Fun Facts from Everyday Edisons

Everyday, human beings deal with problems. Inventors see problems and their minds click into action to seek a solution.

For example, Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals because he hated wearing two pairs of glasses.

Everyday Edisons, the award winning PBS series, documents this problem solving process by closely following inventors as they develop an invention. For the past couple of years, I've had the privilege of participating in the casting calls for Everyday Edisons. What a privilege it is to hear from people across the country who have inventive minds.

The program developers know that inventors find inspiration in hearing about other inventors. Not only have they created an awesome television program, they also have a newsletter that includes inventor updates and casting calls.

Here are a few fun facts I gleaned from the most recent newsletter:

Melting ice cream inspired the invention of the outboard motor. It was a lovely August day and Ole Evinrude was rowing his boat to his favorite island picnic spot. As he rowed, he watched his ice cream melt and wished he had a faster way to get to the island. At that moment, the idea for the outboard motor was born!

The Band-Aid was invented by a Johnson & Johnson employee whose wife had cut herself. Earl Dickson's wife was rather accident prone, so he set out to develop a bandage that she could apply without help. He placed a small piece of gauze in the center of a small piece of surgical tape, and what we know today as the Band-Aid band-aid was born!

My favorite invention story is one that I think epitomizes the thinking of so many inventors, that is the desire to make the world a better place:

British-born Tim Berners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web, but he never made a cent on this invention which revolutionized the computer world. In 1989, he envisioned a way to link documents on the Internet using "hypertext" so "surfers" could jump from one document to another through highlighted words. Berners-Lee decided not to patent his technology because he feared that if he did, use of the Web would be too expensive and would therefore not become used worldwide. He passed up a fortune so the world could learn and communicate.

To learn more about inventors, tune into Everyday Edisons AND go to their website and subscribe to the newsletter.