Twain recounted the tale in his own words in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. He did this for dramatic emphasis. In the future, hyperloop systems could use similar technology to float and accelerate passenger pods in a vacuum-sealed tube, potentially hitting speeds as high as 750 mph. This, in turn, requires orienting the second-party-scratcher by using a series of directions, which are often being misunderstood by the second party. The first patent the company holds for self-driving car technology is for a camera and sensor system to take in information about a vehicle's surroundings and input commands to a computer. He received a patent for the device in 1992. This sale is the one to watch if you are looking to get low prices on the latest Echo Dot, Fire Tablet, video games, Instant Pots, or 4K TVs. That didn’t stop him from patenting the game, though. Patent Name: " Locomotion assisting device and method". The design and materials of the traditional pointe shoe have remained unchanged for centuries, Nye points out in the patent application, and can cause a dancer discomfort and even pain. Beanie Babies Ty Warner - $1.76 billion. To the left . To the right. Your grandma's favorite accordionist and bandleader was also an inventor. Over the course of his legendary career, Twain—real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens—wrote more than a dozen novels plus countless short stories and essays and still found time to invent new products, hang out with famous scientists, and look after a house full of cats. It was published in 1865 in The New York Saturday Press and went on to receive national acclaim. Patent Name: "Virtual reality generator for displaying abstract information", The first proposed VR headset was not to play video games or watch sports, but to help users analyze financial data. So not-so-dexterous ladies and gents, you can thank Mark Twain for that.". (3G) Third Generation Wireless Mobile Telecommunications. Patent Name: "Vision system for an autonomous vehicle". The design patent protects only the appearance of an article, but not its structural or functional features. As the drawings in most design patent applications are incorporated into the claim language, walking the fine line between making adjustments to the drawings without spoiling entitlement to an earlier priority date can be a challenging task. The man behind Jaws holds a patent for a dolly switch, filed in 1999, as well as a patent for "Method and apparatus for annotating a document," filed in 2011. He tried out a few different names—Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, Sergeant Fathom, and, more plainly, Josh—before settling on Mark Twain, which means two fathoms (12 feet) deep in boating jargon. Lincoln received Patent Number 6469 for this invention in 1849, but unfortunately, Abe's creation never made it into stores. Smart. The CRISPR-Cas9 tool works in three parts: an RNA strand that locates the correct section of an organism's DNA, the Cas9 enzyme that cuts out that segment of DNA, and an optional DNA strand to replace the deleted section. Vanderlip then had the idea to incorporate pilot-friendly flight systems into a small, remotely-operated rotary aircraft. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. Entrepreneurs start with an idea and sometimes that leads to a shift in a better direction when the original idea doesn't work. Since then, brain implants have advanced to the point where patients can move robotic prosthetics or type out text on a computer with their thoughts. The document outlines the basic technology used by most 3D printers: stereolithography, or light-solidification of resin. Lincoln thought that there must have been a better way to keep ships off of shoals, so he invented a convoluted device that involved putting a set of bellows on the bottom of a boat. And if he was traveling, he would “rent” cats to keep him company. The drone design has "four lift rotors arranged in pairs at opposite ends" so that the vertical axis of tilt is always perpendicular to the ground. If there is another way to make a product look but still perform the same function, then the design patent can be easily designed around so as to avoid design patent infringement. The first GPS data was transmitted by the Navigation Technology Satellite 2 in 1977. According to the patent, "An elastic shaping band is attached to the rear panty portion and is connected from the vicinity of the crotch to the vicinity of the waist band and fits between the wearer's buttocks to delineate the wearer's derriere in cheeky relief." According to one quote wrongfully attributed to him, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” What Twain actually said was, “[He] was endowed with a stupidity which by the least little stretch would go around the globe four times and tie.” There are many, many examples of these. Spielberg has also filed a patent for a holodeck. The main limitation is that design patents are limited to the look (i.e., ornamentality) shown