How to keep your kid from ordering four pounds of cookies with Amazon's Alexa

Those incidents were all triggered by saying Alexa's name, which though inconvenient is at least the command that's supposed to trigger it. But since Alexa is always listening, it can sometimes get confused and respond to something that's not its name. The podcast Dear Hank and John, run by internet-famous Vlogbrothers duo Hank and John Green, had one listener write in to say that Alexa had sent a giant plush teddy bear in response to something John had said. This listener had asked Alexa to play the most recent episode of Dear Hank and John, and somehow interpreted a portion of the podcast (in which John discussed his refusal to use Mac keyboard and also Kenny Loggins albums) to be saying "do you like being here with your big bear?" That might not seem like a command to you, but apparently Alexa thinks that means "please order me a huge teddy bear." John went on to jokingly ask Alexa to order copies of his book The Fault in our Stars and to play the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album. He got at least a handful of people's Alexa's to respond.