Necessity is the mother of invention.
To increase productivity, mankind needed an efficient way to illuminate the night. So, Heinrich Goebel invented the light bulb and Thomas Edison, needing to be rich, stole that invention. Guys like me needed to be able to sit through all three Director’s Cuts of The Lord of the Rings back-to-back without a bathroom break, so some genius made the Stadium Pal.
We are a needful people and The Klutz Book of Inventions is here to meet that need. Perhaps you’re in need of Soundproof Underwear for instance? The Klutz Book of Inventions is Co-written by Klutz founder John Cassidy and Brendan Boyle of IDEO, they came up with almost 200 never-before-seen contraptions that are brilliant, useful, and ridiculous all at the same time.
This book is hilarious. The Wife snagged it from me the moment my review copy emerged from the package and was cracking up. It’s a fun, fully illustrated volume of “162 inventions that do it all!” Just think how useful this book would have been to Thomas Edison. 162 inventions right there in one book, ready for the stealing.
Sponsored by the good folks at Klutz, Ideology of Madness is hosting a contest to win The Klutz Book of Inventions in addition to a FLIP UltraHD Camcorder. See details below.
The Deets:
One (1) Winner will receive:
- Flip™ all-new slimmer UltraHD, and
- A copy of KLUTZ BOOK OF INVENTIONS
All you gotta do is tell us about your snazzy innovative idea for an invention in the comments below.
One entry per person, please.
One winner will be chosen at random.
Items will only be shipped within the United States. Prize support is courtesy of Big Honcho Media.
Contest ends Friday, November 19, 2010 at 11:59 pm Central time.
I’d like to invent an alarm clock that randomly does bad things when you hit snooze. Sometimes it just shuts off (probably causing you to be late,) sometimes it delivers a mild electric shock, sometimes it gets louder and more annoying, and sometimes, it explodes, taking your hand with it.
Mikey, you’ve heard about the clock that makes donations to charities you hate whenever you hit the snooze button, yes?
My invention is a pocket pocket for frequent flyers – empty your pockets into this zip-closed bag so you don’t have to fuss with trying to collect the loose change haphazardly dropped into the bin. When you’re done re-pocketing your wallet et al, fold this pocket up and stow it for later.
What great timing! I just invented something this morning!
So, as we all know, the reason there is still resistance to the ebook is because some people worry about losing their pretension. How can one prove that one is better than those around one if they cannot see that the book one is reading is clearly far beyond the reading level of everyone else gathered.
There had been a quickly-abandoned proposal of creating ereaders with screens on both sides, one for reading and one for showing the cover. Given that nearly all ereaders are immediately put into a protective cover, this proved a waste of time and monies.
But there must be a way we can welcome the coming epocalypse while maintaining our pretentious superiority! Well, there is, with the Selbomatic eBook Attenuated Label (SEAL-the bad ass of ebook covers).
Take the standard design for an ebook cover. Thick, padded sides with straps to hold in your ereader. Cut a rectangle into the top cover and shave off a few millimeters so there is a book-like divot in the cover. Slice an opening in the side. Print out a color image of the cover of the most pretentious book you want people think you’re reading (and if you’re really concerned about looking superior, I suggest you actually read the book too lest someone else ask questions you cannot answer). Put the paper image between two thin pieces of plastic, then slide them into the opening until the image is situated in the divot. This divot being in truth a window to your intellectual superiority.
Ideally, you could manufacture this entire thing, but if your intellect can’t wait to be on display, you can accomplish it with a razor blade and a file.
I love my iPad. I mean really, really love it… but, sometimes, I can’t spare a free hand to hold it while enjoying the iPad’s true purpose. So, I have been working on an invention that lashes a mannequin arm/hand to my chest that will hold the iPad securely. Luckily the harness will use a swivel so it can be used while driving, walking,or indulging in other activities that occupies your hands
I am always misplacing my phone at home, and I’m sure other people do this as well. My answer is the locator watch. I always wear my watch. So, you put a small rfid chip onto the phone and the watch will send out the signal to activate the the chip and points to your phone. Voila, no more lost phone.
