Have a great invention? Do you know how to package it?

Our Guest Blogger, JoAnn Hines, is a packaging diva with 30+ years of experience in the industry including her work as the packaging expert to the U.S. Small Business Administration, traveling to China leading a packaging delegation and showcased on NBC TV program "Can You Open It?" If you can invent it, she can package it. JoAnn is here today to let us know how to avoid major packaging mistakes. You can reach her at http://www.packagingdiva.com

Here is her article:

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Every now and then, in the course of my endless web surfing, I come across a cool new website find that hooks me for a while. So I thought, heck, why not share them with you all? This will be an “as I find them, I’ll share them” installment. And I welcome your help. If you come across a website that has some innovative technology at use, an unbelievably designed website that is inventive in it’s form, design or function, or some other site that you feel the world will love… email me at: coolwebfinds@gmail.com so I can share it with our ever growing audience.

So… in the spirit of the holiday season (which is apparently upon us by the look of the mall windows) I would like to share a fun little site where you can create your very own snowflake. read more »

Insulation PaintFinally, there is an easier and cheaper way to insulate your home. How? It's called insulation paint and it isn't a new idea. For years it has been used commercially, but that is quickly changing as it is marketed to the public. It is becoming more of a popular product to use in residential homes as another source to save energy and help reduce heating and cooling costs. read more »

Love the idea of feeling the wind against your face as you ride your bicycle? Hate the thought of how your face gets bright red as you try to bike up the hill?

Today's guest blogger, Ed Phillipps, is a freelance journalist based in Pittsburgh, where he writes weekly sports articles for three newspapers. He graduated with highest honors from the Community College of Allegheny County and is currently moving towards a degree in communications from the University of Pittsburgh with the speed of a glacier. Today, Ed has found the perfect bicycle solution to yourdilemma.

Here's his article:

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For 2007, Schwinn will release a new line of electric bicycles. The bikes will be powered by battery and come in retro-chic styles with enough options for anyone interested in riding a bike.

I remember riding a bicycle as a kid. My first time without training wheels resulted in me hitting a telephone pool and then landing on a sewer. Good times.
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Is your professional life painted in shades of manila and Post-It yellow? The manufacturers of these ten products know how you feel, and have set out to bring style, ingenuity, inspiration and innovation back to the office.

So while you're still thinking about what to enter in Staples' Invention Quest, take a look at my picks for Top Office Products of 2006. read more »

Poo MugDo you know what your paper is made of or where it came from? Would you be surprised if I told you that there is paper made of elephant poo?

An elephant can produce about 1 ton of droppings per week and a smart company is taking advantage of this excessive amount of elephant dung. read more »

Here is a random collection of good links I found this week: read more »

• 12 Signs You Drank Too Much
  

• Crazy Beauty Products from Japan via the always great Presurfer

• Great Interactive Collection of Night Views of Japan via See Here

• Cool Evolution Graphics

• Gallery of Strange and Lovely Clouds via Youngfox
  

• Cool Internet Kalaidescope Toy to Waste Time On

• Build Your Own Bathroom Buddy from Unique Daily

• Amazing Images from the Hubble Telescope via our Japanese friends at korokorozaeega.blog54.fc2.com

My wacky product find of the week is a bit of an oddity.

It seems to be a combination mixer and coat hanger. I am not quite sure what to say about it. So I thought I'd let the merchant do the talking. The merchant calls this the "Practical Coat Hanger"..."To use for your wardrobe and in the extreme necessities in your kitchen!" This hanger can be found at Singulier, which I found through the always great Mental Floss.

Well, I am not sure what type of comments this nifty device can inspire. Would you use this? For what? What type of nutjob comes up with this? read more »

If there’s one thing I’ve learned since starting to write for AmericanInventorSpot.com, it’s that there are so many gadgets and gizmos out there, that it’s a wonder I can get anything done away from my computer.

I find myself constantly searching, always looking and forever entranced. So, given my long and uninteresting obsession with these matters, I’ve decided to spare you a long and uninteresting article. Instead, let’s break-down the three brightest stars of the week past in the surveillance world, in what shall forever be known as The Trifecta. read more »

When I was snorkeling in the Caribbean, someone once told me to take off any diamonds I had because fish are attracted to them. In other words, they might try to take a bite out of my diamond ring. Well, I guess this must be true because Mac Daddy's Lures has created a new fishing lure that uses gold and diamonds to attract the fish. read more »

Deep Fried SodaEver have cravings for something crispy and sweet and new?

Our Guest Blogger, Andy Bryan, is a recovering anthropologist who lives in the state of Arizona and denial. Asked to write a bit about himself, he responded that he "like orangutans and baklava and orangutans that eat baklava. Sidle up, dear reader, and join me as I transcend mortal categories of interest on this site in a noble search for all things absurd."

