Banilla BlingI took my boys to the dentist on Monday. Before the dentist cleaned each child's teeth, he asked what flavor he liked. My oldest got his teeth cleaned with bubble gum flavored toothpaste. My youngest got his teeth cleaned with marshmallow flavored toothpaste. This experience left me wondering why there weren't more flavored toothpastes being sold. We've seen bubble gum flavored toothpaste at the stores before but never marshmallow.

So, I'm walking out of the dentist office and I stop at the desk to make sure that my insurance information is good when I see tubes of weird looking toothpaste on the check out desk. It looks weird because I've never seen this toothpaste in the stores before. I look closer and pick up the first one; it says it vanilla ice cream flavored. read more »

George Davidson III and his company, Davidson Design and Development, Inc., has been in the news quit a lot recently. He's of particular interest in the Inventor community as a result of a lawsuit filed against them for misrepresenting its services to inventors.

On March, 2006, the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ordered that Davison Associates, Inc. (now known as Davison Design and Development, Inc.), Manufacturer's Support Services, Inc., George M. Davison III, Gordon M. Davison, Barbara Miele-Davison to pay $26 million for misrepresenting its services to inventors. Davison Design has appealed the court's decision.

Forbes magazine has recently come out with an eye opening article called "Inside InventionLand"

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There is an easier way to get started in the patent process than filing a full-blown utility patent application; it's called a Provisional Patent Application. It fits into both major marketing plans -- going direct to market or through the formal patent process -- it's not expensive, it offers a degree of protection against knockoffs, and it buys you time. But, it must be done very carefully so you don't ruin your chance of future success. Learn why you should file and how to make the best of your application. read more »

Hello Everybody!

Well, I think my wacky product find of the week is more funny than wacky, but it made me chuckle so I thought I would share it with you.

Merchant calls these the "people push pins". I thought with the pins where they were, its pretty clear they are not people like in men and women, but more like just men.  So I think my name for them is more accurate. Do you like the new name? What do you think of this product? Who would be perfect for this? (people pins here) read more »

Roger's Super SleeverHave you decided to try to pitch your invention to a company?

Our guest blogger Roger Brown is a freelance Inventor who has successfully marketed tools, toys and a kitchen utensil. You can see some of his inventions at www.rogerbrown.net. He has graciously agreed to share with readers of AmericanInventorSpot.com some valuable advice on how to prepare for your pitch.

Here's his article:

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It is surprising how much thought and time an Inventor will put into their idea and how little time they will put into how they are going to pitch it to a company. Your pitch matters as much as, if not more than the idea. If you can’t convey your product's benefits in a short and concise manner, you can kill your chances with a company. read more »

Who doesn't love Hello Kitty? I loved her as a child and still stop to look at her stuff.

Well, I guess its a question of how much you love Hello Kitty. I don't love her $163,000 much.

Sanrio came out with a platinum Hello Kitty. Its W3.8xH5.6cm and weighs 590g. The miniature Hello Kitty comes with seven hair ribbons made of gems including diamond, ruby, pink sapphire, amethyst and blue topaz.
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It's been a while and some of these may be a tiny bit stale, but here are some random good links I have seen around the web:

Nothing to do with Arbroath always has some funny stuff. From what they have this week, I like "How to be the perfect boyfriend" (video), which is kind of cute and oh so true.

I think this is a great way to tell people you think are stupid, that they are stupid. Read it at Backward Five.

Love cheese doodles? -Love Cheese Doodle Art ? from always good Unique Daily

Finnish video on how to dance disco via Utterly Boring . Weirdly fascinating. Like watching a car crash in slow motion.

Amazing Spy Cameras via Knuttz.net

Pitoche has cute illustrations on the eternal truth about men and women.

Attu has the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Davezilla has truly overdone movie cliches for cops and strippers.

Manny has the Pop Up Book of Sex.

The Best Weblogs List is out. I saw it here at Madville.

There's tons more great links out there, but I am short on time so I will post again soon. read more »

We are having a problem blocking certain google advertisements on our site.

As we are work on certain technical issues with blocking scam companies from advertising on our site, please do a careful screen on any invention related company advertising on our site from the google ad programs before doing business with them.

We should have this issue resolved within the next few days.

We apologise for the problem. read more »

Do you ever get sick of sitting in traffic? Do you ever get frustrated with how rude drivers are?

 

Our Guest Blogger, Charley Sainsbury, has been an illustrator for over 30 years. He began long before the computer was available using paintbrush, pen, and airbrush. In 1988, Charley purchased his first Macintosh computer, learned all the software and found it upped his productivity. Charley loves creating the unimaginable. Check out his website, http://www.veritycreative.com/g3d/, for a few samples of his work. For our readers, Charley has come up with a very creative (maybe not so realistic) solution to this dilemma.

