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Category: Invention Geek Answers

Invention Geek – Smiley Face?

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Question from Corra L:
I am always seeing those yellow smiley face images and I was wondering who designed the graphic? Was it ever trademarked?
– Corra

Hello Corra. Those smiley face images are on everything from t-shirts to ads.

Smiley FaceThe yellow circle with eyes and a smile that can be seen almost everywhere was designed by a freelance artist for State Mutual Life Assurance in 1963. The company had merged with another insurance company and employee morale was low. In order to improve feelings among the employees, Harvey Ball was asked to create a smiley face to be used on company buttons, letterheads and posters.

Ball designed the smiley face in ten minutes and received forty-five dollars for his work. He never tried to sell, trademark or profit from his logo. The graphic fell into the public domain.

Then in 1970, the graphic was made popular by two brothers, Murray and Bernard Spain. Bernard drew the smiley face and Murray added the phrase “Have a happy day.” The brothers trademarked their new graphic and began producing products from T-shirts to cookie jars with the smiley. The smiley face and these products quickly became a fad. By 1972, more than 50 million smiley face buttons had been produced.

Murray and Bernard Spain greatly profited from this trend. The original designer of the smiley did not. He never received any monetary rewards from the design beyond the original forty-five dollar paycheck.

Invention Geek – Shrinky Dinks?

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Question from Cassie:
Happy New Year, Geek! I thought of this one over the Holiday. My daughter received a bunch of Shrinky Dink kits – I used to love them when I was little too (couldn’t believe they’re still around, either)! Anyway, I was wondering if there was a patent on these? They’re so unique I figured there must be…
– Cassie

Hello Cassie. I also loved those when I was little. They always seemed so magical.

Shrinky Dinks were invented as part of a Cub Scout project. In 1973, Betty Morris and Kathryn Bloomberg developed the craft with their sons. The first Shrinky Dinks were sold October 17, 1973 at the Brookfield Square Shopping Mall in Brookfield Wisconsin.

Despite seeming so amazing, there is actually no patent on the toy. The plastic sheets that shrink while getting thicker are actually polystyrene. This is the same polymer as recycled plastic #6. The manufacturing of polystyrene heats and rolls the polymer into thin sheets which are rapidly cooled. When the plastic Shrinky Dink sheets are put in the oven the heat cause the material to return to its original form. Matter and mass are not lost so the material shrinks in length and width and grows in thickness.

Polystyrene is a readily available and widely produced plastic so no patent could be filed for the magical Shrinky Dink toy. This doesn’t make the craft any less wondrous to watch as a child.

Invention Geek – Hershey’s Kisses?

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Question from Steph:
Seasons Greetings, Geek!
I was wondering: does the Hershey’s Kiss design have a patent on it? It’s such an iconic little piece of candy, I thought it probably should. But, I couldn’t find anything about it myself.
I figured you could help!
Thanks
– Steph

Great question, Steph!

Actually, there are no patents on Hershey’s Kisses although they have received three different trademarks over a 76-year period.

First, that unmistakable paper plume waving from the top of each kiss was trademarked in 1924 – three years after a machine for automated wrapping and insertion of the slip of paper was introduced.

Then, in 1976, the foil wrapper for the kiss was trademarked.

Surprisingly, the word “Kiss” itself was not trademarked until 2001 – finally awarding Hershey exclusive rights to calling a chocolate drop a “kiss.” This is because back in 1907, when the chocolate treat was introduced, many companies offered candy kisses. Generic flavored kisses included Cocoanut Kisses, Molasses Kisses and Nut Kisses which could be made by anyone. Commercially produced kisses available at the time included Moonlight Kisses, Elfin Kisses, and Heckerman’s Lucky Kisses – along with Hershey’s variety, of course.

With the name ‘kiss’ as synonymous with practically any bite size candy, Hershey was unable to trademark the term for years because it was viewed as too generic. It was only in 2001 that Hershey’s lawyers won a long court battle based on the fact that by this time any candy called a kiss referred to Hershey’s Kisses. The United States Patent and Trademark office issued Trademark Registration Number 2416701 to the Hershey Company on January 2, 2001.
You can view the trademark here.

Invention Geek – Wire-Nuts?

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Question from Phil D.:
I was replacing a light and my wife asked me who invented the “wire nuts” used to connect wires together. Do you know who invented them and when?

Thank you for the excellent question, Phil.

“Wire-Nut” is actually a registered trademark of Ideal Industries. Ideal Industries patented their plastic connector on January 22, 1963. They received patent 3,075,028 for a connector assembly. Their patent was for a cap connector made of a thermoplasitc. You can view the patent here.

Twist-on wire connectors were produced as early as the 1920’s. These original connectors were made of porcelain and did not contain an inner spring. In the 1930’s, Bakelite connectors began to appear. In the 1940’s inner springs were added. Over the years, many wire combinations have been introduced as well.

Today though, when one refers to a Wire-Nut, they are referring to the something similar to the product introduced by Ideal Industries in the 1960’s

Invention Geek – Invention of Stethoscope ?

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Question from Cassie K.:
I was watching Antiques Roadshow and some expert was talking about old medical devices. He said the stethoscope was invented by a doctor who felt embarrassed listening directly to a woman’s heartbeat by pressing his ear to her chest, which was how they did that at the time. Out of respect he took a rolled up tube of paper and listened to her heartbeat that way… and it evolved from there.
Is that really true?

Dear Cassie,

The invention of the stethoscopes is one of those rare legends that is, in fact, true!

An early drawing of Laennec's original stethoscope.

An early drawing of Laennec's original stethoscope.

The stethoscope was invented in 1816 by Frech Physician Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec. The method of listening to ones heartbeat at the time involved placing an ear directly on the patient’s chest. Laennec found himself uncomfortable examining a female patient using this method.

