With the Christmas countdown clock ticking, we felt it would be appropriate to highlight the inventions that have had the most significant impact on the holiday season.

The Artificial Christmas tree

First on our list is the artificial Christmas tree. Artificial trees have been around for a pretty long time; brought to America by German settlers in the early 1800’s. Those trees used to be table-top size, made of goose feathers dyed green. It wasn’t long before Americans began the floor to ceiling Christmas tree concept. Although it’s unclear who invented the first artificial Christmas tree, what we can tell you is that Sears, Roebuck & Company began offering the first artificial trees to the public in 1883. Plastic trees became more popular in the 1930’s, most of them being produced in factories where toilet brushes were made (you knew that material seemed familiar). Today, artificial trees have come a long way; they are now made of fire retardant material and heavy-duty steel frames, some even rotate and have LED lighting.

The Oven

Ovens have been in various forms for thousands of years. For most of that time, the oven’s heat was supplied burning wood. It was not until the 1920’s that electric ovens became popular in America. The first patent for an electric oven was granted in 1896 to William Hadaway who is also credited with designing the first Westinghouse toaster.

The Can Opener

The idea of storing food in tin cans dates back to the early 1800’s. However, it was not until 50 years later in 1858 when Ezra J. Warner invented the first US can opener. Prior to this invention, people would use a hammer and chisel to pry the lids off of cans, which were made of iron and almost 3/16’s of an inch thick (about the thickness of two quarters pressed tougher). The general public didn’t fully accept this product until after the civil war when soldiers returned home who were using the can openers in the field of battle. By this time, cans were being made from much thinner steel, and can openers were becoming more ergonomic. Without the can opener, you would be using a hammer and chisel to crack open that can of cranberry sauce for this year’s holiday meal.

From our team a Davison, we wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

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As the celebration of Black History Month is coming to a close, we wanted to place the spotlight on three contemporary African American inventors whose inventions have left their mark on society.

While we already featured famous historic African American inventors in our first installment, today we’re focusing on Lonnie G. Johnson, Dr. Patricia Bath and “King of Pop” Michael Jackson.

Let’s get started.

Lonnie G. Johnson

Every kid can thank Lonnie G. Johnson for maximizing their fun during a summer water fight. This former Senior Systems Engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who worked on the Galileo Mission to Jupiter, might be best known for his popular invention, the Super Soaker squirt gun – the most coveted piece of water-fight equipment. In just two years after being invented, it’s reported that Johnson’s money-making machine soaked in more than $200 million in sales! But, besides his success on the market, Johnson also holds more than 80 patents with over 20 additional pending patents.

Dr. Patricia Bath

As an internationally-recognized ophthalmologist and surgeon, Dr. Patricia Bath can be credited for her invention of the laser-powered Laserphaco Probe. This invention has given physicians the ability to vaporize cataracts in the matter of minutes. Additionally, Dr. Bath has committed her life’s work to find solutions to the ongoing problem of blindness in African Americans. Thanks to Dr. Bath’s invention, people can see clearly now!

Michael Jackson

Speaking of clearly seeing the man in mirror, we can thank the “King of Pop” for inventing some of the catchiest songs, but we can also thank him for his invention of the Anti-Gravity Shoe. In 1993, Jackson received a patent for this invention that would create an anti-gravity illusion. The invention helped the person wearing the shoes to lean forward beyond the center of gravity by way of a specially-designed heel slot. This slot was attached to the stage by a nail or a post. The person wearing the shoe would slide their foot forward and engage with the post to perform gravity-defying leans.

Check them out!

Though Black History Month is quickly coming to a close, we can thank these three contemporary African American inventors for their innovative contributions to society!

Copyright Davison, 2016

Source:

http://madamenoire.com/106958/contemporary-african-americans-inventors/

Images:

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http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/inventors/images/bath.jpg

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You’ve likely dreamed of one day being mentioned in the same breath as some of the most famous and prolific inventors. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, (insert your name) and Albert Einstein.

Just imagine the sense of accomplishment you’d feel if your invention changed the world as we know it.

It’s an immense feeling to try and wrap your mind around the thought that the idea that’s stowed away in the archives of your imagination could one day change not only your life, but also the lives of many.

Today is National Innovation Day, a day that’s meant to celebrate and encourage children and young people to be creative and innovative.

But, at Davison, we believe that this day is not just geared towards the young minds of society, but to all the creative minds both young and old.

Innovation knows no age and every day lends itself the opportunity to explore our creativity and ingenuity.

Since it’s National Innovation Day, we wanted to examine some of the most famous quotes about innovation to help inspire the aspiring inventors out there.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

Inventions are solutions to problems. In today’s society, conformity can often be a creativity killer. That’s why innovation can be used as leverage to catapult your ideas ahead of the pack. However, it takes determination, patience and willingness to bend to one day turn your dreams into reality and to set yourself apart as a leader, not a follower.

