If you’re working on an invention idea or product improvement, studying how everyday products changed can help you spot opportunities, refine features, and create a more practical solution.

Where do some inventors get the inspiration they need in order to revolutionize a product? The simple answer would be nature. Nature has solved most of the problems we face with evolution over the years. While most products change many times between concept and production, occasionally a product makes it all the way to market before it’s changed, looking nothing like the original product. These are just a few examples of how some items we now know and love had a bit of a rocky (and sometimes dangerous) start.

THE PLAYPEN

You’ve probably seen a photo like the one above depicting a toddler sitting in a cage hanging from a window. This cage is attached to an apartment window in the city, with only a few wires and handles keeping the cage secure. Baby cages were a way to give babies fresh air in the city without making parents (gasp!) take their kids outside. Eventually, however, safety concerns caused the baby cage to lose popularity. The concept was retooled to use wood instead of metal, have a soft floor, and (thankfully) only be used on the ground. These versions are still in use today, now called playpens.

THE TOASTER

As long as there’s been fire, there have been people cooking over it. Toasting items over flames has remained a popular pastime–if the enduring legacy of toast is anything to go by. Originally, toast was made by placing bread on long forks and holding it over an open flame or grill. The first electric toaster would place the bread against a heating mechanism on one side, requiring the cook to manually turn it once it reached the desired doneness. It wasn’t until the early 20^th century that a toaster was developed that toasted both sides of the bread at the same time.

PLAY-DOH

The popular molding dough for kids was originally marketed with the slogan “Good, Clean Fun!” This is no accident. Play-Doh began life as Kutol Products’ wallpaper cleaner: a mixture of water, salt, and flour. Cleo and Noah McVicker first introduced the cleaner in 1933 and Cleo’s son Joseph saw how students were using the compound as modeling clay in 1955. The following year, Rainbow Crafts (a subsidiary of Kutol) was established with their trademark product, Play-Doh.

THE VACUUM

Imagine a vacuum so large it required a horse-drawn wagon to move. This was the reality with the 19^th century’s first “portable” vacuum. Unlike its predecessors, which were powered by hand, this behemoth used a motor and gasoline. A truly portable vacuum was introduced in the 20^th century, once again powered by hand. These units were soon electrified by James Spangler, with disposable filter bags following in time. Bags and the traditional upright, cylindrical design wouldn’t last long, however. Now we don’t even need to manually operate our vacuums. The Roomba can find the mess and clean it up without human interaction–until it’s time to empty it.

THE FRISBEE

A favorite of college kids and beach-going families alike, the Frisbee wasn’t always the flying disc we use each summer. The disc itself was invented in 1871 by William Frisbie, owner of the Frisbie Pie Company. Students at the university nearby would throw the empty pie tins, yelling “Frisbie!” to warn others to catch it. Wham-O, the same company behind the Hula Hoop, later rebranded their existing Flying Saucer toy to “Frisbee,” an homage (albeit misspelled) of the pie company’s name.

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Previously stuffing thick rags under their hats, football players began sporting leather helmets in the 1940s.  But, as competitors began to run faster, throw farther and hit harder… they needed some sturdier dome protection.

High school football coach John Riddell is credited with inventing the first plastic helmet in 1939, although it was not widely accepted until the early ’50s.  Riddell’s plastic protector was lined with a web and an air cushion for added hit-absorption.  His helmet was such a success, he left coaching to pursue the manufacturing business; today, you can find Riddell’s name on 90% of NFL players’ heads!

About a decade after Riddell’s hard-headed invention, the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment deemed the “webbed” helmets unsafe and padding was incorporated into the design.  Further absorbing a lineman’s tough tackle, foam was added around the jaw and ears of helmet interiors.

In the 1970s, long before Reebok came out with their Pumps, the helmet was air-infused.  Because they had been “one size fits all,” some players’ heads were rattling around inside, while other players were cramped in their helmets.  With the added air-filled pads, players could pump or remove air from their helmets for a snug fit.

Further advancing the helmet’s protective capabilities, manufacturers have taken it to the next level.  The latest innovation to the protective headgear includes electronic devices with diagnostic capabilities.  These high-tech helmets can instantly read the length and severity of a hit… in some cases, before a player even notices an injury!

So, as you’re tuning in this weekend – look away from your fantasy football stats for a moment and take a look at the protective headgear your favorite players are sporting!

Information for this article, thanks to http://www.livestrong.com/article/341058-the-history-of-the-nfl-helmet/ and http://www.livestrong.com/article/351862-football-helmet-safety-improvements/.

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As summer winds down and temperatures begin to cool, we’d like to take a minute to recognize one of America’s favorite summer pastimes, the game of golf.  After all, August is National Golf Month, so why not take a minute to “drive” home a few of the game’s firsts?

