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August 17, 2005

Things You Never Knew Were Patented

About a month ago, we reported USPTO Museum Opens at New Headquarters. However, there was little more than a press release at that time. Now, the USPTO has a website, which gives some more detail. For example: "Visitors to the museum realize, as they view the exhibit, that they experience inventions and trademarks every day without stopping to think of their origins."

Some examples of inventions at the museum can be found in A museum whose time has come and include the toothbrush, the TiVo, the hair dryer, the skateboard, the Slinky, washing machines, the leather basketball, and the Apple computer. However, the "invention" that was most surprising to me was the supermarket. Believe it or not, the supermarket was patented in 1917. For more on the story behind US Patent 1,242,872, check out the article that discusses the exhibit in the USPTO museum: New museum details start of supermarket.

Posted by Melody Wirz at 04:35 PM.
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