It's a ritual many dog owners are familiar with: picking up your dog's waste off the street like it's totally not disgusting at all. It is disgusting, of course, but what's even more disgusting is leaving the poop on the sidewalk for other people to see and/or step in. Still, there are plenty of dog owners who refuse to poop-scoop. (True, the heat of a fresh dog turd radiating through a plastic bag onto your hand is not the most pleasant way to start the day.) Thanks to them, we end up with filthy sidewalks and gross park lawns.


In an effort to encourage people to start picking up after their pooches, one Mexican internet company called Terra has come up with an interesting idea: dog owners can trade in dog poop for free wi-fi. They're doing pilot programs in 10 parks in Mexico city where people deposit their dog's solid waste into a special box. It calculates the weight and then gives the dog's owner free minutes of wi-fi in the park. So, the heavier the dog's poop, the more time you have to procrastinate on Facebook. Oh, and the park is less filled with dog bowel bombs for people to step in.

Seems like a good idea, but what about people with small dogs? Their tiny turds will not buy as many wi-fi minutes as, say, a Great Dane's would. Ahh, the injustice. No doubt someone will try to cheat by feeding their Chihuahua loads of fiber and racking up the minutes. Though it'd probably be easier just to grab a bag and start picking up all the stray poop lying around the park—it's like gold now!


Mexican Campaign Encourages You to Swap Dog Poop for Free Wi-Fi [Ad Age]