Get the Element of Surprise with Every Gift You Give and Receive with the Mystery Gift Machine

The holidays may be months away, but it's never too early to start thinking about presents! Choosing the right gift to give can be a difficult task for some people, and often the one thing missing from a good gift is the element of surprise. Enter the Mystery Gift Machine; whether you're too busy to shop around for the perfect gift, or you're simply tired of racking your brain for the right present, this gift-giving machine could be just the solution that you're looking for.

This Mystery Gift Machine collects money and suggestions from a group of people (minimum 2 participants) and uses an algorithm to determine which gift to purchase. Here's where it gets interesting though: The gift will remain a surprise for both the recipient and the gift givers. The Mystery Gift Machine will ship the present to the giftee without telling the gifters what it bought, ensuring that everyone gets a surprise.

How It Works

If you're the one giving out a present, you can choose to organize a gift or contribute to an existing gift. If you're the organizer, you'll have to name the recipient and indicate when and where the gift should arrive. You then contribute money and ideas, and you need to spread the word to other gifters.

Those that want to contribute towards the gift can just head to the site and offer money as well as suggestions. The Mystery Gift Machine will then take all contributions, do its algorithmic calculations, and come up with a present. Everyone will then be notified once the gift is shipped.

The Mystery Gift Machine also has a money back guarantee, if you can't find others to contribute to a gift. Additionally, if the recipient doesn't like the mystery present that they received, they will be able to return or exchange it for any reason.

The Mystery Gift Formula

The algorithm that determines the gifts is kept secret, but the Mystery Gift Machine does reveal that it weighs "suggestions more heavily if they're from the Gift Organizer, if they are very specific, or if they're from someone who contributes a lot of money."

The gift will obviously be based on the suggestions and the money contributions. According to the Mystery Gift Machine, "restaurant certificates, city tours, massage vouchers, and remote control helicopters are just a few actual Mystery Gifts shipped."

About the Mystery Gift Machine

They Mystery Gift Machine is smart and friendly. It has a PhD in Giftology and graduated from Surprise University.

In all seriousness though, the person behind the Mystery Gift Machine is Adam Stober. In an interview with TechCocktail, he said that he came up with the idea when he was tasked to get a present for his friend's birthday. "I didn't know what to get or how much it might cost...so I collected money and ideas from his friends and family and told everyone I would figure out what to buy based on what everyone put in."

According to Stober, he ended up collecting hundreds of dollars, and received contributions from various individuals, some of which don't even know each other. This then inspired him to come up with the Mystery Gift Machine, and he's been working on making gift giving easier and more efficient ever since.

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