Alexa Skills bring all kinds of extra abilities to Amazon's smart voice assistant.
They can open up a whole new world of uses for the company’s Echo devices. And because it's relatively easy to create new skills, developers aren't shy about having fun with the technology. Alongside more serious efforts, there are some truly weird Alexa Skills available to try.
Here's a selection of the weirdest Alexa Skills you can enable right now.
1. Chewbacca Chat
Say "Alexa, open Chewbacca Chat."
This unofficial Star Wars skill brings the dulcet tones of everyone’s favorite Wookie to your Amazon voice assistant. Tell it what’s on your mind, and it will respond with some of Chewbacca’s best lines (if you can call them that) from the movies.
You can also ask questions, and for some of them Alexa will provide a translation of Chewie’s answer.
You can test your Star Wars knowledge by trying to find the six hidden easter eggs. Say, "Alexa, ask Chewbacca Chat to tell me about the easter eggs" to learn more.
2. Skyrim Very Special Edition
Say, "Alexa, open Skyrim."
According to Bethesda Games Studios, this is "the version of Skyrim you never saw coming... on the platform you never asked for." The developer promises the chance to "burn spiders," "chase butterflies," and "walk straight up a mountain instead of going around."
At times, that tongue-in-cheek tone extends to the skill itself, a basic adventure game set in the Skyrim universe. One of the first enemies you may encounter is an "adoring fan" whose attacks consist of unwanted hugs.
Most of the time, however, it plays like other Alexa games you can play on your Echo, with magic, swords, and so on. But that only makes it funnier when you pick up a new sword and the game says "Ooh shiny!"
3. Sad Trombone
Say, "Alexa, play Sad Trombone"
The sad trombone is the well-worn "womp womp" sound effect used in countless movies and TV shows to signify failure. With this Alexa skill, you can summon it at will.
That’s all it does. Not exactly sophisticated but perfect for when someone in your household trips over, drops something, or has some other unexpected but hilarious calamity.
4. Rimshot
Say, "Alexa, open Rimshot."
Apart from loud groans, nothing follows a bad joke quite as well as a rimshot. That’s the classic "badum-tish" drum effect that comes directly after a punchline.
And that’s what this skill does: it plays a sample of that sound effect. Simple and fun for everyone---except those who have to hear your jokes.
5. Random Bane Quote
Say, "Alexa, launch random Bane Quote."
Are you eager to hear samples of Tom Hardy’s indecipherable mumbling from The Dark Knight Rises? Then good news. This skill offers more than 100 audio snippets of the notorious Batman villain. You can ask for one random quote or several in a row.
6. My Fish Feeder
Say, "Alexa, open My Fish Feeder."
If you have trouble remembering to feed your fish, this skill is meant for you. Simply ask it whether you’ve fed your fish already, and it will tell you.
What's weird is that all this skill does is remember a Yes/No state. When it’s feeding time, you need to tell My Fish Feeder "feed my fish". It then remembers that ready for you to ask about it later in the day.
Extremely simple, but maybe useful if you have a memory like a fish.
7. Roast Me
Say, "Alexa, open Roast Me."
Roast Me is one of many Alexa Skills that dishes out insults on demand. The target in this case is you.
The jokes aren’t particularly biting or even funny, but it’s a fun distraction for a couple of minutes. After every roast, it will ask if you want more, by demanding you say things like "Bring it on" or "Give me that tough love."
8. Filter Bubble
Say, "Alexa, open Filter Bubble."
Nobody likes being told they're wrong. And with Filter Bubble, that never has to happen.
It's essentially a virtual yes man. Open it up and then tell it what you believe, about absolutely anything at all (it’s not really listening). Alexa will then respond with a firm affirmation of your views, so you can remain safely in your own personal echo chamber.
"You are so right!"
Yes, we know, thank you very much.
9. Fortune Cookie
Say, "Alexa, open Fortune Cookie."
This skill claims to offer thousands of genuine fortune cookie quotes. Among them are such pearls as "Today, your charm will have them singing like birds" and "An empty stomach is not a good political advisor."
All the faux wisdom without any of the crumbly mess.
10. Lee Neilson
Say, "Alexa, open Lee Neilson."
The barrier to entry for Alexa Skills developers is extremely low. According to Amazon, you can build a skill in under an hour.
As a result, there are many low-quality, pointless skills in the Alexa Skills store. Lee Neilson is an excellent example of that. However, it's also quite charming, in its own simplistic way.
Made by the owner of a UK-based web design company, all it does is say "Hello from Lee Neilson."
Right back at ya, Lee.
11. My Pet Cat
Say, "Alexa, open My Pet Cat."
Get your own virtual (and invisible) feline with My Pet Cat. First, choose a color for your cat and a name. Then you can feed it, wash it, take it for walks, or let it nap. You can even take it on adventures, running into battles with dogs and other cats.
Over time, your cat can learn new skills, and it will grow and level up as you take care of it.
Best of all, there are no vet bills or fleas.
12. Chuck Norris Fan Facts
Say, "Alexa, open Chuck Norris Fan Facts."
Did you know Chuck Norris’s phone doesn’t have auto-correct because no one corrects Chuck Norris? That’s just one of the many interesting facts this skill can tell you about Mr. Norris.
Of course, these "facts" are a joke. They're part of the long-running "Chuck Norris facts" internet phenomenon, which celebrates the supposedly superhuman abilities of the famous martial artist.
With this skill, you can rustle up new Norris facts whenever you want them.
13. Chip Facts
Say, "Alexa, open Chip Facts."
All this skill does is give you a randomly chosen fact about chips, the national dish of Great Britain.
Sadly, its database of facts seems to be extremely limited, repeating the same facts over and over again. Still, we did learn that "The Americans call chips french fries, but the Belgians call them Belgian fries."
Fascinating.
14. Celery Man
Say, "Alexa, open Celery Man."
The Celery Man skill will have many people scratching their heads. It accepts commands like "Add sequence oyster" and "Ask Celery Man if I can see a hat wobble," playing strange sound effects in response.
Nonsense to most folk, but to the right people, this skill makes perfect sense. Celery Man is a bizarre comedy sketch starring Paul Rudd, from the Tim and Eric Awesome Show. Its popularity on YouTube led to Celery Man becoming a meme, like so many things do, and that led to this Alexa Skill.
Why You Should Download These Weird Alexa Skills
None of these weird Alexa Skills are particularly useful. Only My Pet Cat and Skyrim Very Special Edition have any real long-term value, because they save your progress. And the joke skills are amusing but not exactly hilarious. So why bother enabling them?
Simply, they offer some easy throwaway fun, and they're all completely free. They're the kind of silly things that are enjoyable to share with others, even if you disable them shortly after.
So give them a try, because you've got nothing to lose. And if you want genuinely useful Alexa Skills, there are plenty of those to try as well.
Image Credit: Anete Lusina/Pexels