Sony Patent would have you yell at your TV to skip commercials

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Imagine being trapped in commercial hell where your voice is the only escape. Who cooks such a thing?

According to a tweet (opens in new tab) that has been viewed over 18 million times, this was Sony’s brilliant idea. I almost did a spit-take when the tweet rolled into my feed. It’s not a full patent, but an illustration of someone sitting on a couch watching a TV show where a person shoots someone else (weird to have so much unnecessary violence in a patent). A McDonald’s commercial, represented of course by a giant hamburger, appears on screen with the message, “Say ‘McDonald’s’ to end the commercial.” The TV viewer enthusiastically jumps to his feet and yells “McDonald’s” and then it’s back to the violence on screen.