Posts Tagged: "wacky patents"

The Hamdog is only one of many unusual U.S. patents covering bizarre foods

There are few foods which are more iconically American than hot dogs and hamburgers. The idea to mix the two together, however, comes from an Australian innovator who is hoping for a windfall by auctioning off a U.S. patent which protects a food preparation which is truly unique. Mark Murray of Perth, Australia, is the inventor of the Hamdog, a combination hot-dog-and-hamburger entree that uses a bun, which is specifically designed to hold both the hamburger and the hot dog. Murray’s inspiration came to him while visiting Nashville, TN, when he left a bar and tried to eat a hamburger and a hot dog at the same time to assuage his hunger; once again, necessity is the mother of invention. Murray has sought to auction the U.S. rights to his invention, which is sold at Australian sports events for $6 USD, and the inventor believes that the Hamdog could be a product which rakes in $2.5 billion-per-year if it captures 1 percent of the United States’ burger market, which includes some 50 billion hamburgers sold each year.

Beware Infringing the Beer Dispensing Patent!

I find this patent so exasperating because the patented method essentially breaks down to nothing more than chilling a container to at least -5° C and then filling that container with beer that is above 0° C. I wonder how many bars and restaurants are infringing this patent? Perhaps you should warn you favorite watering hole to make sure that any glasses chilled are not chilled to -5° C.

Suicide Prevention Clothing, U.S. Patent 8,375,466

Did you know that there is clothing available to assist jails, mental hospitals and others with the prevention of suicide? Special protective wear has been issued to inmates and patients with suicidal tendencies for years. As a matter of fact, you can go online and see a variety of items that are available for facilities that might need them — much of which is made out of a very uncomfortable, yet strong nylon shell that is held together with nylon thread. However, that type of material can be quite rough on the skin and quite irritating to the wearer in the long run.

10 Fun Love Patents for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is again upon us, a day for lovers to express their undying affection for one another by giving gifts of chocolates, flowers, and love coupons. It’s also a day for inventors to strap on their thinking caps and come up with new ways to bring a little more love into the world. For your inspiration, here are 10 fun patents and applications for the lover in all of us. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day Gifts, with a Patent Twist

According to Men’s Health, the #3 gift idea for women on Valentine’s Day is lingerie. So we set out to find some patent related lingerie and find some we did! One of the more interesting things we located relates to lingerie attached to a human arousal indicator. So not only does it quality for lingerie, but it also give the guy a little heads up about whether the wearer is sexually aroused — that is in case the fact that your significant other stripping down to lingerie wasn’t enough of a clue.