Afterlife Telegrams..

So a certain Mr. Paul Kinsella has this great idea - a sure winner for creativity, if not for VCs. And it goes by the name Afterlife Telegrams.

So what does he do? Quite obvious - he sends telegrams for you to the dead people. How? Well, he gets hold of a messenger - actually a terminally ill person (basically, a person who you're sure will die) - and the messenger memorizes your message, dies, goes to heaven, finds your guy, and delivers the message. Neat.

And Washington Post already has him interviewed, and provides a great introduction it too -

Every so often someone gets an idea so brilliant and original that it becomes an instant phenomenon, guaranteeing its creator immeasurable wealth and a place in the pantheon of entrepreneurial geniuses. And then there are ideas like Paul Kinsella's.

Well, people do have their reservations about the success of the idea, and Paul is yet to find his first client - he already has a messenger ready, though! Excerpts from the interview [via Washington Post]:

Q: There are about 18 times as many dead people from all of time as there are people living on Earth today, not counting dead Neanderthals and Australopithecans, who might well have souls, albeit really scruffy ones. So the population of the afterlife would be at least 18 times larger than that of Earth. What makes you think that your messenger could even find the right person?

Paul: That's a good point. If it's all random and chaotic, that's gonna stop him. But we would hope that they have worked out some sort of registry.

Q: What if the Hindus are right and we are reincarnated as cows? And you'd have all these cows with elaborate AfterlifeTelegrams.com messages they are contractually obligated to deliver to other cows, but they have no way to do it. Imagine the frustration. Isn't that cruel?

Paul: I admit reincarnation might screw things up.

Q: What guarantee can you give that the terminally ill person won't be a prankster and deliver a subversive message, causing great consternation among the dead? For example, let's say the paid-for message is, "Mom, I love you." But the delivered message is, "Dad says he slept with your sister."

Paul: We will seek messengers of high moral character.

Absolutely! This guy rocks.

~ Ankur.