It's how California wine became famous. So why shouldn't it work for somewhat minor U.K. TV personality Tim Shaw?
Shaw, you see, has decided to lock himself in a steel box for 30 days, in order to, well, be happy and famous and rich. Or something.
His Man in a Box escapade is, quite naturally, being screened live on Justin.tv. So you can watch in real time as Shaw attempts to live with himself, a camera, and one light, which is turned off for 12 hours a day.
The creators of this deeply human experiment understand that you, too, probably wish you could put yourself in a box for 30 days on occasion: when your lover cheats on you, nags you, or spends all her days online trying to rake up your past, for example.
You will feel a slight swoon, therefore, when I tell you that you are invited to participate in this marathon of monotony.
You see, once his commercial abductors shove Shaw into the box, they will blindfold him and drive him around for 10 hours, until they settle on his place of rest. Like many TV personalities, he will have no idea where he is, save for the idea that it is somewhere of significance to him, in the U.K., and can be seen by the naked eye.
Your mission, should you wish to accept it, will be to use Google Maps to try to find him. Should you achieve this difficult task, you will be paid 30,000 rapidly devaluing British pounds.
Clues will apparently be offered. However, Shaw will merely get two meals a day, won't be able to talk, and won't even have the luxury of reading the chat on Justin.tv. If no one succeeds in locating him--effecting Shaw's Tank Redemption--he will be stuck there for the whole 30 days. By which time, he might become animal, mineral, or vegetable.
Any profits from this slightly lunatic escapade will go to the Help For Heroes charity. You might find it slightly amusing that they are trying to make money for wounded soldiers by locking someone in a box, but I can't imagine why.
Should you be a Google Mapping genius, you may begin on February 15, at maninbox.co.uk/play. I live in the slightly teary hope that a Technically Incorrect reader will win this prize and save the Shaw family from viewing a little too much of the TV personality's inner being.