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By benjaminchristopher, December 18, 2009 9:03 am

What drives someone to invent something? More often than not, it’s a problem they’re having. They can’t find a solution, so they make one up.

Maybe it’s an ailing sports team. Maybe it’s a problem with bartenders stealing money from the drawer. In Marc Newburger’s case, the problem was a dropped call. Literally.

Drop Stop inventors Marc Newburger and Jeffrey Simon

If you haven’t heard of the Drop Stop before, it’s a pretty simple idea: The Drop Stop is a wedge that fits into your car, between the seat and the center console. Its goal is to prevent dropped objects–phones, keys, anything really–from falling into the abyss below your seat.

The story goes like this:

Three years ago, Marc Newburger was driving down Sunset Blvd, waiting for a very important call. “A call that would only come once.” His phone was laid on the center console of his car. When the phone did finally rang, it vibrated. The vibrations sent it rolling of the console, where it “shot down the gap between the seat and center console.”  There was no time to waste. Marc began digging for the phone. He took his eyes off the road, only for a second, but it was long enough for him to accidentally jerk the wheel to the right.

In a flash, his “car hopped up onto the sidewalk where a pedestrian had to jump out of the way,” and headed straight for a telephone pole. Impact was imminent. Newburger slammed on the breaks, covered his face and screamed.

But there was no impact. He looked up. The pole was mere inches from his car.

At this point, Marc began screaming something to the effect of: “Why doesn’t someone come up with something to block that crack?!” Add in a few profanities, and you get the idea.

Recently, Marc Newburger, one of the co-inventors of the Drop Stop, was kind enough to answer a few of my questions, via email. So, without further ado, here is the Think of That Blog’s exclusive interview with Mr. Newburger.

Continue reading 'Drop Stop: A Chat with Marc Newburger'»

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By benjaminchristopher, December 17, 2009 9:17 am

Did you know that 1 million people suffer from bedsores annually?

Sounds painful, doesn’t it? Fortunately, 73-year-old David Jurus claims he’s found a way to prevent them completely.

While volunteering at a hospital, he watched on in horror as a patient suffered from excruciating bedsores. But Jurus wasn’t going to just sit back idly to watch someone suffer. That’s because Jurus is an inventor.

Technically, he’s a home-remodeler. But his passion is invention.

He went to work in his garage, tinkering for months, and finally came up with the AutoMedic Pressure Relief Bed.

The objective of the AutoMedic Pressure Relief Bed, according to Jurus, is “to take the pressure off the small capillaries, the tiny blood vessels, that get blocked and create the sores.”

It doesn’t look anything like a typical hospital bed. According to Phil Kadner’s profile on Jurus, the bed “resembles a xylophone, with 72 sponge-foam pads that look like slats spread across it. The slats move vertically in groups of 18 each, alternating going up and down by about 2.5 inches. All of the pads, operated electronically, change position every two minutes.”

The bed, Jurus says, can be built for half the cost of an orthopedic bed. But he’s still in need of funding, in order to study the effects and advantages of such a bed in a medical setting. “I know this thing will work” Jurus says. “But I need a grant, some research, to prove that my theory will work. Actually, I know it will work. I just need some financial help.”

The problem is common, and a bit sad.  Anyone can come up with an idea. In fact, a lot of people just like Jurus do. But the funding to implement a plan, to bring an invention to life, is far more elusive. It might be why competitions for inventors, like the one Jeff Burns won in yesterday’s story, have become so popular. It’s a chance for your idea to be examined by experts, a chance for your invention to rise above the fray.

(NOTE: If you are an inventor looking for some funding, I found this article that provides some great tips.)

Continue reading 'Inventors and the People that Hate Them'»

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By benjaminchristopher, December 16, 2009 11:18 am

I’ve been telling everyone I know about this one. So simple and obvious, yet revolutionary.

Jeff Burns has worked in construction his whole life. But he always had a hobby, one that, until recently, wasn’t exactly paying off:

He was a part-time inventor.

Burns didn’t really think anything would come of it when he entered himself into a contest, the DIY Network’s first-ever “Cool Tools: Inventor Challenge.” But in the end, Burns took home the top prize, along with 10,000 dollars.

His invention? A new spin on a classic tool- The Tape Measurer.