I would invent smart clothes that store the kinetic energy via the motion of a brisk walk down the street to store the static electricity to be able to power your IPhone, your Ipod and mini devices on your person. It would also have the capacity to self dry clean and monitor skin temperature, blood pressure, hair growth and gather information about weight loss, body density based on data and preferences of clothes and create a list file and email it to your inbox making recommendations based on preference, range of motion etcetera. It would based on the user’s approval of that list shunt the file to the storefront where the credit card would be charged and the clothes would be custom tailored and shipped to your place of residence. The clothes are biometric imprinted made for the wearer only down the molecular level. If someone else tried to wear them even if such a thing were possible it would alert the user of the theft and fire off a locator beacon to be picked up on GPS and it would lock the joints of motion in the arm and legs of the clothes and go rigid.
Fence liners made of heavy, flexible plastic or rubber that lip under the fence, stick up about 6 inches, then go flat to the ground and out for about 8 inches. _|\__ No more trimming or banging the mower along a fence row. The lip keeps plants from growing under the fence, the fence barrier keeps pets in, and the flat portion that goes into the yard tapers so you can mow over it.
I tried to think of something funny, but, hell, 10am is too early for funny.
I want to invent a wireless earbud that fits in your ear and can’t be seen, kind of like a hearing aid. I could go around all day, listening to my music or podcasts, without anyone being the wiser, especially the wife or a professor.
I recently decided to eat healthier and exercise more. It has been difficult.
I wish there was a gadget that i could wear that would call me out on my bad eating habits. Something that could stop me before I ate that bag of chips. Also, Ok love the cell phone privacy helmet LOL!
I had no ideas so I asked my 5yr old son what would he invent and this is what he came up with. BTW I would like to have this invention.
Aidan:
I would invent a robot that walks around and give you money when you don’t have any. You can also hit him with a stick and candy falls out of his bottom. He can play any video game you want and also hands out hot dogs and juice.
So I have an interesting problem, but one that we all suffer from on some level: Face blindness. Now, at my severity, it takes an insignificant meeting and 5 minutes apart to completely forget who you are and whether you were the person I was just making small talk about rhododendrons and midgets with. If someone at a large industry dinner were too take to long in the bathroom, for example, upon their return I could not confirm whether or not they were the person who had been sitting next to me before.
But we’ve all been there and had that uncomfortable experience of a seeming stranger shaking your hand vigorously, looking you in the eye and asking “So Kristin, how did little Timmy’s ball game go? And Susie’s braces, did she ever adjust?” While meanwhile your head races and you try in vain to stop the words “I’m sorry, who the hell are you and what have you done with my children?” from popping out of your mouth. How many promotions or sales has that cost ya, eh?
So here’s what I propose: Discreet facial recognition. Maybe give it a snazzy new age name, like the iRememberYou or the Forget Me Not. The unit would fit easily onto eyeglasses, a tie clip or a pair of earrings. It could either be cued into phrases spoken at you such as “So good to see you again!” or “Hi!”, or merely wait for the standard jump in your heart rate that is followed quickly by the thought ‘Oh sweet jesus please let me remember who this is before I have to admit I can’t’. Upon scanning the face and pulling up the last encounter with the offender, it would discreetly supply the wearer with information on said offender through an earpiece: “Jim. No last name. First approached one year ago, same stupid company christmas party. Two children, Pam and Oliver, 9 and 6 years old. Has dog, will show you picture collection, do not mention. Can not dance, slept with the PR lady Suzanne at last party.”
In addition to providing valuable details on people who assume they’re fantastic enough that anyone they held a two minute conversation with will remember them an indefinite amount of time later, the device perpetually scans and stores faces and information to ensure you’re covered at the next potentially awkward social moment. Anytime a hand is shook or you provide your name, a record is made. Unfortunately this results in an extensive catalog of TSA agents of which the device constantly supplies “Had discreet sexual encounter with behind a screen”, but what can you do?
I just finished reading an intriguing magazine story that gave an overview on how gardening has shifted in the past 25 years. the general consensus seems to be organic and all-year gardens are all the rage these days. What do you think?
hi