in the drawings. The large mechanical suit was designed to amplify the strength of a soldier so he or she could lift 1,500 pounds, but the exoskeleton suffered from violent and uncontrolled movements when at full power and was never tested with a human inside. Did Scientists Just Find a Way to Reverse Aging? He got the idea while working as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River—a job he held for four years until the Civil War broke out in 1861, putting a halt to commerce. Jaap Haartsen invented Bluetooth in 1994, allowing electronic devices in close proximity to connect to each other using low-power, ultra high-frequency radio waves. Support structure within the toe shoe includes a longitudinal support member, a foot encirculating tubular sleeve, and/or a toe ridge.". Although fire wasn’t technically invented, the ability to control fire was both fundamental and … Want to tap out a scorching mandolin solo? The inventor realized a linear motor, which does not require contact with a railroad track, could be used to develop a transportation system based on magnetic fields. Patent Name: "Apparatus for utilizing solar radiant energy". Ingenious Patents: Bubble Wrap, Barbed Wire, Bionic Eyes, and Other Pioneering Inventions, 101 Gadgets That Changed the World: The Patents, The Invention of the Leatherman: Patent Gallery, How to Design, Patent and Sell an Invention. The technology remained primarily in the world of research until Oculus Rift released their entertainment headset in 2016, and HTC Vive followed shortly after. How we test gear. While Twain was putting off writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he was busy working on a game he dubbed Memory Builder. Did you know the subject of America’s most famous design patent wasn’t actually designed by an American? He’s seen sporting a light-colored suit and his usual walrus mustache, and one scene shows him with his daughters, Clara and Jean. Here are 15 patents that shaped the modern world. Jackson and two co-inventors patented this "method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion" in 1993. Traditional classic games and toys like Monopoly, Lego, and the Slinky all received design patents, as well as the classic Barbie doll and G.I. According to reports in a couple of 19th-century newspapers, he’d walk into a pub and call out “mark twain!,” prompting the bartender to take a piece of chalk and make two marks on a wall for twain—two—drinks. 4 min read. 1. (He described it as "hard and long and dismal.") Twain is one of the most misquoted authors in history. which may be cleaned without disturbing the burning tobacco in the bowl" and also without dirtying the fingers. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. Patent Name: "Electromagnetic inductive suspension and stabilization system for a ground vehicle". The innovation patent is a protection option which is designed to protect inventions that are not sufficiently inventive. CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene editing tool develop at the University of California, Berkeley, to modify single-celled organisms. The composite material, made of a single layer of carbon molecules arranged in a honeycomb structure, is incredibly lightweight, about 200 times stronger than similar layers of steel, and has high heat resistance and efficient electrical conductivity. 4996938, “apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment,” that he and his brother, Michael, created to film The Abyss and patented in 1989. Even if you already took advantage of sales during Black Friday or Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday still has plenty to offer, especially on Amazon. He also holds seven patents related to model trains, including Patent No. Lincoln wasn't just splitting rails and winning debates before he moved into the White House. A design patent protects only the appearance of the article and not structural or utilitarian features. See their original patent below along with a few other design patents. This Boba Fett action figure, which Lucas holds a patent on with co-inventors Joe Johnston and Ralph McQuarrie, was the first of 11 the director would come to hold; it was filed in 1979 and granted in 1982. The technology remained within the military for years, and the United States used GPS satellites to navigate the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq during the first Gulf War, sometimes called "the first space war." This list will show some of the incredible & extraordinary ideas that have been patented by people from Michael Jackson, to Kanye West and Steven Spielberg. In 1953, Welk received a design patent for a new type of ashtray that looked like (what else?) GPS. Weston even had the foresight to outline an energy storage system so that "energy accumulated during hours of sunshine may be utilized during night or periods of cloudy weather," pinpointing the primary challenge of large scale solar power today. permit the wearer to identify for a third party