Inventing Fun, Facts & Trivia
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Famous People and their
Not-So-Famous Inventions!
- Abraham Lincoln,
congressman from Illinois, received Patent No. 6,469
for "A Device for Buoying Vessels over Shoals."
The idea of the invention was that
if a ship ran aground in shallow waters,
the bellows would be filled with air,
and the vessel, thus buoyed, would float clear.
The model Lincoln whittled can be seen
at the Smithsonian's National Museum in Washington.
- Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens)
received Patent No. 121,992
for "An Improvement in Adjustable and Detachable Straps for Garments."
He later received two more patents:
one for a self-pasting scrapbook
and one for a game to help players remember important historical dates.
- Harry Houdini,
the magician, received Patent No. 1,370,316
for a "Diver's Suit" enabling the wearer
to "quickly divest himself of the suit while being submerged
and to safely escape and reach the surface of the water."
- Paul Revere
invented a process for cold rolling copper.
The unpatented process was used to make the plates
for the boilers of one of Robert Fulton's steamships.
- Daniel Webster
invented a "bull plow" to pull out tree stumps.
It didn't catch on because it was huge
and required four oxen to pull it!
- George Washington Carver
is well known for his agricultural research with peanuts.
None of his breakthroughs were patentable
but he did receive one patent;
it was for a new cosmetic for women.
- Jacques Cousteau
helped invent the aqualung which allowed divers
to remain in the depths of the sea for extended periods.
- Hedy Lamar,
actress, was the co-inventor of a classified communication system
especially suitable for submarines.
- Lawrence Welk,
band leader, patented the design of a fast food container
that was decorated with musical figures and notes.
- Lillian Russell,
actress in the 1890s, designed and patented a dresser trunk,
the type that was used for extended travel such as ocean voyages.
- Edie Adams,
singer/comedienne, patented a cigar holder-ring
which she used in TV ads for Muriel cigars in the 1960s.
It was designed to show women that it was ladylike to smoke cigars.
- Danny Kaye,
comedian and actor, patented a "blow-out" party favor.
Unlike the traditional "blow-out" favor
that unfurled straight out,
Kaye's unfurled in three directions.
- Jamie Lee Curtis,
actress, patented a diaper that has a pocket to hold moistened towelettes.
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