Posts Tagged: "Museum of Obscure Patents"

Animal Patents: Cat PJs & Other Pet Clothing & Accessories

Do cats need pants? Do horses need goggles? Pet clothes and accessories symbolize the close relationship we have with animals. We want to make our pets as “comfortable” as we are. We want to make them as fashionable as we are – or as fashionable as we perceive ourselves. To these ends, hardworking inventors have been striving for new ways to make pets and animals happier and more stylish. Some of their inventions have utility, and some are just about looking cool.

Essential New Year’s Eve Innovations

Every year we all gather around and celebrate the new year. So that got us to thinking — what patents are there for devices that any self respecting raucous reveler ought to have on New Years Eve? As you might imagine, we found a few that seem appropriate to the occasion, proving that patented innovations are not only fun but they are everywhere! Here is hoping that your night is safe and magical! Happy new year! See you in 2013!

Cooler Innovations

It is still extraordinarily hot throughout most of the United States today. Some relief is on the horizon for tomorrow, at least for the greater Washington, DC and Northern Virginia area, with even more relief next week. After getting up early to go for a long walk with my 5 pound weights in each hand (yes, trying to lose weight) and it was 88 degrees first thing in the morning I knew I had to return to the topic of cool or cold inventions. I know I’m a geek, a nerd and extremely corny! But after the article from yesterday about Cool Wearable Innovations, I couldn’t resist writing an article titled “Cooler Innovation.”

Cool Wearable Innovations to Help You Beat the Summer Heat

It is fair to say that the eastern half of the United States is experiencing prolonged heat like few can ever remember. With that in mind I thought it might be an interesting time to take a look at some of the innovations that attempts to beat summer heat have lead to over the years. The theme here is wearable coolness. So sit right back in your chair, hopefully in a heavily air conditioned office or home, and get in touch with your inner inventor. These individuals came up with something patentable, and necessity is certainly the mother of innovation. Who knows, perhaps this prolonged heat agony will lead to a who new crop of gadgets associated with keeping one cool and refreshed during the dog days of summer.

Old Patents That Could Have Set the World Aflame!

When it comes to patentability, safety is not necessarily a major factor in the equation. The Patent Office only cares if an invention is sufficiently inventive. Whether or not it’s safe is a superfluous question. And yet I’m always amazed at how cavalier inventors can be about the safety of their inventions — especially inventors from the past. For example, most patents for cradles from the 1800s could have been more aptly titled “System and Method for Killing a Baby Through Violent Shaking.” Pretty much any factory machine, farm implement or laundry wringer patent, for that matter, was just as likely to pull off a hand as serve its intended purposes.