The Stuff of Genius
Every invention starts out as an idea, and it only takes a bit of genius to make it a reality.

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Imagine that you are a student with an invention fair coming up. What are you going to invent? According to this article… Never miss another call with your Bra Pocket …inspiration came as a boy watched a girl: “I saw her (Kayla) pull her phone out of her bra and I thought it would be [...]

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Let’s start by acknowledging that war is bad. People die, buildings are destroyed, stuff blows up and burns. But if you are going to have a war, is it possible to control the damage? Is it possible to kill only the bad guys without harming nearby civilians? Is it possible to destroy one building and [...]

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The Spark Plugs used in an internal combustion engine have been nearly unchanged since the beginning. The design is very simple – a high-voltage spark jumps a tiny gap and this spark ignites gasoline. Spark plugs are a relatively cheap, reliable way to get the job done. But spark plugs are not perfect, so now [...]

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There are few inventions as simple, yet as ubiquitous and iconic, as the Bunsen burner. Bunsen’s invention is nearly synonymous with chemistry, and this year the inventor is 200 years old: How many other inventions have had that kind of longevity, carry the inventor’s name and are still in widespread use? The Geiger counter comes [...]

Imagine that you are an inventor. You have been working for six months on your latest, greatest creation. You run to your spouse and shout, “Honey, I’ve done it! Come watch!” And your spouse sees this demonstration: It is amazing and cool. Also mysterious – how can the thing pick up mayonnaise like it is [...]

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Anyone who has ever played with Hot Wheel cars knows that there are two staples in the track layout arena: There is the loop, and there is the jump. At the Indy 500 this year, they are scaling the jump up to real life: World-Record Jump Attempt Set for Indianapolis 500 A dedicated crew of [...]

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When I look at this, I see the stuff of genius. The inventor has taken an etch-a-sketch (a toy for drawing) and reconceptualized it as a display with some of the same characteristics as electronic ink. Here it is used as a clock, but it could easily be used for lots of other display ideas. [...]

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Everyone has computers. Most everyone has used Amazon or a service like it to buy products with a computer. But buying something from Amazon is NOTHING like buying something from a knowledgeable salesperson in a store. How to fix this? By applying the Stuff of Genius to the online sales process and completely rethinking how [...]

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Sometimes you look at an idea, and you know that it is the Stuff of Genius because the idea is so elegant. That is definitely the case with the Haptica watch for blind people. This short video explains how watches for the blind currently work: The idea of touching fragile watch hands sounds ridiculous right [...]

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Sometimes, after we have looked at something in a certain way for a really long time, we cannot see it any other way. Then someone with the stuff of genius comes along and reconceptualizes it and we say, “why didn’t I think of that!” Such is the case with the conventional four-stroke internal combustion engine. [...]

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