While that may sound invasive to some, the company do so in order to offer cash bonuses to employees that buy fruit and veg at the supermarket.Īnd equally looking to reward a healthy lifestyle, Alfa-Bank in Russia created a fitness account with a high interest rate of 6% per annum. Two such innovations from healthcare and finance stand out as a good example for others to learn from: Health Insurance company Harvard Pilgrim Health Care’s EatRight Rewards scheme works by tracking employees’ food shopping habits. The trick for businesses is finding a use for that data that the consumer will find helpful (rather than creepy). Wearable technology means humans are creating more data than ever before. If you haven’t seen the promotional video for that yet, we urge you to take a look… Much more useless, but equally as entertaining, is the Somebody app, which turns text messages into face-to-face interactions with strangers.

Perhaps what’s most surprising about this admittedly ridiculous looking innovation is that it is, in fact, a solution to a very real problem. The gas can then be compressed and stored in containers, ready for use to power a fridge or even a car. The pack is then taken to a lab to separate the 250 to 300 liters of methane contained inside. Looking to address the fact that methane released into the atmosphere is damaging to the environment, each backpack is designed to collect 1,200 liters of various gases emitted by an individual cow each day. While the 3D printed urns that are designed to look like the head of the deceased raised a few eyebrows here at Springwise HQ, the winner of the Weird of the Year award goes to the methane backpacks for cows.

There were a number of contenders for the “weirdest” innovation from the last 12 months.

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