“There are no dreams too large, no innovation unimaginable, and no frontiers beyond our reach.” – John S. Herrington

Sometimes, we let our minds be our biggest boundary. We confine our dreams and innovation into the thought process that our dreams are far-fetched or that we don’t have the tools or skills to turn what’s in our imagination into a full-fledged working product. So, today, on National Innovation Day, make it a point to break down your own barriers and allow yourself the chance to chase after your dreams and believe in your innovative ability. Because if you don’t, you aren’t only hurting yourself, you’re hurting those whose lives could potentially be changed because of your invention.

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” – Theodore Levitt

The invention process involves a series of cogs that, when working together, give momentum to the wheel. That’s why this quote is so poignant. First, you must have the creativity to think of new ideas. From there, that creativity is paired with innovation to extract that idea from your imagination and recreate it in reality. When working on your invention idea, just remember that creativity and innovation go hand-in-hand when bringing your dream to fruition.

Today, on National Innovation Day, take some time to read over these quotes and really think to yourself how these pieces of wisdom can motivate you on your inventing journey.

Copyright Davison, 2016

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At Davison, we treat every day like it’s National Inventors’ Day! Keep reading to learn more about this celebration!

This isn’t your average day. Why? Because it’s National Inventors’ Day – a day that’s reserved to recognizing the great contributions of our nation’s inventors, both past and present!

But, beyond a day to celebrate these idea people, February 11 is also Thomas Edison’s birthday. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan reserved this day to honor Edison’s birthday in “recognition of the enormous contribution inventors make to the nation and world.”

If you want to recognize National Inventors’ Day, we’ve outlined three simple ways to celebrate!

Keep tinkering

Inventions don’t come to fruition overnight. It takes trial and error and with those mishaps and redos comes the need for patience! Keep trying, keep researching and working hard and never give up! If you give up now, you’ll never know how close you were to making your dreams a reality! Who knows, you could be the mind behind the world’s next great invention!

Keep thinking

Ideas are always swirling around our heads. That’s why it’s up to us to listen to our thoughts and capture those ideas from our mind and put them onto paper. Whether it’s a napkin, a piece of scratch paper or even written in the palm of your hand, if you have an idea, don’t let it pass! Keep track of your ideas and nurture them with your thoughts and actions. An invention idea takes time and is much like a flower; give it some TLC and it could flourish into something beautiful!

Keep searching

Inventions are created as a solution to problems. Keep this in mind when you’re trying to develop your invention idea. Ask yourself:

• Are there more people out there who are struggling with this same problem?
• Can this idea help others?
• How will this idea help people?

If you have an idea for an invention, never give up on it. Take your time and treat your journey like a staircase and move step-by-step. Some days you can go up the staircase and others you might have to go backwards. No matter what the case, keep searching for the idea that inspires you and that will help others in the long run. Investigate every idea you have, no matter how big or how small it may be!

If you have an invention idea, submit yours, today!

Copyright Davison, 2016

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At Davison, idea people are at the forefront of our success. As we celebrate Black History Month, we commemorate three African American inventors who changed history. Without their inventions, our lives would be drastically different today. Learn about the fascinating lives and inventions of these idea people!

George Washington Carver

Best known for his idea that revolutionized agriculture in the south, George Washington Carver ultimately transformed the economy. In the late 1800s, this botany student at the Iowa Agricultural College was recruited by Booker T. Washington to join the Tuskegee Institute’s Agricultural School, where Carver would discover and share his new agricultural technique.

Carver found that growing cotton year after year exhausted soil of its nutrients. To end this vicious cycle, Carver planted cotton one year and soil-enriching peanuts or sweet potatoes the next. Southern farmers gave his method a chance and reaped the benefits. Because of Carver’s innovative method, the soil was of better quality and the farmers were able to feed their livestock with the surplus of peanuts.

Carver also famously developed more than 300 ways to use peanuts, some of which were cooking oil, hand lotion and even ink!

Madam C.J. Walker

It was hair loss that inspired this innovative inventor to find a better way. Madam Walker’s story dates back to the 1890s when she began suffering from hair loss, a very common occurrence at this time in history. To find a solution to this ongoing problem, Madam Walker began conducting her own experiments and after some time, she created her formula that she dubbed, “Madam C.J. Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower.” Once her invention was completed, she hit the road and made her rounds throughout the country spreading the word about her hair care tips and products for African American women. It was her knowledge, determination and self-promotional expertise that made Madam Walker one of the first self-made female millionaires in America!

