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Cards Against Humanity's holiday hijinks (pictures)

Cards Against Humanity's elaborate holiday promotion involved a taste-hacking kit, a private island, the death of Santa Claus and a puzzle that kept thousands of Redditors occupied for weeks.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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1 of 9 Screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

My square foot of Hawaii 2

Cards Against Humanity's  Ten Days or Whatever of Kwanzaa holiday promotion involved 10 mystery gifts ranging from customized cards to land rights to a square foot of a private island in the middle of a lake in Maine. Crave's Amanda Kooser signed up for the experience, and found it totally worth it. She shares her experience here.

This map shows where my square foot is located near an area identified on Cards' map as "The Beehives." The forested six-acre island has been renamed "Hawaii 2."

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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2 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Special cards for the holidays

The 250,000 participants in Cards Against Humanity's unusual holiday promotion received special sets of cards, including these. The black cards pose questions, while the white cards offer answers like "This groovy new thing called LSD." and "Blockbuster late fees up the wazoo." The goal is to offer up the funniest or rudest answer to any given fill-in-the-blank question.

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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3 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

The death of Santa Claus

The envelopes carrying Cards Against Humanity's holiday gifts told a story about the death of Santa Claus and a uprising of lizards that ravaged the planet, leaving it smoldering and littered with elf skeletons. At least Cards' apocalyptic view of our future isn't likely to come true.

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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4 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Map of Hawaii 2

I don't mean to sound snobby, but I should mention that I'm a part-owner of a private island. No, it's not tropical. No, Johnny Depp has never been there. OK, I only actually have rights to one square foot of it and there are about 250,000 other owners. But still, I'm the part-owner of a private island thanks to Cards Against Humanity's 2014 holiday promotion.

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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5 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Stick a flag in it

Cards Against Humanity divvied up a private island in Maine to 250,000 participants in its 2014 holiday promotion. Each person also received one of these flags with the invitation to plant it on the one square foot of land allotted to each individual. It may be quite some time before I'm able to rent a canoe and visit Hawaii 2, but I plan to take this flag with me.

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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6 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Offensive stickers for fun

One of the 10 gifts sent out during Cards Against Humanity's holiday promotion included a set of reusable stickers filled with curse words and sketchy phrases like "For rectal use only." Recipients were encouraged to use the stickers and post photos online with the #CAHstickers hashtag.

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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7 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

This soup is gluten-free

Two of Cards Against Humanity's reusable stickers made it onto a refrigerator during dinner time. Posing with a pot of dal, the stickers were part of Cards' Ten Days or Whatever of Kwanzaa holiday promotion. Gleeful gift recipients used the stickers in all sorts of creative places, posting the results online with the #CAHstickers hashtag.

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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8 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

Taste hacking from sour to sweet

One of the more interesting gifts sent out to 250,000 Cards Against Humanity holiday promotion participants was this set of three "Miracle Berries." Each tiny package contains a tablet you squish around on your tongue. It temporarily makes sour flavors taste sweet, resulting in an interesting taste-hacking experiment.

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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9 of 9 Amanda Kooser/CNET

CNET test cat dons #CAHstickers

CNET test cat Delia joined in the Cards Against Humanity festivities by wearing a reusable sticker reading "Not for human consumption" for an Instagram photo. The stickers were one of 10 packages sent out to participants who paid $15 in exchange for a set of weird gifts during the Ten Days or Whatever of Kwanzaa promotion.

Related article: Cards Against Humanity game me part of a private island

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