By Victoria Barker

KINDNESS. The word itself seems to have been forgotten these days, as we go about our busy lives with nary a care about anyone else.

But with World Kindness Day just around the corner, this week's programmes offer pleasant respite, displaying the sentiment at its best and manifesting in the most unexpected ways.

Let's kick off with the aptly titled CBS hidden-camera show Game Show In My Head. Contestants vie for a cash prize by performing a series of outrageous tasks in public, under instructions from the host who communicates with them via a concealed earpiece.

Now, the host in question is Fear Factor's Joe Rogan - who moonlights as a stand-up comedian - while the half-hour programme is produced by Punk'd alumnus Ashton Kutcher, so the laughs come fast and furious.

The tasks range from the mild and do-able to the wacky and downright embarrassing. In the first episode, for example, contestant Seth McLaughlin must convince a passer-by that he has committed a fictional crime (in this case, eating icecream in cold weather) and get him to sign a decree promising never to do so again.

Tough? You'd be surprised just how gullible people can be.

Finally, to take home the grand prize of US$50,000 (S$69,400), McLaughlin must walk down a street dressed only in his underwear and convince strangers to give him the clothes off their backs.

What is heartening is that more than one person does just that. In fact, one man, Al, interrupts his stroll down the boulevard with his wife and baby to hand over not just his shirt, but also his jeans, belt and sneakers.

He did all that without batting an eyelid. So who said random acts of kindness no longer exist?