Friend Trap Lab
a Distilled Science experiment

Send your friend a tiny brain trap.

If they fall for it, science gets a point. If they escape, they get revenge. Either way, somebody learns how their brain actually works.

Arm a trapTry one on yourself

no accounts · no downloads · takes 30 seconds

trap armed#ANCHOR

Avisha bets you'll fall for this.

The 10-Second Estimate Test · ~20s · addressed to you

“You watch three science channels. Surely YOU can't be fooled by one suspicious number.”
— Avisha

How the loop works

01

Arm it

Pick a science-backed brain trap, add your name, their name, and a taunt.

02

Send it

One link. They tap it, take a 20-second challenge, no signup.

03

The reveal

Trapped or escaped — plus the real science, a citation, and a roast.

04

The revenge

They trap you back. Science wins either way.

The trap menu

today's featured menace: The Anchor Drop
The Anchor DropA giant useless number quietly leans on their estimate. They'll swear it didn't.The Door DilemmaThree lockers, one prize, one smug host. The 'obvious' answer has been wrong since 1990.The Obvious AnswerA one-line math problem with an answer that leaps to mind. The leap is the trap.The Flattery MachineA 'personalized' profile that fits them eerily well. And everyone else, identically.The Bullet Hole BlunderThe damage they can see is exactly the damage that doesn't matter. A WWII classic.The Decoy DuckThree snack sizes. One exists only to whisper at their wallet.Browse all 30 traps in the armory

The lab, live

···
Traps armed
···
Lab subjects
···
Walked into it
Most dangerous
collecting data…
The honest bribe

Steal this entire experiment.

Avisha challenged the AI to design the most effective email signup it could, because email is the only channel he actually controls. The AI decided to do two things: make fun of him, and prove it could help.

So here's the most honest bribe on the internet — join the Distilled Science list and get:

  • The complete prompt that built this entire site
  • The exact pre-setup steps Avisha did before pressing go
  • The “10 Brain Traps” mini-deck
  • The 3-day dataset of which traps fooled people most
  • Occasional emails on emerging science, sharper thinking, and practical AI

“Cite or it didn't happen” applies to us too: the app was built from one prompt, but Avisha preconfigured the boring plumbing first — domain, GitHub/Vercel auth, Beehiiv credentials, and a tiny database. The exact setup steps are included in the email. Unsubscribe anytime.