We begin with the origin of the game itself, which actually was about as hard to track down as playing 18 holes on a PGA championship course!  However, it seems the modern version of the game began in 15th-century Scotland.   In fact, history shows the first written record of the game was actually a document outlawing it!

So, what did 15th century golfers whack around?  Well, at first, pebbles (OUCH!).  Next up, were thin leather bags, stuffed with feathers – which made a hole in one impossible!  Finally, in 1858, Reverend Adam Paterson was credited with making a “gutta-percha” ball from tree sap that could fly about 225 yards.  Enhancing Paterson’s invention and the distance the ball would travel, Coburn Haskell introduced a rubber-cored ball in 1898 that soared to an impressive 430 yards.  The ball’s dimpled pattern was added in 1905 by William Taylor and well, that pretty much brings them up to modern speed!

The earliest golf clubs were wooden and are attributed to Scottish makers Tom Morris and Willie Park.  Just before the 20th century, Thomas Horsburgh, a blacksmith, began experimenting with steel-shafted clubs.  After that, club-makers used graphite and titanium to craft clubs.

While we’re not too sure how golfers originally toted their clubs around, golf bags came into use in the 1880s and Merlin Halvorson is credited with inventing the first cart in 1962.

Last, but not least, as we certainly wouldn’t want to “tee” anyone off, in 1889, Scottish golfers William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas patented the first portable golf tee.  Percy Ellis was granted a Brittish patent just three years later for his “Perfectum” tee, made of rubber and metal.  The cup-shape was added to the top of the tee and patented by PM Matthews in 1897.  Americans Prosper Senat and George Grant also received patents for various tee improvements.

If your weekend round is rained out, learn more about the history of golf and other inventors who helped improve the tools of the trade at http://www.golf-club-revue.com/golf-club-history.html and http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/golf.htm.

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And, chew sticks must have worked fairly well, as the bristle toothbrush, similar to what we use today, did not come along until June 26, 1498, when a Chinese inventor attached coarse hog hair to bone and bamboo handles.  An Englishman, William Addis, is credited with first mass-producing the toothbrush around 1780. 

Although, we think we’d prefer the “twig” model, boar bristles were actually used until 1938.  At that time, a French company, Dupont de Nemours, introduced “Doctor West’s Miracle Toothbrush,” which utilized nylon bristles. 

What may be even harder to believe than using tree branches and hogs hair to promote dental hygiene, is that although American, H. N. Wadsworth, patented a toothbrush in 1857 and American companies began mass-producing toothbrushes around 1885, many Americans didn’t use them until influenced by the increased hygiene habits World War II soldiers brought back from the battlefield!

Swiss inventors introduced the first electric toothbrush in 1939; an American company, Squibb, marketed their electric Broxodent in 1960; quickly following, General Electric introduced a rechargeable cordless toothbrush in 1961.  Finally, in 1987, Interplak, an electric rotary-action toothbrush, was marketed for home use. 

Although it may have taken a while to catch on, most Americans agree, the toothbrush is one invention they cannot live without!

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While most of us are familiar with recent developments in the telephone industry, and may even carry the latest iPhone, Droid or Blackberry models, it is likely that few may know where these gadgets got their roots and just how far they’ve come through the years.

Over a century ago, in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell uttered the first words over what he called his “electrical speech machine.” Those words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you,” traveled only to his assistant who was working in the next room, but now resonate world-wide. Today, deemed National Telephone Day, we pause, if only momentarily, from sending those texts, updating our social media statuses or just checking news headlines, to recognize Bell’s legendary invention and how, with the help of many other inventors along the way, it has become so “smart!”

As the world reveled at the telephone’s initial capabilities, Bell went to work on several other inventions, including a flying machine and metal detector, to name just a couple. However, it didn’t take long for his electrical speech machine to evolve. Ten years after Bell patented his telephone, the first long-distance line was installed – it ran from New York to Philadelphia! Quickly following, William Gray invented the first pay phone, which was also installed in the U.S. Northeast.

While it may not be considered the first “picture message,” the first photograph was electronically transmitted in 1921. Bell’s invention went world-wide in 1935 when the first international call was placed. Mobile telephone service can be traced back to 1946, and originally linked vehicles to telephone networks through their radios; however, Martin Cooper, a British inventor, is credited with designing the first mobile phone in the 1970s. Caller ID originated in the 1980s, when faxing also gained popularity.

Advancing and evolving the mobile phone industry, 2G, or “second generation” service was introduced in the 1990s and allowed users to send SMS communications or text messages. The 2000s ushered in 3G service and, with that, the mobile internet craze. Today, 4G networks allow users to enjoy their fastest service yet.

So, over a century later and with the help of many talented inventors along the way, what’s next for Bell’s electrical speech machine? To 5G and beyond!

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