Here's his sweet concoction for the readers of AmericanInventorSpot.com:

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Following in the bloated, waddling footsteps of such state fair culinary giants as the pioneering corndog, its multitude of "on-a-stick" brethren, and the myriad of experimentally battered and deep-fried comestibles ranging from Twinkies to Snickers bars, comes what just might be the most revolutionary of carnivalesque cuisine in America so ... read more »

Did you think Thomas Edison was a great inventor? He wasn't.

Our Guest Bloggers, Peter P. Roosen and Tatsuya Nakagawa, are the co-founders of Atomica Creative . Atomica Creative is a strategic product marketing company that has been involved in many successful product launches in North America and Asia in several industries. Roosen and Nakagawa have recently released a book titled "Overcoming Inventoritis - Lessons from Thomas Edison, the world's greatest product marketer". They have some valuable advice that they wanted to share with readers of AmericanInventorSpot.com.

Here's their article:

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There are many stories of inventors who ended up broke, even if their inventions were first class world-beaters. read more »

A brief item crossed news wires Tuesday announcing a Japanese company’s invention of water-powered batteries. The company, Total System Conductors (TSC), says the batteries are as powerful as everyday batteries currently in use and will offer a cheaper alternative to what’s on the market. Plus, they have an unlimited shelf life, unlike common batteries which lose up to 25 percent of their charge per year when stored unused. You could stow a battery in an emergency kit today and use it 50 years from now without consequence.

But are water-powered batteries really new? read more »

Maybe I was a little harsh in my review of the luxury pods , but here's an idea that is truly smart and practical in a home pressed for space. The design team of Melanie Olle & Ilja Oelschlägel has come up with Grandma's Kitchen, a fully functional kitchen area that folds into the wall to look like a minimalist piece of art. read more »

But Just In Case You AreHave you ever gotten so angry, that you wanted to throw something? While you’re playing video games, have you ever gotten so pissed off that you threw your controller across the room? If you have, then you should know that an inventor has recently designed a controller just for this kind of situation; a “throwable” controller, just in case you get angry! read more »

MiFlower

You men out there who want some helpful new hints for turning a woman on have come to the right place. I cannot speak for all, but as a woman I know something about how a man can get me going. In this article I have incorporated some simple new ways using inventive products to get the woman in your life to start looking your way. If your old tricks don't seem to be doing the job, give these new ideas a whirl! read more »

Time Magazine is out with its Best Inventions of 2006.

What made the list?

Put the hypo-allergenic cat outside, get off your floating bed and take a look. read more »

GameRunnerToo busy with that game of Madden to hit the gym? Don't want to miss the Flavor of Love II reunion? Don't worry because modern technology has you covered.

Today's guest blogger, Ed Phillipps, is a freelance journalist based in Pittsburgh, where he writes weekly sports articles for three newspapers. He graduated with highest honors from the Community College of Allegheny County and is currently moving towards a degree in communications from the University of Pittsburgh with the speed of a glacier. Today, Ed lets everyone know you can get some exercise in without leaving your TV.

Here's his article

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With childhood obesity setting new records every year, this was inevitable: video game workouts. Has it come to this? Is this the only way to convince us to drag ourselves off the couch and get a bit of exercise? I'm afraid so. With parents worried about the ever-changing girth of their children and video game companies worried that their consumers --no pun intended-- might actually go outside into the sunlight, we have been blessed with video game and television workouts.

Steorn's marketing campaignFrance is known for its artists, Germany for its conductors, Italy for its opera singers, England for its thespians, and Ireland for its literary giants. Names like James Joyce, Seamus Heaney, Maeve Binchy, and William Butler Yeats roll off the tongue when we discuss that brilliantly contemplative, Guinness-drenched country.

However, Ireland may soon take its place on the world stage as the next scientific wonderland. In the 1990s, it made a name for itself as the technology capital of Western Europe; and now, budding from kernels planted in the era of the Celtic Tiger, is a new discovery that could potentially overhaul everything we think we know about science. Free energy: free energy that breaks the first law of thermodynamics and will turn the world on its head if the rumors are true. read more »

RecyDo you ever wonder what we will be driving in the future? What we will use to fuel our cars? Will we still be using gasoline or is there hope for something cheaper, better, and more environmentally friendly?

 

Yes! There are alternatives and today we can already use some of them. Electricity, solar energy, and even algae are just a few of the many options. The green doesn't just stop at the fuel tank either. Even the exteriors of vehicles are getting green makeovers. Take a look at my list below and see what I mean. read more »