The Five Weirdest Places Where Inspiration Strikes

Inspiration can strike you anytime, not like lightning, which needs the wrath of God to be incurred, but more like a hunk of space debris. (Space trash is a very real problem in NASA’s purview.) Like a piece of Skylab, such sudden bouts of inspiration can be unforgettable when it hits.

These are some of the strangest places where we’ve come up with the creativity we need to turn in kick-ass content.

• At the doctor’s office

Easy one. Lots of waiting. Fake plants in the lobby. Lots of white surfaces: walls, cabinetry, boxes of bandages. If inspiration can leak past the sterility of the Sanitized For Your Protection tongue depressors and the needle disposal bin, then it’s an idea worth sharing. Too bad your little robe doesn’t have pockets.

• Engaging in the big-box chain retail shopping experience

The ennui of endless capitalist consumerism balanced out with the need to buy more toilet paper or a cordless drill. Brightly colored packaging competes for attention, and brand familiarity invites positive associations, and colorful marketing campaigns are always good for a subconscious idea, even if you don’t need any more Cheez-Its.

• Karaoke night

Who knew that the third verse to “Under Pressure” was so illuminating. Or that your coworker does a decent Freddie Mercury impression when you’re three beers in.

• While swimming

On that Certain Television Program About Angry Males, Don Draper spent every other episode jet-setting to Los Angeles so he could don tight shorts and wade in a kiddie pool. And the best he could come up with was the Carousel. We can do better than that. When the weather is nice and hot, and the shimmering water of the nearest pool promises us so much, then diving in invites all sorts of positive brain chemistry. Bam—a wild idea appears.

• On a roller coaster

Somehow, all those endorphins and all that blood rushing to your head gives you an exciting, action-packed pitch to bring to a social media campaign. Once you’ve hit that highest loop, you finally get some time to calm down while pulling into the end of the ride. And that’s when you’re tired, and satisfied, and hungry for some more funnel cakes.