A picture says a thousand words. Here's Charley's picture and a few words. read more »

Scientists at King’s College London recently announced work on a new contraceptive pill for men. A male form of the birth control pill isn’t a new idea, but researches have yet to find a concoction that is safe and reliable on a long-term basis. However, by taking a different approach, King’s College thinks it’s on to something.
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This holiday season, when you look at your reflection do you see Ebenezer Scrooge staring back at you? Chances are your probably aren't a Scrooge, but the holidays can sometimes really bring out the "Buhumbug!" in you. Greed, work, family, commercialized holidays, lack of time, wrapping paper and dead trees adding to the landfills...whatever your stressors are, they have you upset and you are just not in the mood to celebrate the holidays this year. Traditions and family are a wonderful part of your life, but sometimes a change can be a good thing too and you need a change. You need to go somewhere where you can get a way and relax for awhile. Lucky for you, the Ghost of Green is here to lead the way. read more »

Back in June, I wrote an article about about adorable plush animal TVs titled, Animals,TVs and Humidifiers - HotSpotMama Recommendations. The company that made the plush animal TVs, Hannspree, has come out with some new stuff worth checking out. Hannspree has a TV for your big kid (yes, I am talking about adults) and your little kid.

I think its safe to say that Hannspree easily makes over 100 TVs. To give you an example of the ones they make, here are a few (some old and some new): read more »

Cat Claws Rings

Are you trying to figure out what would be the perfect gift for your girlfriend or wife?

You may be having some difficulty because although it's pretty obvious that they want expensive jewelry, your wallet is in denial.

The holidays are a great time to reflect on whether you REALLY want to be in a relationship with the woman currently in your life. There is nothing like the cold hard reality of having to plunk down lots on cold hard cash to buy jewelry for a woman you are not excited about to make you think seriously about dumping her.

If you want to dump her, it's usually a smart move to do it before you spend lots of money on her...unless of course, she gives great gifts. If she's a great gift giver, I have a better idea. read more »

As Christmas creeps up on us, so does the great spirit of consumerism. This is usually a time when either new a product is released on the ravenous audience or a time to add a simple new function to an existing product. The MP3 player and iPod have gone both routes, but for the sake of this column I'll tell you about a few products that take the evolution of this miniature musical creation even further.

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Attention American Inventor TV show fans!

Here's some exclusive news about Season Two from AmericanInventorSpot.com:

Auditions:

I think all of us have been waiting patiently to find out when auditions for Season Two of American Inventor would begin. In the past couple of months, we've heard lots of rumors about when the auditions would start. ABC has not officially announced a start date. However, we have finally been able to confirm from multiple sources that the current plans of the producers of American Inventor are to start auditions for Season Two in February, 2007.

And... read more »

Star on StakeIf you love decorating for the holidays, but would like to decorate a little more green this year, solar decorations are an option. Eco-friendly wreathes, icicles, stars, snowmen, santas, globes and even string lights are all available and ready to light up your home and garden. You won't have to mess with wires and in the long run, you will save money on your electric bill.

Take a look below at the list of solar powered decorations available.

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Sometimes inventors are so excited when another person or a company is interested in their invention that they jump at the first opportunity that is offered to them. This can lead to later regrets, and I write from experience.

Who has your best interests at heart? Who wants your product to sell millions? Who knows your product best? If the answer is you, then you need to plan your best path to success with your invention. read more »

In the theme of poop that I somehow seem to have locked myself into, here's my pick for wacky product of the week: Barbie Doll and Tanner Scooper Dog Set.

Merchant for this product says "Finally, Barbie has a dog that eats and makes a mess! Tanner the dog is soft and fuzzy and her mouth, ears, head and tail really move! You can open Tanner dog's mouth and "feed" her dog biscuits. Comes with a dog bone and chew toys that Tanner can hold in her mouth, too. When Tanner has to go to the bathroom, Barbie doll cleans up with her special magnetic scooper and trash can. Posable Barbie doll included." (Doll here )

Well folks, what so you think of my find? Will you buy it for your favorite little girl? Can you think of a fun comment to title this? read more »

If you've seen the digital renderings of The Metropol Parasol by J Mayer H then you know his talents as an architect and designer are far from limited. Mayer H. is up there with the other big dogs of architecture and his most recent project, The Curiosity Center at Danfoss Universe, is no less indicative of his ability. read more »

Yesterday, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) scientists announced their creation of antimicrobial paint that kills the influenza virus and other harmful microbes like E. coli. Worldwide, influenza affects three to five million people and kills nearly a half a million annually, including 36,000 Americans. The groundbreaking paint’s compound mixture is thorny, stabbing holes in the membranes of the viruses and killing them. So, who’s funding the research? How will it be used? How effective is it? read more »