a particular location on the wearer's body" in the event of something like an unreachable itch. GPS became fully operational with 24 satellites in 1995, and today, Google Maps is virtually never out of reach. Twain really, really liked cats—so much so that he had 19 of them at one time. The patent describes a "thermoelectric element" with two bodies of "dissimilar metal" connected on one end and insulated everywhere else to "cause an electrical current in a circuit" when exposed to light. The technology continued to improve, and a variety of companies have invested in exoskeletons designed to help people with varying levels of paralysis or to assist workers on the job site. In fact, he was a pretty serious motorcycle and car racer who toyed with the idea of someday becoming a professional racer. - Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet 64GB; $120 (save $70), - Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet 64GB; $84 (save $35), - HP Pavilion x360 14 Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop; $646 (save $114), - HP Pavilion Desktop, 10th Gen Intel Core i3-10100 Processor; $469 (save $81), - Acer Nitro 5 Gaming Laptop; $973 (save $177), - Bose QuietComfort 35 II Wireless Bluetooth Headphones; $200 (save $100), - Sony Bluetooth Noise-Canceling Wireless Headphones; $278 (save $72), - JBL LIVE Wireless Headphones; $100 (save $30), - JBL Charge 4 - Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker; $120 (save $10), - Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker II; $79 (save $50), - Powerbeats Pro Wireless Earphones; $200 (save $50), - Nixplay Digital Picture Frame; $115 (save $65), - Samsung 75-Inch Class Crystal 4K Smart TV; $898 (save $300), - T-fal 17-Piece Cookware Set; $124 (save $56), - Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Curved Round Chef's Oven; $180 (save $136), - Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Convection Toaster Oven; $195 (save $105), - Roborock E4 Robot Vacuum Cleaner; $189 (save $111), - Instant Pot Max Pressure Cooker 9 in 1; $80 (save $120), - Shark IZ362H Cordless Anti-Allergen Lightweight Stick Vacuum; $170 (save $110). Other virtual reality systems, such as Samsung VR and Google Cardboard, use a smartphone to display the computer world. The writer formerly known as Samuel Clemens loved to scrapbook—but he hated the standard scrapbooking process. For those with little brassiere experience, not a button, nor a snap, but a clasp is all that secures that elastic band, which holds up women's breasts. No, no . In the 20th century, experiments involving brain stimulation successfully changed a patient's mood and behavior. And augmented reality (AR) such as Microsoft HoloLens could be used in the future to help everyone from construction workers to scientists by overlaying data on the real world. A moving platform takes inputs from a computer and positions the base under a nozzle. In the United States, a design patent is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of a functional item. The technology in solar panels has continued to improve over the decades, and today they are made primarily of silicon. The patent describes the scenario in detail: It can be especially difficult for a person to scratch his or her own itch when the location of the itch is in a hard-to-reach spot such as the back. In 1974, the actress better known as Catwoman patented the delightfully named "pantyhose with shaping band for cheeky derriere relief." Today, with much smaller electronics, sight-restoring devices can be implanted directly into the retina, as described in this 2013 patent. Almost every famous design you can think of has been the subject of a design patent – especially the most iconic ones. Check out the official patents of the Game Boy, the Crescent wrench, the … Nye's design takes into account the forces exerted upon a dancer's body when dancing en pointe and provides additional support via a "toe box" located "in the toe of the toe shoe, an upper and an outer sole. Some predict that self-driving cars will replace both traditional public transportation and conventional cars in cities, transforming urban transportation into a network of interconnected vehicles to effectively eliminate traffic. No, the other left. Some are related to the work that made them famous, while others are offshoots of hobbies or just a single great idea. Lincoln's reasoning was that if the boat got in a sticky situation, sailors could fill the bellows with air to make the ship more buoyant. But one of his patents is not like the others: In 1936, Einstein patented a design for "a new, original, and ornamental" blouse: "The design is characterized by the side openings A-A (Fig. In 1987 Curtis designed and patented a disposable diaper that included a waterproof pocket that held baby wipes. Haartsen has drafted multiple patents relating to Bluetooth, but they have been stymied by lawsuits and patent trolls. He … Twain denied this version of events, though.). ... “Could you scratch lower? It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. In the late 1800s, doctors realized electrical stimulation of the brain could cause physical movement in humans and animals. As soon as flight controls and other electronic systems, such as cameras and GPS navigation, caught up with Vanderlip's idea, the quadcopter drone took to the skies in swarms. He took up work as a miner in Virginia City, Nevada, but the job wasn't for him. patented a toy egg "adapted for pulling, stretching, and bouncing which includes two intertwined helically cut shells" in 1979. A utility patent would protect the way an article is used and works. ... Its design is an improvement of an existing device or product. Design patents are a type of industrial design right.Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers (Fig. This one's a curvy purple design with two pitchfork-type spikes on the end. ReWalk, which holds this 2014 patent for a powered exoskeleton, builds an exoskeleton used in rehab centers that allows people with lower paralysis to learn to sit, stand, walk and even climb stairs. It can be very confusing to understand the difference between a design patent and other types of intellectual property. Smart and fashionable, that Einstein. The supermodel received a patent for an educational toy she designed in 1991 that seems to mostly be useful for helping kids learn the alphabet. It can also be a new process for producing a result or object. The electronic device was not implanted in the patient's eye, but rather on the optical lobe of his brain. Design Patent: A patent protecting the unique visual qualities of a manufactured item. At one point, the boat got stuck in a shallow spot, and it took quite a bit of effort to wrench it free. Sign Up Today: Get exclusive deals, product news, reviews, and more with the Mental Floss Smart Shopping newsletter! However, the female inventor is not a new development. A design patent covers the ornamental elements of an item's appearance. Marshall continued to work on these technologies to create a "three-dimensional information landscape," still aiming to help a "money manager or financial analyst" sift through data. McQueen didn't just drive his cars, though; he also liked to tinker with them. Posted on June 22, 2011 October 12, 2015 by Invention Geek. Support structure within the toe shoe includes a longitudinal support member, a foot encirculating tubular sleeve, and/or a toe ridge.". Memory Builder wasn't Twain's only invention; he also patented two other products. The voice behind the title character (among others) in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? In layman's term a design patent is a type of patent that covers the ornamental aspects of design. In July 2013, VisLab's car BRAiVE autonomously navigated two-way streets, crosswalks, traffic lights, roundabouts and other obstacles in downtown Parma, Italy. Innovation may be different today, but it is alive and well. Dropbox 3. According to USPTO patent law, a design patent is granted to any person who has invented any new and nonobvious ornamental design for an article of manufacture. Top 30 Most Famous Designers in the World. Example: The Ipod range is protected under a patent. The drone. " Yup, it's a keytar. According to The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, “In December 1906, he wore a white suit while appearing before a congressional committee regarding copyright. Like many of history’s literary greats, Mark Twain (né Samuel Langhorne Clemens) decided to assume an alias early on in his writing career. In 1839, he created the first photovoltaic cell by connecting silver chloride placed in an acid solution to platinum electrodes. Too far! Welcome to the Dawsey IP patent library of interesting patents. Though we love to laugh at stories like these, they … It made video calling and streaming possible on a handheld device. US5441223, "Model train controller using electromagnetic field between track and ground.". A famous design patent is Coca-Cola's unique bottle shape. The technology is used in almost every handheld device today, including headphones, cameras, and smart thermostats. More a handheld computer than a telephone, the iPhone and subsequent improvements on the "electronic device" have come to influence how humans communicate, navigate, and even think. In the early 19th century, French physicist Edmund Bequerel discovered that certain materials generate a small electric current when exposed to light: the photovoltaic effect. The patent describes the scenario in detail: It can be especially difficult for a person to scratch his or her own itch when the location of the itch is in a hard-to-reach spot such as the back. No, no . Hundreds of patents for self-driving car technology exist, but the company that broke through the barrier was an Italian machine vision company called VisLab. America's Aircraft Are Barely Ready for War, Intelligent Life Can't Exist Anywhere Else, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. Most mic stands are