Lewis Howard Latimer

Latimer is best known for his lightbulb moment that occurred when he worked with famous inventor Hiram Maxim at the U.S. Electric Lighting Company. In 1881, Latimer received a patent for a carbon filament for the incandescent lightbulb. It was this invention that shed light on a better way to make electric lighting not only more practical, but also affordable for the average household as well!

Now, these were three historic African American inventors. Check back in the coming weeks when we spotlight contemporary inventors!

Copyright Davison, 2016

Sources:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/inventors/index.htm

Images:

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Lewis_latimer.jpg

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Today is Make Your Dreams Come True Day!

We’ve all dreamed about a life where we’re living out our passion. In this life, we set goals for ourselves and work hard to achieve and exceed them, all the while enjoying the ride.

Life is an adventure and our dreams are the compass that leads us down a certain path. Dreams motivate us and encourage us to sometimes take the road less traveled.

In celebration of Make Your Dreams Come True Day, we wanted to help you make your dreams come true with the help of these three easy steps:

Get started

If you continue to dream about what could be, they’ll stay just that – dreams. The first step in making your dreams a reality is to get started. You don’t have to jump feet-first into action, rather, take your time and do your research. Test the waters and see where the stream takes you.

Get inspired

Inspiration leads us to do things that we’ve always dreamed of, but never had the courage to do. Take the time to talk with someone who inspires you. Tell them about your dreams and aspirations and exchange ideas on how you can turn those dreams into a reality. Sometimes, it helps to bounce ideas off of another person in order to really see where your vision can take you.

Get working

“Dreams don’t work unless you do.” In order for your dreams to become a reality, you have to work at them. One way to do so is to write them down. This exercise moves your dream from your imagination and onto paper to validate and make your aspirations concrete. Once you’ve seen your dream in front of you, it’s time to plan and brainstorm the course of action you’ll take to make it a reality. Create projects, set deadlines and treat your dream chasing like a job!

Though these three tips can’t guarantee that your dreams will become a reality, they can help put you on the right path toward your goal.

If you’re ready to chase after your invention dream – you can submit your idea, today!

Copyright Davison, 2016

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As another year is almost in the books and we head into a brand new year, now is the perfect time to prepare yourself to chase after your dreams.

Today, we want to share with you three tips to help you begin the New Year with a new attitude to hopefully help you, once and for all, make your dreams a reality.

Here are three tips to set a New Year’s resolution, keep it and never give up!

1. Slow and steady – If you want to chase after your dreams, don’t resolve to try and change everything all at once. Rather, set smaller, more attainable goals. Don’t set goals that set you up for failure. Be sure to make your resolutions attainable. When you set smaller goals and continually cross them off your list when completed, you’ll be more motivated to continue to reach for the stars and your overarching goal. Sooner rather than later, you’ll likely reach your main resolution.
2. Be confident – Have confidence in yourself and your goal. When setting a New Year’s resolution, it’s important to believe in yourself. Though in the previous tip we encouraged you to make resolutions that are attainable, we don’t mean that you should ever sell yourself short. If you believe in yourself and your abilities, then there is nothing that can get in your way and no goal is too big. As the popular saying goes, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
3. Be adventurous ­– “Life begins outside of your comfort zone.” There’s no better time than at the beginning of a new year to write down the goals that you want to reach in that 12-month period. As a new year begins, so too does a clean slate. Soon, you’ll have 365 new chances to turn your dreams into reality. Promise yourself in 2016 that you’ll take the risk for something that you believe in and you know will make a difference in not only in your life, but also the lives of others.

So as 2015 is quickly coming to a close and 2016 is on the horizon, why not make this year the year that you pursue your invention idea? If this is your New Year’s resolution, don’t wait for 2016 to arrive. Submit your invention idea today!

Copyright Davison, 2015

Image:

http://happyholidays2016.com/wp-content/uploads/New-Year-2016-01.jpg

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Pursuing your invention dream is much like a rollercoaster. It’s filled with ups and downs, as well as twists and turns. With that being said, there are different parts of the process where you’ll be traveling at high speeds and others when it feels like you’re slowly climbing up a hill.

It’s the latter point where we’d like to mention that today is actually National Look on the Bright Side Day! Each year on this day, people are urged to look on the bright side of things.

So, we decided to help you, the person who is working towards making their dreams a reality, with some motivational tips on how to look on the bright side of the invention process when things might not be going as you’d expected!

Three ways to look on the bright side:

Remove “can’t” from your vocabulary.

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

Just like we mentioned in our blog that offered you tips on how to tune out skeptics, apply those tips plus a positive attitude to avoid “can’t” from your vocabulary. A defeatist attitude will get you about as far as a car without an engine.

Be grateful.

“Be grateful for small things, big things, and everything in between.”

