I hadn’t heard of KickStarter. It’s a site where all manner of small businesses can pitch their ideas to the Interwebz and hope to get financial backers. $1 at a time. There are people on KickStarter funding documentaries, jam making, cookie delivery, and music. And whatnot.

Go check it out. You can search by topic or your favorite city or key word.

I found a few companies to whom I may send $2 in exchange for their eternal gratitude (or $15 so I can get some awesome swag). I am a sucker for quirky children’s books and satirical grownup books, so I’ve tried to help authors of these books by pledging enough to get a free copy if they get their project funded.

Try it. It’s fun! And you help people with dreams create stuff, which makes you a part of history and whatever awesomeness you believe in. What could be better? Vegan fudge? They have that, too.

I walked past a delivery van for this company a few days ago and thought, “I want some.” Then found them on KickStarter. Turns out, they want me! (Or, more accurately, my money. But isn’t that the way the world really works, anyway?)

Cable lock for your bike that hides in the handlebars? Shut the front door.

This startup wants to create peace in Afghanistan by making a viable market for various agricultural products. A “make poppies less attractive by making peppers more attractive” kind of thing. With hot sauce.[Full disclosure: the dude on the video is my brother. I have no financial stake in the company, though.] Help them make sauce and world peace. Because who doesn’t love tasty sauces and world peace?