A guy has created a device that makes it impossible to type ‘lol’ if you haven’t laughed and honestly, it’s about damn time.
We all know, yet never admit, that ‘LOL’ has lost all meaning.
What was once an exciting message to receive (‘they laughed out loud, they think I’m funny!’) is now just three letters used to lighten a harsh message or pitifully let someone know that you are present in the conversation. In the worst cases, 'lol' is used as mere punctuation to end a sentence.
That’s why Brian Moore created what he calls the ‘LOL Verifier’ - “a device that only lets you type lol if you’ve actually laughed out loud," according to the description of the video he posted to Twitter.
“I remember when ‘lol’ meant ‘laugh out loud’ - y’know, a real chortle. And now it means nothing - dulled down to the mere acknowledgement of a message,” Brian says, speaking in facts.
To make the LOL Verifier, Brian recorded himself laughing in over 100 different ways and fed those laughs to a machine-learning algorithm so that the machine knows what to listen for.
The device is used by attaching it to your collar and to your computer via a cable. When you type ‘lol’ the Verifier - a black box with ‘LOL’ printed on it - listens for a laugh.
If it detects a chuckle, the light on the box - built into the ‘O’ in ‘LOL’ - glows green and confirms your message by typing “✅ LOL verified at [time]” after your original ‘LOL’.
If you’re a liar and don’t laugh, then the machine automatically changes your ‘LOL’ message to something else, such as ‘that’s funny’ or ‘ha’.
Brian has been using it himself, and he told Vice that he’s enjoying it and it’s making him a better person.
“It’s been really fun to use because I’ve realised just how many times I type out LOL and don’t mean anything,” he said. “So it’s really keeping me incredibly honest. I’m at least checking the box for my New Year’s resolution of being a more honest person.
Currently, the device isn’t for sale, but Brian is thinking of giving out the code for it if there’s demand for it. It’ll just mean that you’re “going to have to laugh into your computer for like 20 minutes straight,” Brian warns.
