This post originally appeared on thoughtbot.com
I was browsing an online marketplace the other day because I was a bit bored, and because I have a unique need to seek out dark patterns. Something caught my eye as I scrolled. Amongst all the other suspiciously cheap items, was a bag for a chicken. Not a bag with a chicken pattern, not a bag shaped like a chicken, no — a bag to carry a chicken. A living chicken. A bag for carrying a chicken.
It made me smile as I took a screenshot. After 30 seconds, I went back to scrolling with a blank expression. It wasn’t over. I kept thinking about this thing for days afterward. All I had were questions:
- Why does this product exist?
- Why does a chicken need to be carried in a chicken-carrying bag?
- Where is the chicken going in the chicken-carrying bag?
- Who is this chicken-carrying bag for?
- How many chickens does this chicken toting person own?
- In the absence of the chicken-carrying bag, how do they carry their chicken(s)?
- How many chicken-carrying bags have been sold so far?
- How many chicken-carrying bags need to be sold to break even on the initial investment?
- Who came up with the idea for the chicken-carrying bag?
- Do they have any first-hand experience with chicken carrying?
- How do you get the chicken into the chicken-carrying bag?
- Did the chicken-carrying bag manufacturer test the usability of the chicken-carrying bag?
- How else did they test the chicken-carrying bag?
- When did the chicken-carrying bag manufacturer consider the chicken-carrying bag good enough to sell?
- How did they decide on the fabric to use for the chicken-carrying bag?
- What does the next version of the chicken-carrying bag look like?
- How will the chicken-carrying bag manufacturer find out the highest-priority feature to add next?
- How do I get to a place in my life where my singular focus is improving my chicken-carrying experience?
The list is endless…
What does this have to do with design?
Next time you’re struggling to come up with a question to find out more about something — be it a design problem, a new product pitched by a budding founder, or even another bizarre (to you) product you’ve found online — think of this chicken-carrying bag. You will have plenty.
Alternative titles for this post:
- Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road in a Bag?
- This £5.17 Item Revolutionised My EDC
- For Sale: Chicken Bag, Never Worn (OK, one more question, is the chicken wearing the bag?)
- 5 Chicken Accessory Trends for 2025