When I was a kid, one of my favorite folk tales was about stone soup. It went like this.
One day a peddler arrived in a little village, set up a large pot with water, and built a fire to boil the water. There was nothing else in the pot but a large stone.
Curious villagers asked what he was doing. “I’m making stone soup,” he said. “You see, this is a magic stone, which turns ordinary water into delicious soup.”
“Can I try some?” the villagers asked. “Sure,” he said, “but you have to contribute something.”
One villager brought some carrots, another brought onions, and his neighbor brought potatoes. Everybody wanted to try this magical soup, so they were eager to contribute.
At last the stone soup came to a boil, and the peddler was happy to share it — there was plenty to go around. Everyone marveled at the delicious taste. “To think,” they said, “all of this from a little piece of stone!”
When I show demos that I have built, it’s pretty much the same thing. People enjoy my demos, and they make wonderful little suggestions, which I promptly add into the soup.
The rest is magic.