flat-bottomed, and meant to stay in one position on the stage, which requires a performer to be close to the microphone in order to be heard—or to drag the heavy mic stand along the stage. Her device has a concave base filled with cement and a cover on the base that "is positioned over the base and covers the compartment such that weight of a user positioned on the base cover applied in a direction causes the base to tilt with respect to the surface in the direction; and a rod member." The first attempt to restore sight to the blind was in 1968, when doctors G. S. Brindley and W. S. Lewin surgically implanted a device in a 52-year-old patient. But it was 3G, starting with the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), that transformed the device we carry with us every day. The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.’ Oh, I am looking forward to that.” He ended up passing away at his Connecticut home on April 21, 1910, one day after Halley’s Comet appeared in the sky once again. . 3G connected cell phones to GPS and the internet, as outlined in this 2003 patent. He holds a number of patents, including US Patent No. Popular Mechanics participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. He held quite a few jobs before becoming a politician, and in one of these capacities he helped float a boatload of goods down the Mississippi River. Several times after that he wore white out of season for effect.” He also refused to trade his white clothes for “shapeless and degrading black ones” in the winter, no matter how cold it got. Completely blind patients have been able to use the technology to restore partial sight, including the ability to see shapes and light. He's not just the science guy—Bill Nye is also the inventor of a better ballet toe shoe. Patent Name: "Peer to peer information exchange for mobile communications devices". Liquid resin from the nozzle forms the object, layer by layer, which is solidified by UV light. However, isolating a single layer of carbon molecules, just one atom thick, is incredibly challenging. To the left . In 1999 everyone's favorite funnyman illusionist received a patent for a "hydro-therapeutic stimulator. In 1864, Twain headed to Calaveras County, California in hopes of striking gold as a prospector (he didn’t). The history of driverless automobiles goes back almost a hundred years. He wore a pair of specially designed shoes that could hitch into a device hidden beneath the stage. Later, the two joined hands to form Edison & Swan United Electric Light Company. In the following decades, Easton turned his technology around, tracking objects on the ground from space. . Back to the left.”  ... [T]here is a need for an object that assists a person in precisely identifying a location on the person's own body for a second party. 2) which also serve as arm holes; a central back panel extends from the yoke to the waistband as indicated at B." The iPhone. See how innovators have shaped the world we live in today. According to PBS, by 1901 there were 57 different types of his new scrapbook available. According to The Atlantic, “This clever invention only caught on for one snug garment: the bra. The document then labels eight figures of the "electronic device," telling you only which direction it is shown from, and then cites other relevant patents and documentation. The unpowered exoskeleton used compressed gas to store energy and help with movement. In the future, technologies like neural lace that cover a large number of neurons could be used to allow humans to interface with computers using their minds. The Most Famous Design Patent. Dec 19, 2018 - Where would we be without these patents? In fact, he had a much higher opinion of felines than humans, remarking, “If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” He also had a talent for coming up with some great cat names; Beelzebub, Blatherskite, Buffalo Bill, Sour Mash, Zoroaster, Soapy Sal, Pestilence, Bambino, and Satan were just a few of the kitties in his brood. However, an English inventor called Joseph Swan had received a patent for a similar product in England at the same time. Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress), apparatus for propelling a user in an underwater environment, method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion, patented a design for "a new, original, and ornamental" blouse, mprovement in adjustable and detachable straps for garments", Method and apparatus for annotating a document, pantyhose with shaping band for cheeky derriere relief, Remote control device with gyroscopic stabilization and directional control. My all-time favorite dumb patent is Apple’s design patent for… a rectangle with rounded corners. We may be entering the Graphene Age. It's probably not surprising that this Nobel-award winning scientist holds 50 patents for things like hearing devices, refrigerators, and compasses. It’s true that he was photographed in a white suit on several occasions, but he didn’t start this habit until later in life.