There are times when looking at the bright side of things can seem out of the realm of possibility. However, it’s important to take a step back and concentrate on what you do have, rather than what you don’t have. For instance, if your journey to reaching your goals isn’t as going as smoothly or as fast as you’d like, realize that you are on the path and are working towards making your dreams a reality one way or another.

It’s OK to make mistakes.

“Your past mistakes are meant to guide you, not define you.”

Remember, no one is perfect. Rather than looking at the negative aspects of a mistake that you’ve made, look at the bright side of that mistake and use it as a lesson moving forward. Stop dwelling on the negatives and start focusing on the positives. If life was perfect, would you be inventing a product that solved a problem? With that being said, use mistakes as learning lessons and move forward, don’t look back.

So today, on National Look on the Bright Side Day, we challenge you to look on the bright side of a negative situation and use it to your advantage. Because after all, “Why be negative when you can be positive?”

Copyright Davison, 2015

Image:

http://calendarholidays.xyz/uploads/Look-on-the-Bright-Side-Day.jpg

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Tomorrow, people all over the United States will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day! In the spirit of giving, we thought that we’d share with you three Thanksgiving inventions!

Ideas come in all shapes and sizes and work to solve a myriad of problems. These three Thanksgiving invention patents were created to solve holiday problems that you never knew existed.

Without further ado, we introduce to you, three Thanksgiving inventions:

Pumpkin Powder – Though it doesn’t sound very appetizing, the invention of pumpkin powder in 1897 was created with the idea of mashing the edible substance of a pumpkin, squash or sweet potato into powder or meal form. From there, this powdery substance could then be combined with water or milk to make pies without having to be cooked before baking.

Pie Filling Device – To build on the latter pie idea, this Thanksgiving invention from 1986 was created to fill pie shells with a fluid filling within a hot oven, via a pumping apparatus. The Pie Filling Device was invented to help alleviate the problem of having to fill pie shells while they are cooking in the oven.

Automatic Mashed Potato System – This more recent Thanksgiving invention idea from 2007 was created in an effort to solve the problem of the time-consuming, inconsistent conventional potato-mashing process. The Automatic Mashed Potato System works in a way that the potatoes would be fed through a unit in the upper cavity of the product that would then pass through a seasoning unit onto a removable collection tray where the seasoned mashed potatoes would collect. From there you can say “voila!” because you’ve just made a batch of mashed potatoes to serve to your friends and family on Thanksgiving Day!

Now that you’ve seen these three Thanksgiving inventions and the problems they look to solve, do you think you’d use any of these for preparing your Thanksgiving Day feast?

From all of us at Davison, we’d like to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Copyright Davison, 2015

Source:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/11/9-wild-inventions-that-modernized-thanksgiving/383189/

Images:

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Three of our creative Directors of New Products here at Davison channeled their innovative and inventive spirits to create a costume that won them the award for Best Group Costume.

Lara, Laurie Ann, and Katelynn went above and beyond to tie in their costumes to our company! As you can see in the picture below, the group dressed as a piñata + a cupcake + Peter PAN and the result was the Piñata Cupcake Pan – get it?

“We all had such a great time putting these three costumes together. We worked really hard on them during our lunch breaks throughout the week, leading up to the very last minute! Laurie Ann is so creative and is always thinking outside of the box! We couldn’t have done it without her! Katelynn came up with the idea initially and we just built on it from there. We were so excited to win and even if we didn’t win a thing, the look on Mr. D’s face was rewarding enough! “said Lara.

This sweet costume was inspired by the Mrs. Fields Bake N Stuff Cupcake pan, a product that our friends over at Inventionland designed for the Love Cooking Company. Before airing on QVC, this innovative baking product was repackaged as the Piñata Cupcake Pan!

“We had so much fun with our costumes! Katelynn and Lara were troopers working so hard during lunchtime with all of my bossiness. I agree with Lara that seeing the look on Mr. Davison’s face was priceless. The hardest part was maneuvering around in a giant cupcake,” said Laurie Ann.

Just like the Piñata Cupcake Pan made an impression on QVC viewers, so too did this costume on the judges!

“This is the third Halloween party that I’ve attended to date at Inventionland and I must admit this year was the best! Laurie Ann is so creative in the way she put together the concept of the ‘Pinata Cupcake Pan’! It was so much fun getting to work together and bring the idea to life. The look on everyone’s faces was well worth the embarrassment of walking around as a Pinata! I’m excited about next year’s challenge and, who knows, maybe it will be another costume inspired by a great product!” exclaimed Katelynn.

We must admit that this costume was pretty sweet! Congratulations Lara, Laurie Ann and Katelynn for a job well done!

Copyright Davison, 2015

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