Burns was tired of having to fold the tape measurer to get an exact result. Wouldn’t it be better, he thought, if there was a tape measurer that accounted for the length of the apparatus itself?

He calls it the “Speed Read.” It measures from the end of the measuring tape to the base of the tool itself. Rather than bending the tape, you look through a little window pane to see the exact measurement.

“I took a problem that I’ve had with using a tape measure and (fixed it),” Burns says.

The process took seven months, and more than 20 prototypes before he perfected the “Speed Read.”

He had originally planned on pitching the idea to tool companies, but when he came across the DIY Network’s Challenge, he thought, why not?

The “Speed Read” isn’t the only invention Burns has conjured up. He’s also sold a patent for a freezer storage system.

He’s been inventing in his spare time for over seven years.

And, while Burns isn’t the first person to try and improve the tape measurer, the “Speed Read” is one of the most intuitive, practical inventions I’ve seen in a long time.

You can read more about Burns and the “Speed Read” in this fantastic article.

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By benjaminchristopher, December 15, 2009 9:47 am

The Florida Gators may have lost the SEC Championship Game earlier this month, but they’re a lot better off than they were 44 years ago.

In 1965, the Gators could barely stay on their feet. The hot Florida weather was getting to them, and no matter how much water they drank, the players couldn’t stop from getting dehydrated. The team’s coach was troubled by this and consulted the team doctor. The team’s doctor was also troubled by this, and it was he who consulted Dr. Robert Cade.

Cade was working at the University of Florida as a medical researcher. The football team’s conundrum was curious to him, and he began leading a small team of researchers to get to the bottom of it.

The problem, they realized, was that the body was suffering from the loss of fluids and electrolytes. That was the problem. And the solution? Well, Cade was still working on that.

Cade and his researchers began mixing together concoctions that would, ideally, revitalize the players’ bodies with water, salts, and minerals to keep the athletes strong. They threw in some lemon juice, for taste, and began feeding the Gators.

And it worked. The Gators won their first Orange bowl in 1967 and gave much of the credit to Cade’s new miracle drink, which he had named “Gatorade,” after the team.

Gatorade quickly gained notoriety as the rehydrating drink of choice for sports players.

After winning the 1987 Super Bowl, the New York Giants dumped a jug of Gatorade over their coach’s head.

From that moment on, Gatorade’s place in sports history was solidified.

Today, Gatorade is the official sports drink of the NFL, the MLB, the NBA, the NHL, and many more.

Resources

http://www.gatorzone.com/

http://www.gatorade.com/history/

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By benjaminchristopher, December 14, 2009 7:00 am

Pajamas with feet. For adults.

Seriously now… Why didn’t I think of that?

In fact- I could have sworn that I did. I distinctly remember saying, at some point in the last decade, “I’m going to find a pair of pajamas with feet. I miss those things.” Someone, I don’t remember who, told me that the likelihood they made them for adults was minimal. That was the end of that. See, if I was smart, like Valerie Johnson, I wouldn’t have given up there. I would have gone on to produce my own pajamas-with-feet. And, if my luck was anything like Johnson’s, I would have made millions of dollars.

Johnson, a former stock broker, took a $50,000 investment and turned “Big Feet Pajama Company” into a 2 million dollar a year company.

In 2007, Big Feet PJs were chosen as celebrity gifts for the Oscar Ceremony.

You can listen to the full WDITOT story here, or order your own pair at BigfeetPJs.com.

Now’s probably a good time to note that our month of exclusively covering inventions, both new and old, is coming to an end. Of course, inventions are always fair game when it comes to unique and exciting business stories, so don’t worry- you’ll probably be seeing plenty more.

But, to wrap things up, we’ll be covering a great invention every day this week. And we’ll end the week by talking to Marc Newburger, one of the inventors of “The Drop Stop.”

All that and more. So keep checking back, every day this week.

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By benjaminchristopher, December 9, 2009 11:38 am

‘Tis the season. And what would the season be without Christmas lights? Dark, probably.

“The Christmas Light Company” in one of my favorite Why Didn’t I Think of That? stories. And, seeing as Christmas isn’t very far off, I thought I’d share it with you.

You can hear the story below (I’ve taken the liberty of embedding it directly into this blog post, but if you go to the story page, you can find a nice, summarized rundown of the feature).

Rather than just rehash what Bob and Greg already tell you in the audio feature, I’ll take this oppurtunity to flesh out the story a little bit.

