But even the issues that I whip through have something to grab my eye -- in this issue, back in a section of brief scientific procedural abstracts (which were pretty interesting, I must admit), I found an ad for a company called WeInvent. Got to love a name like that. Going to the site, it appears to provide a suite of services intended to bring vague concepts and nascent ideas to fruition, market, and profit. Quoting from their site:
(Our) creations include: the ten-second hand dryer, the electronic time stamp, the electronic credit card calculator, the electronic checkbook calculator, active electronic jewelry, the golf club head with the expanded "sweet spot", a line of eight different microwave appliances including the microwave corn popper and the microwave coffee maker, advanced microwave ovens, advanced electric ovens, and samarium cobalt magnets.Quite an array, even if I haven't a clue what a samarium cobalt magnet is, or could be used for. Puts me in mind of a brief scene in a science fiction novel I read years ago, set in a massive city complex (I think the book was by Jerry Pournelle, and the city name was something like Todos Santos), where a brand new security cop is taking a drink of coffee from the station coffee pot. He exclaims in surprise that the coffee is actually good, and the person bringing him along says that of course it is; they looked to find a coffee pot that did so reliably, and then bought a truckload of them.
Gosh, that sounds like teriffic idea. So do these guys. I wish them luck.
5 comments:
I am fascinated by inventive people. Ben Franklin, Michaelangelo, Thomas Jefferson--wow! I love to read about how the ideas came to them and how they carried them out. The Young Inventors contest is wonderful. I remember one of the inventions was a peanut butter jar with a lid on both ends. A great idea. I don't know why it didn't catch on.
I keep thinking of things that should have been invented already, and wondering if they're out there somewhere and I just haven't heard of them. Nothing like velcro or white-out, just little inconsequential things that you could live without.
It's to the point that I woke up the other morning dreaming a weird dream about fish hooks that had retractable barbs to make them easier to remove! Do I fish? No. Have I seen a fish hook lately? No. It was just a crazy dream with the inventive process as the main focus. I made the mistake of telling my husband as soon as I woke up, and if he thought I was crazy before, I've made him certain of it now.
This week my focus is on a strap to attach from one bra strap to another to keep them from falling off the shoulders. Necessity is truly the mother of invention.
Sorry, didn't intend to post anonomously. The last comment is mine. Cate
Your dream reminds me of the deal where Francis Crick (or was it his partner?) dreamed of a snake eating its own tail...which led him to the concept of the double helix. I don't fish, either, but I like your idea.
Electronic active jewelry? Rings that beep and glow when in the presence of a loved one? Necklaces that warn you that muggers are around? Brooches that tell you dinner's ready?
Interesting.
Yes, and think of the possibilities for comedy. "Honest, honey, my electro-alert necklace wasn't beeping at *her* !"
I recall reading, years ago, of 'active name badges' to be worn at science fiction conventions; they'd beep or somehow signal when you were near someone matching your profile of interests. Though I imagine, if the room is crownded, you'd want a GPS locator, too "target bearing 047 degrees six meters...five...four.." Hmm?
Post a Comment