Universal Bullshit Detector Watch November, 2006 New York, New York In 2005 Joey Skaggs decided to produce a satirical product -- a watch that would flash, moo and poop, and of course, tell time. The idea was to empower everyone to make humorous social commentary anywhere, any time. With the push of a button they could let the Universal Bullshit Detector Watch speak their minds. In any language it would sound the same. When asked "What's that sound?" They could simply reply, "Oh, sorry! That's my bullshit detector..." Skaggs' hope was to create a non-partisan and non-sectarian tool that peoople could use to combat the spin, hype, propaganda, and general bullshit that is ubiquitous these days. It took over a year, but the watch finally made its debut at the end of 2006. Endlessly useful, the watch attracted fans and admirers. One journalist jokingly called it the "greatest invention since sliced bread". The Universal Bullshit Detector Watch is available online for $39.95 at http://bswatch.com. The back story about its development is amusing: Not finding a watchmaker in the U.S., Skaggs decided to shop elsewhere. Living part time in Hawaii gave him the opportunity to partake in a cultural exchange and business development mission managed by the Hawaii Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) for Hawaii artists and companies interested in building relationships in China. Working with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and other government agencies, DBEDT set up matchmaking meetings with Chinese entities interested in doing business with Hawaii entities. Before the trip Skaggs was asked to fill out a form indicating what type of business representatives he wanted to meet. They also requested a bio translated into Chinese. What to put down on the application? That he's an internationally known artist, satirist and prankster? That he uses art as a means to criticize disinformation, hypocrisy and spin in the news media, government and big business? That he has intentionally hoaxed the world press on numerous occasions by promoting fake stories to make his point? He knew his art would not be too easily understood in China. Would they let him in? If they let him in, would they let him out? As a bonus, the Governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, was attending this mission. Would her administration relish the idea of her traveling with an internationally notorious prankster? So Skaggs was intentionally vague about his past and focused mainly on the contacts he wanted to make. DBEDT provided Chinese college student interpreters to assist with communications. Before meeting any of the Chinese representatives, he spent time with his interpreter explaining his work to help her properly deal with what he was going to say in the meetings. She was an English major but had a hard time understanding conceptually what he was telling her. She called her boyfriend and they had an animated conversation on the phone. He looked Skaggs up on the Internet (on this site) and explained to her who he is. She got it. She laughed and told Skaggs how happy she was to work with him. He was pleased. On the first day of meetings in Shanghai, the DBEDT group was ushered into the hotel conference room to tables with their names in English and Chinese. There were more people waiting to see Skaggs than he could ever have imagined. Of all the interesting people who showed up to meet with him, one was an 82 year old highly venerated watch designer and engineer. He very proudly showed Skaggs his resume, his catalog and a list of the awards he had won. He then showed him five books he had authored on the subject. He had some young people with him who all helped in the communication. He spoke English, but he mostly chose not to. Once he had finished telling Skaggs about his work, he asked Skaggs to tell him about himself and what he could do for him. It was the moment of truth. Skaggs didn't want to offend him. So he carefully explained who he is and what he does and then gave him some examples. He told him that in his country he is a known satirist and artist who uses the media as a medium, much the way a painter uses a canvas. That he uses his work to criticize the media and to startle people out of status-quo thinking. The watchmaker's brow was furrowed as he described as an example, the Cathouse for Dogs, an establishment where you could get your dog sexually gratified for fifty dollars, explaining that it was not true, but that the world believed it until Skaggs revealed the hoax. Here was an eminent designer in his 80's who had lived through the Japanese Occupation, World War II, Mao and the Cultural Revolution and now Chinese capitalism with all the changes that are going on. Try as they might, the interpreters could not get him to understand. They were laughing (his young colleagues got it immediately) but he was struggling. Skaggs still had to explain the product he wanted him to design! So he took him to the hotel business center and showed him a web site with mock-ups of his watch concepts (a series of satirical watches). When they got to the Universal Bullshit Detector Watch, he stared and stared and stared. Then he threw up his arms in the air and shouted, "Genius!" They were home free. From that point on, he became the best ally Skaggs could wish for. They worked together through challenge after challenge and delay after delay until well over a year later, they had a fully functional prototype. Neither of them had dreamed it would take so long, but the journey was well worth it, and both are proud of the outcome. © 2006 Joey Skaggs