It started when Jamie Limber was a college kid. During the holiday season, Limber would decorate houses with holiday lights. It was good money, too. Even after he graduated and started his career, Jamie was still taking off the month of December to continue dressing up houses for the holidays.

But it was his frustration with “icicle lights” that pushed Limber over the edge, from enterprising college-grad to inventor. He designed the prototype for the “Wrap-N-Roll.” According to the Christmas Light Company’s website, the “Wrap-N-Roll is a revolutionary Christmas/Icicle light storage system that allows you to store and unwind your lights in seconds. Just insert a pen in the center hole of Wrap-N-Roll and watch the tangle-free lights unwind in seconds.”

Limber and his newly formed “Christmas Light Company” debuted the Wrap-N-Roll in 1996 at the International Toy Fair in New York City. He sold roughly 50,000 units. The following July, a similar incident on QVC Cable Networks–all 4,500 available units sold out within a minute of the product preview, before Jamie even had the chance to hawk his product on-camera–Limber realized he had something.

“The demand was much larger than we thought,” Limber said. “I realized in the summer of 1997 that I had to resign from Philip Morris and go full time.”

Since then, the Christmas Light Company has developed over 50 products which sell in stores across the country, from Lowe’s to Wal-Mart, as well as on cable shopping channels.

In 2005, The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce named the Christmas Light Co. the “Most Innovative Small Business of the Year.”

But Limber hasn’t totally forgotten his roots. The Christmas Light Company still does consulting and decorating. But now they focus on larger clients–shopping centers, office buildings, even whole cities.

Christmas comes but once a year, but that hasn’t effected the Christmas Light Company’s revenue. Recent sales projections exceed 8 million dollars.

Christmas lights. Now, why didn’t I think of that?

Resources

The Christmas Light Company

Phoenix Business Journal Article “Innovative Products Bring Christmas Light Co. Very Merry Business”

Article “The Christmas Light Co. Lights the Way…”

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By benjaminchristopher, December 7, 2009 11:11 am

Two weeks ago, I went through several of Time’s Best Inventions of 2009. Well there’s a new list out there. It’s CNN Money’s “Next Little Thing 2010.” These are eight new technologies/inventions that are supposed to rock our world in 2010.  Though it’s significantly slimmer than Time’s list, it seems determined to outdo the inventions from that list in nearly every way.

For instance, two of the inventions I covered were “Mind Tweets” and video games you control with only your body.  *YAWN!*  Try this on for size: playing games with your mind.

Introducing the “Epoc” headset by Emotiv.

For some people, like my sister, the hardest part about video games is remembering all the controls and complex button combinations, especially with the controllers on the market these days. This is how “button-mashers” are born. But what if, instead of having to remember the four-step-button-pressing-process necessary to do a power move, you could just think about the power move, and it would be done? If that concept appeals to you, then I think the Epoc is right up your alley.

The headset doesn’t read your thoughts so much as it does remember where your brain is active when you think certain things. Writer Chris Taylor puts it this way:

I calibrated the Epoc by thinking of commands… when the program asked for them: move left, move right, rise, drop, stop. For disappear, I thought of Lewis Carroll’s vanishing kitty. The Epoc… can remember which areas of my brain lit up while I did that.

The headset will go for $299 and is scheduled to be released in early 2010 (or later this month, according to Emotiv’s Wikipedia page). It will work with Windows PCs. It’s unclear just how many games–and yes, as of now, this radical little device is intended only as a gaming peripheral–will be available for use with the Epoc. Needless to say, their are a whole lot of developers interested in building software to work with it. There’s even talk of hooking it up to control wheel chairs and other such devices. Now that’s practical.

The Epoc has a two-axis gyro for measuring head movement. You can also trigger commands with facial expressions and emotions. Can you tell that this excites me? I think my palms are sweating a little bit.

But the Epoc isn’t the only way that CNN Money’s list outdoes Time’s, in my opinion.  Time’s list featured collapsible speakers. Well how about invisible speakers?

Emo Labs took home a $500,000 dollar prize from the DEMOfall technology conference last September for these babies. The speakers are, essentially, a sheet of clear plastic. How does it work? I still don’t have the faintest idea. And frankly, as cool as the idea is, I couldn’t see the point. So I looked into it. I found this video, which gives a much better idea of how this technology can be used. (The speakers literally go over the screen!)

