you like.

But, once you’ve written your birthday wishes, you simply pull the activation tab and slide the card into its envelope to be delivered to your victim friend.

Don’t press the button (Picture: Kickstarter)

The next time the musical button inside the card is pressed, the music won’t stop until the card’s battery runs out. Which might be between three and five hours.

Here’s the card in action (warning: this video goes on for almost five hours):

Even worse, if the receiver pushes the button again in a vain attempt to stop the endless tinny music, the volume will simply increase.

The best option may be to destroy it. But that’s not easy either. As this video shows, it can even survive being immersed in water.

It’s the birthday gift that just keeps on giving. Whether you want it to or not.

Advertisement Advertisement