Invent That Now

I get regular requests for information regarding inventing and product development and have written many articles on the subject. I have also written two books that I have not yet listed for sale.

Well, the time has come and I wanted to leak out bits and pieces of "Invent That Now" as I ready it for publishing. Here is a piece of the introduction. 

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“Inventions reached their limit long ago, and I see no hope for further development.” - Julius Frontinus, 1st Century A.D.

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” -

Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Patent Office, 1899

I guess it’s good thing that Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, you and I never got the memo.  When these stewards of forward progress spoke these words many years ago no one was listening.  Luckily.

Here are some not so obscure things created early in the 20^th century, early 1900’s – hard to believe, especially since there was nothing more to invent!  Richard G. Drew invented masking tape in 1923 and created the clear tape called Scotch Brand Cellulose Tape in 1930, and what would we do without the dispenser for that tape invented by John A. Borden in 1932, both men were 3M employees.  Ruth Wakefield invented chocolate chips in 1930, she ran “The Toll House Inn” in Whitman Massachusetts.  Of course a nod has to go to Edwin Perkins of Omaha, Nebraska for bringing us “Fruit Smack” (which became Kool-Aid) in 1927 – The seven original Kool-Aid flavors were: Cherry, Lemon-Lime, Grape, Orange, Root Beer, Strawberry, and Raspberry.  

Although Nikola Tesla invented the radio, it was promoted and popularized by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895 - The first radio transmission across an ocean (the Atlantic Ocean) occurred on December 12, 1901.

Along with the Popsicle invented by 11-year-old Frank Epperson in 1905, the Slinky™, the Zipper, Q-tips™, the polio vaccine, the tea bag and Velcro™ were all invented in the early 1900’s, all of these and plenty more found their way to the market after 1899.  

On December 17, 1903, the "Flyer" flew for 12 seconds and for a distance of 120 feet (37 m).  Remember the Wright brothers?  The list goes on and on and although a patent doesn’t mean you will make any money or even have a marketable item, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued over 7,000,000 patents since its beginnings in 1790, some of them have made the inventor money, mostly not though. 

   

The Reality is that ideas are a dime a dozen, and the only thing that makes them special is that they’re yours.  The trick is to know what to do with ideas when you get them. 

It’s difficult to stay objective about our latest and greatest ideas so here are the four criteria to apply to help decide whether or not to forge ahead with your latest million-dollar idea:  

1. Are you solving a problem?  
2. Are you fulfilling a dream?  
3. Are you inventing to a need?  
4. Can this thing be manufactured and sold at a profit?  

All the Best,

Scott Evans