Vote for Your Fave: Jack Link’s Hangry Hack-A-Thon

Will it be the dancing “Beefbot” robot or the “Magic Beef Box” musical cabinet? Perhaps the overly complicated “Rube Goldbeef” contraption is the shoo-in. Or maybe it’s the direct reward system embodied in the “Push Button, Receive Jerky.” And there are more than a few pulling for it to be “The Hand That Feeds” beef-based prosthesis.

Whichever it is, one Maker is going to be more than a bit beef-tastic as the winner of the Jack Link’s “Hangry Hack-A-Thon” challenge being held right this very minute on Facebook.

Let’s back up.

Last spring, Jack Link’s looked for Makers across the nation to Hack Their Hangry and come up with the most novel beef jerky delivery system they could imagine.

(For the possibly uninitiated, “hangry” marries “hungry” with “angry” and is evidently a state best corrected by the immediate application of jerky.)

Five Makers eventually debuted their meaty genius at Maker Faire Bay Area this May in a lively exhibition booth that drew crowds of hungry Faire-goers glad to test out the prototypes for a chewy reward.

A robotics specialist, Sarah naturally made her jerky move to her commands. Margaux and Dylan spun out a delightfully complex Ferris wheel-style system. Matt upstaged Duchamp by taking an ordinary bathroom fixture and causing it to dispense meat. Sam and Casey added a musical effect and a lock to secure their jerky. Jeremy made a fairly freaky looking prosthetic hand—that you can eat. Everyone took the same directive and came at it from a different perspective.

Now we’re at the final step: Choosing the best Hangry Hack.

In what is perhaps a new height for the best use of a smart phone during a commute, in a queue, or at a waiting room, your job is simple: Watch the video and vote for your favorite in the comments.

The winner will be provided a years’ worth of Jack Link’s jerky—and we’re more than slightly interested in what that entails. Is it 365 pieces? Is one piece a day actually enough? Is there some jerky quota established by the AMA? Whatever amount, it’s bound to be enough to guard against that terrible predator, the hangry.