And there’s more on the list, from the practical (cheaper cancer scans) to the absurd (the K9 Storm Intruder, a bulletproof dog vest with a wireless camera, speakers and a microphone built in, so the handler can see what the dog sees and issue commands through the audio system).

So check out all eight items on CNN Money’s list, and then check back here at the Why Didn’t I Think of That Blog, as we continue our month-long Inventions Extravaganza.

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By benjaminchristopher, December 2, 2009 9:47 am

If there’s anyone out there who’s had a “Why Didn’t I Think of That?” idea before– some product or invention that you know is a good idea, but you just don’t have the time to actually, well, invent it– here’s your chance.

It’s just good timing that this came along during our month of covering unique inventions. It’s called “Firebox Inventor,” and it’s a search for “inspired ideas for new products.”

According to the website, Firebox, in accordance with Stuff, is conducting “a national search to find the next must-have product for 2010 and it might just be your idea that makes it onto our shelves! It could be a cool new toy, handy gadget, or something else entirely: if it’s original and it fits our quirky range, we want to hear about it.

You don’t need to have an expensive prototype, polished business plan, or to take part in a scary formal pitch.”

“There is no age limit to this competition and no experience necessary. Your product suggestion could take the form of a drawing, photo, video, or doodle on a beer mat. Whether it’s a long email, a short tweet or arrives by carrier pigeon; any entry format goes.”

If you win, your product will be developed, manufactured and sold by Firebox on their website. And you’ll get 50% of the profits too. A good deal, if you don’t mind giving away one or two of your great ideas.

My suggestion? Give it a shot. And let me know how it goes. You can find out more at their website:  http://www.firebox.com/features/inventor.

Good Luck!

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By benjaminchristopher, December 1, 2009 9:57 am

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did.

But you know, just because the holiday is over doesn’t mean all the festivities have to end. I figured now was a perfect time for this story, out of the Why Didn’t I Think of That? vault.

But first, a personal anecdote:

While having dinner with family and friends last Thursday, I was handed the wishbone from the turkey. I thought about what I’d wish for. I decided to be selfish, and wish for good tidings for myself in the coming year. I played with the moist little wishbone in my hand for a bit. Which side should I grab? Which side was likely to be the “good” side?

Then I had an idea- I’d ask my mom to break it with me. My mom, I figured, would also wish for my good health and happiness in the coming year. I handed her one side of the wishbone and we pulled. But it didn’t break. It hadn’t dried out enough.

“I think you would have been good either way,” my mom said.

“I know,” I told her. “That’s why I wanted to break it with you.”

I put the wishbone aside, to let it dry. Here it is, several days after Thanksgiving, and I still haven’t broken the wishbone. But, the way I see it, it doesn’t need to be broken. We were both going to wish for the same thing anyway. So I put the nasty little bone on my bookshelf, and there it will stay.

But what am I going to do the next time I want to snap a wishbone in half? Wait for another year to go by? Re-purpose my selfish-wishbone? Go out and buy a turkey? Thanks to the genius of Ken Ahroni, none of that will be necessary.

It was exactly 10 years ago that Ken Ahroni was sitting at the dinner table, celebrating Thanksgiving. According to his website, his inner monologue went something like this:

“[T]he simple truth is that the wishbone belong to the young. I couldn’t even remember the last time I was lucky enough to get my hand on one.” This reserved, melancholy musing soon turned to pragmatic indignation. Why should it be, he thought, that only two people should get to break the wishbone every year?

If this little annual injustice has occurred to other people before, Ahroni was the first person to do anything about it. Over the next few years, he began making plastic models of wishbones, trying to replicate the sound and feel of a genuine wishbone.

In 2004, he launched Lucky Break Wishbone Corporation. Lucky Break sells the synthetic wishbones from its website. They even offer wishbones with custom designs and corporate imprints.

Talk about a niche market. But Ahroni’s bizarre little business is doing surprisingly well. The company makes over 30,000 wishbones every day, and annual sales are over 2.5 million dollars.

Since I’ve decided to let my moot-wishbone sit forever, unbroken, on the shelf, I’ve taken it upon myself to order an entire crate of plastic wishbones from Lucky Break. Just in case. Now if I could only find more people willing to wish for my own well-being…