Don’t Knock the LED Candle Over

My family and I were having dinner at a restaurant. Toward the end of the meal, something started beeping. We were seated relatively close to the kitchen, so our first thought was that someone's dinner might be ruined. The beeping continued, however, and eventually we discovered the source -- the battery-operated "tea light" candle on our table was blinking red and beeping.

I picked it up and looked for an off switch, expecting to find a slide switch similar to those on some larger versions of battery-operated "candles" we have at home. I only found a recessed, post-type switch, which I did move in various directions to attempt to silence the alarm, but it had no effect.

Eventually, a server came over, and we asked her to take care of the "candle." She explained that it had a tilt switch built in, which caused the candle -- a battery-operated LED candle, mind you -- to flash red and sound an alarm if it were tipped.

Why would anyone design a battery-operated, LED-based candle replacement to respond in this manner? The item it replaces (a real candle) would be a concern if it tipped, yes, but this product shouldn't care one bit if it tips over or is even turned upside down. Somebody took "match the functions of a real candle" part of the specification a little too seriously.

This entry was submitted by Steve Lindblom and edited by Rob Spiegel.

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