2025’s 3rd Terrible Ideas Hackathon - ruins cake, sleep, and outfits
Anyone who says “There are no bad ideas” has never been hit in the face with a high-velocity cake launcher. Trust me – after this month’s Terrible Ideas Hackathon, I am fully qualified to make that statement. And like the 100+ students who took part over 46 hours, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In its 3rd year of running, the UNSW Terrible Ideas Hackathon once again proved that outrageous concepts belong to everyone.
From self-sabotaging chess bots; to messenger platforms that harangue your tutors; to art installations that stain the visitor with wet paint; this hackathon welcomed wacky creations from every faculty.
Its guests also set a record by finishing the entire weekend’s supply of Red Bull in the first 6 hours. Which, when combined with the weekend’s water-spraying alarm clock, may explain why everyone slept so little.
Remind me: what’s the Terrible Ideas Hackathon?
By now, we feel like one of those superhero remakes that keeps rehashing the protagonist’s origin story. But in case you missed our last article about it, here are the cliff notes:
It started in Auckland.
It requires participants to think of a bad idea, then bring it to life.
At its heart, it’s about encouraging people to step outside their comfort zones and choose progress over perfection. On its surface, it’s about building contraptions that would give Rick and Morty pause.
The Terrible Idea’s Hackathon requires no skills, no prior experience and It’s also (and we can’t stress this enough) open to EVERYONE in the UNSW community.
Never held a power tool before? No problem! (But speak with our Makerspace staff before you try anything.) Can’t tell the difference between vibe coding and vibe checks? Welcome aboard! The only credentials you need are a can-do outlook and an eagerness to embrace the absurd.
We probably set a record for pizza consumption as well 🤣
“Great! So, who won?”
At the Terrible Ideas Hackathon, we believe that everyone is a winner. And by “winner”, we mean “mad genius who would elect to spend a weekend making nightmare fuel.” With that said, we do like to offer awards for ideas that meet specific criteria of “terrible”.
The winners are determined by a participant vote, because if nothing else, we believe terrible ideas should be democratic.
Don't let those jovial expressions fool you. This team built a cake-launching weapon of mass destruction.
Award: Grapes of Wrath – Most Dangerous
🎂 🧨 Cake Apocalips: Remember how we began this article with a reference to a high-velocity cake launcher? Yeah...this is it.
Award: Most Terrible Idea
👩🍳 Baking Bad: Equal parts cooking aid, arcade game, and flour cannon, Baking Bad requires you to complete a reflex test. Pass the test, and a cup of flour will pour into a mixing bowl. Fail, and it tips into a fan... which happens to be aimed at your face. Enjoy looking like a snowman for the rest of the day.
Courtesy of No Point – a team from the School of Art & Design – this hackathon was home to the first ever Terrible Experience.
Award: Elephant in the Room – Best-Looking/Most Likely to Draw a Crowd
🎨 No Point: Who says a Terrible Idea needs to feature machine learning or metallurgy? Not this group, that’s for sure.
The hackathon’s first ever Terrible Experience, No Point featured an immersive, walk-in art gallery. It’s the kind of thing you might find in MONA – if MONA has no qualms about dousing your hands in wet paint.
Award: Most Commercially Viable
📲 Linked Out: At some hackathons, there’s an idea which escapes the surly bonds of terribleness and reaches the skies of “objectively great”. Linked Out dared to be such an idea. For those who have been grated raw by the humble bragging of LinkedIn, Linked Out offers a much-needed balm.
As you may have guessed, it’s a platform for people to post their failures – from “I was fired from my job today” to “I burned my toast for the third time this week.” You heard it here first: this could be bigger than TikTok.
Award: Snowflake – Most Delicate
Behold: your days of getting out of bed to brush your teeth are OVER.
⏰ Rise and Scream: Are you sick of needing to wake up, haul yourself out of bed, wash your face, and brush your teeth? Well, your woes are over, because Rise and Scream automates the entire process.
Once your alarm sounds, a state-of-the-art mechanism will pour water onto your face, rake a toothbrush across your mouth, and launch you onto the floor. Starting your day has never been more bewildering.
Award: Broke the Laws of Physics- Most Technically Advanced
🔮 Time Paradox: Scientists and dreamers alike have spoken in hushed tones about time machines for centuries. However, none have managed to bring the vision to life...until now. We’re not ENTIRELY sure how it works, but this is what we do know:
It looks like a blender
It features an array of neon lights and loud noises
You set its timer for 10 seconds, watch it count down, then BAM! You’ve travelled 10 seconds into the future.
Next hackathon, we’ve heard whispers that Time Paradox are going to try their luck for 20 seconds. We can only hope!