I did, and I’m suddenly ashamed
Yeah, this isn’t about videogames. I know that, and I don’t care. Sometimes there are more pressing matters in life than videogames.
A mystery button showed up on reddit. We don’t know what function it serves, hence the “mystery” part. Otherwise, it’d just be a button, and I’ve grown long accustomed to those.
What we do know about the button is revealed in the announcement post. There’s a timer that counts down from 60. Every time the button is pressed, it resets the countdown. You can only press the button once, and only accounts created before today can press it.
The enigma of it all comes from not knowing what happens when the timer hits zero. Currently, users won’t let it get below 59 without someone pressing the button. There are entire lengthy threads dedicated to non-pressing, but they’re a vocal minority judging by how quickly it’s resetting.
So, what happens if users let this go a full minute without anyone touching the button? Does Oprah give us all a car? Does the Internet explode? Will we ever find out?
According to resident scientist Darren Nakamura (who does all the math stuffs around here), we’ll exhaust our clicks in approximately two and a half days if users keep up this frenzied pace. At the current rate, the button’s being clicked about 53,000 times per hour. Assuming 3.2 million reddit accounts, around 60 hours is the longest this could last at 15 clicks per second. Of course, variables will throw this estimate off, such as not all accounts will use their click, and the rate will inevitably slow down.
Long story short, reddit’s converted its site into the hatch, and turned us all into Desmond. See you in another life, brother.
TheButton [reddit]
