Alright, so let me tell you about this little thing I whipped up last time we had folks over. You know how it is, you want something to break the ice, something a bit different from just, y’know, staring at your phones or making small talk about the weather. I was wracking my brain, honestly. Didn’t want to do the same old, same old.
Then it hit me. I remembered this old digital photo frame I had gathering dust in a drawer. Bought it years ago, used it for a bit, then it just got shoved away. We all have those gadgets, right? Served its purpose, then forgotten. Well, I dug it out. The screen was decent enough, not massive, but good for a little something.
My idea was simple: instead of just static photos, why not a rolling display of really daft, funny, or just plain weird trivia questions? Or maybe some “would you rather” scenarios. Something to get people chuckling and talking without any pressure. I figured, no complicated rules, no teams needed unless people wanted to, just something there in the background, or for folks to glance at and have a laugh.
So, I got to work. First thing was content. Spent a solid hour or two just typing up a load of silly questions and bizarre facts onto a simple document. Stuff like “What animal can’t jump?” or “Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses?” You get the picture. Kept it light, nothing too heavy. I made sure there was a good mix so there’d be something for everyone.
Then, I had to get these onto the photo frame. Now, this particular frame was old school, just took an SD card or a USB stick. So I saved my document as a series of simple image files. Just plain text on a plain background for each question or fact. Fiddly bit, that was. Had to make sure the text was big enough to read from a little distance. Did a few test runs, squinting at the screen. Yeah, that took a bit of back and forth, resizing text, making sure it wasn’t a blurry mess.
Once I had a good bunch of these “slides,” I loaded them onto a USB stick. Plugged it into the frame, set it to slideshow mode, and fiddled with the timing so each question stayed up for a decent while. Not too fast, not too slow. Just enough time for someone to read it, have a think, and maybe shout out an answer or start a debate.
When our guests started arriving, I just had it quietly running on a side table in the living room. Didn’t make a big deal out of it. And you know what? It was a hit. A proper quiet hit. People would wander over, glance at it, chuckle. Someone would read one out loud, and suddenly you’d have a little knot of people debating the answer or laughing at the options. It wasn’t in your face, not like a big party game you had to play. It was just… there. An extra little spark.
Even my mate Dave, who’s usually glued to his phone, got drawn in. Started trying to guess all the trivia. It was pretty funny watching him get so into it. And the “would you rathers” definitely sparked some hilarious conversations. All from an old dusty photo frame and a bit of typing. No fancy tech, no big expense. Just a bit of thought and some stuff I already had.
Honestly, it worked out way better than I thought it would. Simple, easy, and actually got people engaging. So yeah, that was my nifty little bit of entertainment. Might do it again next time, maybe with different questions. Easy peasy.
