InventorSpot

Teddy Bear

Steiff, a German company, has created the world's most expensive teddy bear. The £43,000 ($85,000) bear has fur made of real gold, and eyes made with sapphires and diamonds.

The new bear has a mouth made of solid gold, fur made from gold thread and eyes with pupils of sapphire and irises made from 20 tiny diamonds.

In celebration of its 125th anniversary, Steiff only produced 125 of the golden Jubilee Bears. You can identify a Steiff bear by the button on its ear.

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A table cloth that glows?

How can that be possible?

What new contraption is this?

These were some of the questions that came into my mind when I saw a picture of the Luminous Fabric online. Let me tell you it is not magic, but a great innovative idea that will redefine personal attire and home décor as we know it. The fabric glows thus creating an ethereal effect in the dark, setting the stage for hours of magical moments. read more »

Sofa, Bed and Lamp in One

Real estate, real estate...that's all I hear about these days. First, prices are going through the roof. Now, supposedly, prices are caving in. Who cares?

All I know is that with prices so high, I can not afford a decent sized place to live. The way my cash flow is going, I may have to move into some teeny tiny space which is more aptly described as a closet than a house.

Assuming that everyone is just like me, boxed in and feeling wretched, I decided to help my fellow small space dwellers by finding items of furniture that can help you save on space.

This furniture gives you 7 Ways to Live in a Closet or Other Cr@ppy Tiny Little Hole in the Wall That You Call Home: read more »

Here's some good news about the future of our country and the future of inventing from a recent press release from the Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO):

The Advertising Council joined with USPTO and the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation (NIHFF) launched a national, multimedia Public Service Advertising (PSA) campaign to engage a new generation of children in innovation. read more »

Dog Broom I am always on the lookout for well designed items that look good, function well and make me chuckle. read more »

One Grip Bag HolderLooking for a better way to hold all those plastic bags?Almost nothing is as painful and annoying as having to hold a series of heavy plastic bags in your hands when you go shopping. read more »

Attu has a great series of photographs on people trying to get from Point A to Point B.

 

Man has constantly be in search for a better mode of getting from A to B. Discovering the wheel, creating  the bicycle and  building the car, what will be next to get people from Point A to Point B. What will be the best new idea in transportation?  Have we reached the limits of inventing modes of transportation? If not, what is next? Any ideas?

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Hi Folks:

Sorry for the last minute notice on this but we got this up as fast as we can.

For those who were planning to audition in Orlando for the American Inventor Show for 2007 in Orlando, Florida, it has been cancelled at the very last minute.

In it's place, it seems that the producers of American Inventor are now planning to hold auditions in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on April 21, 2007 but have not announced a location or address yet.

UPDATE: Location for auditions announced

TAMPA Florida - APRIL 21ST
GRAND HYATT TAMPA BAY
2900 BAYPORT DRIVE
TAMPA, FL 33607 read more »

Radiosconde Recovery A new robot that could assist climate-change researchers has won the grand prize at the annual PennVention competition. read more »

Company Branding

Ever wonder how companies come up with their names?

FortyMedia.com, a business blog lists a collection of well-known company names from Wikipedia and their origins. Recognizing the importance of branding, its interesting how what was the inspiration for a company's name:

Here's a few of my favorites:

 

7-Eleven: this chain of convenience stores started in 1927 as U-Tote’m (so called because customers “toted” away their purchases). In 1946, U-Tote’m became 7-Eleven to reflect the stores’ new, extended hours: 7am until 11pm, seven days a week.

Apple: for the favourite fruit of co-founder Steve Jobs and/or for the time he worked at an apple orchard. read more »

The Open-It Universal OpenerIf you believe, as I do, that a good Swiss Army Knife is something everyone needs, I think you’ll agree that this week’s Cool Tool, is something that boomers, seniors, and generations X, Y, and Z all need….

 

It’s a top flipping, can prying, bag splitting, envelop slitting, orange peeling, hole punching box cutter! read more »

The website Nothing to do with Arbroath shares a unique way of promoting a chocolate makers wares, a real edible billboard made with 860 pounds of chocolate.

The Easter creation, a world first, was made of 10 chocolate bunnies, 72 giant chocolate eggs and 128 chocolate panels, each weighing 2kg.

The billboard took three months to plan and 300 hours for the team of 10 to build and was expected to last a week but alas was devoured by Londoners in less than three hours. (Source and photos at BBC)

Inventive marketing? What do you think? read more »

One of my favorite types of green innovation finds is what I like to call a "trash to treasure" find. There is just something about taking a pile of trash and turning it into something useful or beautiful that really gets me feeling good. I'm always on the search for these, whether for work or just for fun, but on the Internet this type of find can be at times difficult to find. Luckily, one day, I don't know how I found this, I came across Superuse. Superuse puts these "trash to treasure" finds together and organized in one place. read more »

 

The Hipper -50 is a beautiful new gadget to help you celebrate your Easter with the right note. The Musical Note! This fashion gadget is an iPod speaker. Simply plug in your MP3 player and watch it light up and change colors to the beat of your favorite music. read more »

Robert Adler made the world safe for couch potatoes.

If not for the estimable work of Robert Adler, the simple act of watching TV - that ubiquitous appliance considered an essential part of every home - would be very different from the experience to which we've become accustomed. Without Adler's contributions, not only might the act of watching the tube be very different, the TV-itself might still be a small, funny-looking box with tinny sound. read more »

We'd like to welcome Mike Daisy as a new Featured Blogger to the writing team at AmericanInventorSpot.com. Mike Daisy is a publicist at a public utility and a freelance writer. He is also a history buff. Mike will be writing about historically significant inventors and inventions that have affected or lives for better or worse.

Welcome Mike!

AmericanInventorSpot.com Team read more »

This inventive advertising program forcuses on "Every man deserves a smooth skin."

Playing with the smooth aspect of eggshells, eggboxes in Brussels were taken in hand by the Wilkinson Quattro Titanium. The masculine faces on the eggs were printed on transparent stickers and then stuck to the eggs. An advertising flyer with a promotion on the back was put in every box.

What do you think? read more »

Tired of buying the same old gifts?

Racking your brains on what to get your friends or children this Easter? I'm here to share a few ideas that make for innovative Easter gifts and live up to the occasion in the real sense of the word.

Happy Easter! read more »

When it comes to our health, sometimes it can be out of our control. No matter how healthy we are or how safe we try to be, accidents happen and our lives... can suddenly take a turn for the worst. Lucky for us there are people who dedicate their lives to help us get back on our feet. People like Dr. Joseph Varon, for example, or as some like to call him, Dr. Freeze, from St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. He is known for his innovative life saving hypothermic treatment on brain dead patients. read more »