The grey monitor-shaped toy on a light oak desk beside a white mug, its ladder of tokens standing out of the roof under a red cap

Usage Limit Reached

A little desk monitor that counts your prompts, then locks you out.

A full stack of five tokens

The stack stands out of the roof: five grey tokens under a red cap. The red visor lies flat over the screen like the brim of a cap.

It starts at the key

Press PROMPT, low on the front. The key is the foot of a rocker that runs up inside the monitor and swings on a pin near the top.

Two pegs, two clicks

At the top of the rocker two pegs take turns under the stack. Press, and one slides out as the other catches it lower down. Let go, and they swap back. Each swap is a half step down and a soft click.

One token per prompt

Every press spends a token. The stack sinks one step into the roof, and one more line scrolls down the slot in the screen.

Usage limit reached

On the sixth press there is nothing left to catch. The red cap falls onto the visor's tails and its weight swings the visor upright. The key stays pushed in.

Flip it for a refill

Turn it upside down for a second and the stack slides back out. Set it down: the visor drops back to a brim and the key comes back out.

Up close

Light grey with one red: only the parts that mean “limit” wear it, the cap on the stack and the visor.

The toy at its limit, straight on: the red visor stands upright on the roof, the stack has gone, the key is pushed in — At the limit: the stack is gone, the visor stands up over the screen and the key stays pushed in.

Low and close from the front right: the screen slot with its rungs, the square PROMPT key in the chin at the bottom right, and the raised words along the base — The PROMPT key sits in the chin. The base in front of it carries “resets in 5h - or flip me”.

Straight on from the front: the stack of tokens rises out of the roof above the visor brim, the screen slot runs down the middle — Straight on, full: the stack reads like a quota bar.

Spend them here first

Each press of the PROMPT key drops the token stack one step with two clicks. On the sixth press the stack falls onto the visor and throws it up, and the key stays locked in until you turn the whole thing over.

For the desk of anyone who lives in a chat window: a joke you can press, and a nudge to stand up when the visor goes up.

A finger pressing the PROMPT key on the toy as it stands on a desk in front of a laptop — The real one, mid-prompt.

1 desk monitor in the box, quota full

1: Usage Limit Reached desk toy: the monitor, its token stack, the PROMPT key and the red visor

Size, stack up: 2.5 × 2.2 × 6.8 in (W × D × H)
Weight: 2.4 oz
Prompts per refill: 6
Clicks per prompt: 2
Refill: Turn it upside down for a second, set it back
Power: None: your finger and gravity
Colors: Light grey, with a red visor and cap
Raised words: USAGE LIMIT REACHED, PROMPT, TOKENS, “resets in 5h - or flip me”

The toy from the front right with three prompts spent: the stack partly sunk into the roof, the visor flat as a brim

Good to know

Does it need batteries?

No. There are no batteries, springs or magnets in it. Your finger works the key, and gravity does the rest: it drops the stack, swings the visor up and brings the key back out.

How many presses before it locks?

6. The first 5 each spend a token from the stack. The sixth drops the cap onto the visor, which swings up to read USAGE LIMIT REACHED, and the key stays in.

How do I reset it?

Turn it upside down for a second and set it back on its base. The stack slides back out of the roof, the visor falls back to a brim and the key comes back out. The base says “resets in 5h - or flip me”: you don't have to wait.

What does a press feel like?

A light press with two soft clicks, one as you push and one as you let go. The key comes back by its own weight, so it is a gentle key, not a springy one.

How big is it?

2.5 × 2.2 × 6.8 in with the stack all the way up, and 2.4 oz. It sinks lower as you spend prompts.