
Makers of Crowdfunded “Gravity Blanket” Withdraw Unsupported Medical Claims - simon_acca
https://www.statnews.com/2017/05/12/gravity-blanket-anxiety-fda/
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afarrell
The usual way these types of products have been advertised is has previously
been infomercials, where a person is shown struggling with store-bought
products in a way that looks ridiculous enough that multiple comedians have
done stand-up bits about it to the effect of: "who is it that has these
problems?"

The answer: people with disabilities.

But by advertising in this way, infomercials appealed both to those with
disabilities (who recognized the implied relevance to their condition) and
those who benefited from the curb-cut effect[1]. They were able to sell more
units for a lower price and also avoid making explicit medical claims.

This kickstarter, possibly following from the popularity of fidget toys,
decided to be more explicit.

\---

[1] The Curb Cut effect is a generally useful observation in UX design you can
read about in a few places. Here is one:
[https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_curb_cut_effect](https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_curb_cut_effect)
OXO-brand kitchen tools for arthritis are another example of it.

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Fricken
I had a phase of clinical depression, a long time ago now, but I started
sleeping in the 14 inch gap between the bed and the wall, to feel squeezed. I
did that for months. Who cares what somebody else's science says about it? I
liked it and I did it. Does an extra heavy blanket sound nice to you? Then get
one. Or don't.

~~~
tedmiston
The concern I might have with it is if they raised the money with the claim
then removed the claim after people had pledged. It wasn't clear to me from
the article what the timeline was with changing the language and the end of
the campaign.

~~~
stefanwlb
Shouldn't there be some protection from editing original claims, and if
changed, that its clear when and what changed in the wording? I find the whole
thing ridiculous.

~~~
tdburn
You can cancel and get a refund before the campaign fundraising period ends

~~~
gnicholas
Good point. For major edits like this — especially where claims violated
Kickstarter's TOS — it would seem appropriate to require the creator to send a
message to all backers that communicates the change and the reason for it.
Otherwise many backers might not find out about the changed language.

~~~
mst
Per dstaley's comment up-thread, apparently they did send out a message
explaining it.

~~~
gnicholas
Thanks, this comment came a couple hours later so I hadn't seen it. I wonder
if Kickstarter required them to send it or if it was voluntary.

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danso
Misleading medical claims aside, this looks like another Coolest Cooler, in
which the creator is in over his head. His original goal was $21,500, and
since going viral, he keeps adding more spots to the "Early Bird" backers. The
creator has listed no other team members and has no production experience
himself. If you read his bio carefully [0], he alludes to having production
experience, but lists no names or links whatsoever except to his media
company, which is literally a Youtube channel with ~50 subscribers. [1]. That
his campaign had misleading medical claims seems to be a hint that he doesn't
have medical experts or designers who have experience in this area.

[0]
[https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/1620645203/about](https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/1620645203/about)

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwIXCnpTwZQaRtzyNOyzkfA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwIXCnpTwZQaRtzyNOyzkfA)

~~~
toexitthedonut
This can actually require less overhead than Coolest Cooler, due to its
particular usage of materials. The only big logistical issues will be shipping
super heavy blankets and sourcing those materials. That said, adding more
early bird backers is another sort of over-promising, and where you're gonna
end up biting off more than you can chew.

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PhasmaFelis
A friend of mine has a weighted blanket, and it's been a godsend for her
anxiety. But she's autistic. Temple Grandin wrote quite a lot about the
therapeutic value of pressure for autistic people, but I haven't heard of it
for neurotypicals before.

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Houshalter
Why does kickstarter allow so many awful projects on their site? This is very
far from the worst of them. I enjoy reading
[https://www.reddit.com/r/shittykickstarters/](https://www.reddit.com/r/shittykickstarters/)
but they have nothing to gain from being associated with this kind of stuff.

~~~
ohazi
Kickstarter appears to have become this generation's version of the late night
infomercial, which is a shame.

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pbowyer
Good. I feel sorry for the people who have already backed it; it's hideously
expensive for what it is. A nicer finish I'm sure than a home-made one, but
crying out for cheap knock-off copies to be on the market within 6 months.

~~~
naravara
A couple hundred isn't that expensive for a comforter. Ever been to Williams
Sonoma? And that's basically on the lower tier of the high end.

If anything, the only thing backers should be worried about is if they wind up
having to spend all their money on litigation defense and not being able to go
produce the thing.

~~~
afarrell
> Ever been to Williams Sonoma

Its worth pointing out that Williams Sonoma is known for having weirdly high-
priced goods. See this, which comes out every year:
[https://www.google.co.uk/amp/theconcourse.deadspin.com/the-2...](https://www.google.co.uk/amp/theconcourse.deadspin.com/the-2014-haters-
guide-to-the-williams-sonoma-catalog-1667452305/amp)

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eigenvalue
I actually bought this as a result of seeing it here. I can totally see how
this would work. I'm excited to try it out.

~~~
goldenkey
Are you aware there are reputable and cheaper (non ripoff) weighted blankets
on the market and have been for years? You bought into a glitzy video..

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elvirs
after reading all these comments now I want to buy a weighted blanket but not
from kickstarter

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sctb
We've updated the link from
[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/makers-of-
crowdfu...](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/makers-of-crowdfunded-
ldquo-gravity-blanket-rdquo-withdraw-unsupported-medical-claims-after-
raising-3-million/), which points to this.

