101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

Law Breaker Handout

Suppose you want to generate ideas for a new chocolate candy bar. First, list assumptions regarding candy bars:

Rectangular bar form

Solid brown in color

Uniform sweetness

Uniform taste

May contain either peanuts or almonds in addition to chocolate, but nothing else

Wrapped in aluminum foil

Melts in the sun

Weighs no more than three ounces

Next, generate ideas by breaking any of these “laws” governing chocolate candy bars. Here are some possible ideas:

Triangular-shaped bar

Different shades of brown in the same product

Variable sweetness in different parts of the product

Different fillings in the center

Wrap in “theme” papers (for example, dinosaurs, space travel)

High heat resistance for eating in the sun

Variable weights ranging from one ounce to ten pounds—all with names reflecting
the weights (for example, “air” bar, “monster” bar)

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