Remembering a trick from childhood, he rolled up sheets off paper into a cylinder. He placed one end on the woman’s chest and the other end at his ear. He quickly discovered that the sound of the patient’s hearbeat was loud and clear through the tube.

Laennec named his new device the stethoscope, from stethos (chest), and skopos (examination).

Laennec’s original invention didn’t look much different than a rolled up tube of paper. More “modern looking,” flexible-tube stethoscopes would begin to surface later in the 1850’s.

Invention Geek – Invention of Prosthetic Limbs?

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Question from Jamie W.:
Hi Geek!! I have a medical invention question for you: I remember reading somewhere of solid prosthetic limbs made out of wood being used as far back as B.C. time. Is that true? And, can you tell me when one was invented that incorporated movement and acted more like a “real” limb?

In a very primitive form, prosthetic limbs have been in use since as far back as 500 B.C. The earliest written reference to a fake limb is from around 500 B.C. A prisoner escaped by cutting off his own foot and then attached a wooden replacement. The oldest proof of a prosthetic limb which dates from 300 B.C was found in Capri, Italy. In 1858, a copper and wooden leg was found.

Real advancements in prosthetics were not made until the early part of the 16th century. A French military doctor, Ambroise Paré invented a hinged mechanical hand and prosthetic legs that had locking knees and harness for attaching. Around 1690, Pieter Verduyn, a Dutch surgeon developed a leg prosthesis with specialized hinges and a cuff for attaching to the body. The features designed by these two man are still part of many modern prosthetics.

Invention Geek – Daylight Savings Time?

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Question from Corra S.:
Who should I thank for the inconvenience of changing my clocks back an hour every fall?

Benjamin Franklin is often wrongly credited as the inventor of Daylight Savings Time. In a satirical essay “Turkey versus Eagle, McCauley is my Beagle.” Franklin suggested that people get up earlier in the summer to take advantage of the sunlight. He did not mention changing the clocks.

Modern daylight savings time was first proposed by a New Zealander named George Vernon Hudson. His shift-work gave him time to collect insects and taught him about the value of after-work daylight hours. In 1895, he wrote a paper presenting a two-hour daylight saving shift. Many people were interested in his idea and he wrote another paper on the subject in 1898.

So when you have to change all of your clocks, you can thank George Vernon Hudson.

Invention Geek – Edison Spirit Phone?

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Question from Christine G.:
I think the inventions where people try to explore “the other side” are pretty interesting – whether they’re a hoax or real or whatever – I just get a kick out of what different people come up with.

Anyway, I was googling around on the subject online, and I found some stuff about “spirit boxes” that ‘supposedly’ allow people to pick up voices from ghosts through some modified radio. I thought this was a new idea, but then I saw something where it said Edison was the first one to try to come up with something like that? Did he really?

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween to you, Christine! And thanks for the timely question!

You’re right about the ‘interesting’ ideas some people come up with, otherworldly or otherwise. As for your question about Thomas Edison’s involvement with the paranormal, specifically a means to “speak to the dead”:

The idea that Thomas Edison was working on a spirit phone began with an interview he gave to B.C. Forbes for American Magazine in 1920. The article stated that Edison was working on a device that would allow him to communicate with the dead. The magazine included a picture of Edison working in his lab with the caption -“Thomas A. Edison – the world’s foremost inventor who is now at work on an apparatus designed to place psychical research on a scientific basis.” A misquote supposedly from the article was often published: “if we can evolve an instrument so delicate as to be affected by our personality as it survives in the next life, such an instrument, when made available, ought to record something.”

In 1926, Edison claimed in a New York Times article that interview was a hoax. “…I really had nothing to tell him, but I hated to disappoint him so I thought up this story about communicating with spirits, but it was all a joke.”

No patents were ever filed on such a device by Edison. No notes, drawings or prototype for such a device was ever found. So although no one knows for sure, Edison probably never worked on a spirit phone or any other invention to communicate with the dead.

Invention Geek – Howard Hughes?

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Question from Caycee L.:
I was watching that movie “The Aviator” about Howard Hughes. It looks like he was really smart, and he definitely did a lot for the aviation world, but also alot of his inventions failed. Do you know how many of his inventions received patents?

Howard Hughes formed the Hughes Aircraft Corporation to pursue his interest in aviation. Hughes Aircraft has 6054 U.S. patents.

The basis of Howard Hughes’ fortune was patents held by his father Howard Hughes Sr. On August 10, 1909, Howard Hughes Sr. was granted U.S. Patent 930,758 and U.S. Patent 930,759 for a two-cone roller bit. His bit allowed for drilling for oil in previously inaccessible places

Howard Hughes Jr.’s father passed away when he was only 18 and he acquired 75% of the Hughes Tool Company. Hughes took this inheritance worth one million dollars and turned into a two billion dollar fortune thanks in part to patent rights.

Invention Geek – Most Patented Invention?

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Question from Caycee L.:
I know not all patents are original inventions and some of them are like different versions or solutions for the same task. I was wondering, is there a way to tell what the most patented invention is? Like what item has been invented/reinvented/improved the most?
That would be a neat piece of trivia.
Thanks for listening :)

There are numerous inventions that have been patented in different forms over the years. The one that seems to have been reinvented and patented the most though is the mousetrap. The United States Patent Office has issued over 4,400 patents for different types of mousetraps. 95% of these patents have been issued to amateur inventors. About forty new mousetrap patents are issued every year and ten times that many are denied.

Of all the patents issued for mousetrap, only about twenty have made any money. The most successful of these patents was Patent Number 744,379 issued to John Mast on November 17, 1903 for an animal-trap. This patent was the basis for the Victor mousetrap still manufactured today.

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