If you can’t be a famous Blogger, you might as well become a well-known Inventor, right? I come from a long line of innovative Idea People. In fact my great, great grandmother was the first person to cook her stuffing INSIDE the turkey at Thanksgiving. You can thank her for having one less pot to wash each year.
But every time I come up with something mega clever, I Google it and sure enough, someone has already beaten me to it. And with wild success, I might add. Are there no more original ideas left?
Complaining to my attorney friend (who always has a runny nose and never any tissues) that I can’t afford to patent or register/trademark my ingenuity, he told me all I need do is write down my idea, mail it to myself through the U.S. postal service and save the unopened envelope. He then sneezed and wiped it on his sleeve. Eww. I wrote down, “Man’s necktie made out of handkerchief material,” sent it off and when it arrived, I stuck it unopened in my sock drawer. Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeasy! (I invented that phrase, by the way.)
Before I get to my sock drawer day in court, here are some of the other inventions I’ve had and the people who’ve ruined them.
1. Prego Poetry: The first time I was “with child,” I decided it would be nifty to market a book of poetry, specifically designed for reciting to a woman’s pregnant abdomen. The book came with a special microphone that brought the words straight to the ears of the developing baby as it was held up like a reverse stethoscope to the mother’s tummy. There were calming and self-esteem enhancing rhymes like, “Dear baby fetus, we can’t wait till you meet us!” or “We hope you’ll be kind, smart and cuter than us, when you decide to emerge from the uterus.” This invention backfired when my ex-husband reported that all his sports-nut buddies used the uterine mic to shout football scores into their wive’s stomaches, startling all the unborn babies, and thus defeating the purpose.
2. The Tush Cush: When my twins began to toddle around on our hardwood floors, I noticed their little bottoms became bruised from falling down so much. Of course this led to a cute animal-shaped pillow that velcroed onto the rear of baby’s little rompers. It was my fantasy to sell the Tush Cush to a company called Osh Kosh to softly pad every child’s rear end across America. I could just see my face plastered in every Sear’s catalogue. Then my 2nd ex husband pointed out that a competitor came up with something brilliant that would pull the rug right out from under me. It was called, “Carpet.”
3. Embracelets: After scratching my daughter on the face with my crystal bangle during a snuggling session, the idea of soft velvet jewelry shields was born. To protect children during hugs. I called these covers, “Embracelets” and though they were kinda ugly, they slipped easily over your wrist to guard against sharp bling. My mother smiled smugly and said simply, “Of course you could just invent removable jewelry.” Darn her!
4. The Zoom Room Broom! A ride-on toy that vacuums as the child scoots it across the floor. Phenomenal! “Aren’t baby’s afraid of vacuum noise?” my nosy girlfriend Tiffany asked, luckily before I spent hundreds on prototypes. I then switched to the “Crawl-a-Mop” but as you can see below….
5. It’s High Time You Climb! This was a portable staircase that could hook up to a changing table or a crib so if you had a bad back, you needn’t lift a heavy baby. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but by the time a child can climb stairs, wouldn’t he be using a toilet and sleeping in a regular bed?” asked some know-it-all teacher at my kid’s preschool.
6. The Teddy Placenta – – A cute bear to cuddle with. Nobody wanted to part with their baby’s precious placenta — they were all saving it for some silly cord blood banking gimmick.
7. The No Crawl In the Stall, Hang From The Wall Shawl – – What holds your baby when you need to pee in a public restroom? (Certainly you don’t want them crawling on that dirty floor!) A shawl with a large pouch that hangs on the bathroom stall’s purse hook, that’s what! Okay, so there were a few liability issues.
8. The Why You Cry? — An electronic gadget that analyzed baby’s screams and could tell you if he was hungry, tired or sick. Instead it kept reporting, “Nothing is wrong. It’s just your genetics!”
Then came my crowning glory. I knew this one would make millions!
9. The Activi-Tee – – a blouse for new mothers which had toys, rattles, buttons, and colorful spinning wheels sewn on the front. New mothers wear it to keep their infants busy when they have to sit on their laps for long periods of time, like at a doctor’s office or the DMV (because us moms always have to go to the DMV, don’t we?) or anytime you need to keep them occupied.
I made a sample shirt, gave it to my friend Tiffany (she’s obnoxious but gorgeous!) to wear one morning when she lost her childcare and had to bring her baby to the office. She told me the shirt worked okay, but might need a little work. Next thing I know, there’s a big advertisement in a parenting magazine for MY shirt. It’s MINE. They changed the name to “Busy Bee Tee,” but we all know what’s going down here, don’t we??
I file a lawsuit and rush down to small claim’s court with my sock drawer full of envelopes, triumphantly waving them in front of the judge’s nose (which is runny, btw) as he puts on his glasses and begins to peruse my claim to fame.
Oh yeah. And I bring Tiffany as my eyewitness.
Judge Herb ItAllBefore asks the plagiarizer/thief, defendant, where she was when she first conceived of this tee-shirt idea. She states, “The DMV.” I snort loudly. Right, like how many moms frequent the DMV?
“It seems the plaintiff is a little mixed up in these matters,” says Judge Herb, wrinkling his brow while holding up my envelopes. “The idea is not to open your self-addressed stamped envelope, read the contents and then write yourself a flattering letter back, complementing your clever idea.”
“I was lonely that day,” I defended. “Haven’t you ever laughed at your own jokes?”
“That’s different. I’m funny.” He frowns. “In this letter here, you even remind yourself to buy more postage stamps and orange juice. And in this letter here, you’ve mailed yourself the Serenity Prayer.” He sneezes – – it comes out sounding like “Fruitcake.”
I wisely decide not to offer him my necktie made out of a handkerchief.
Will HER Endeavor Ever Be As Clever? Never!!
He then asks to see my prototype, which Tiffany had the good sense to wear. She models it, flaunting her well-proportioned body in front of the cute bailiff.
“I’m sorry,” Judge Herb says, “But I think the defendant has built a better mousetrap.” I shudder because I hate rodents.
“But your Honor,” I interrupt. “All she did was reinvent the wheel.”
“Well, at least she didn’t sew two colorful, spinning wheels right over her friend’s nipples!” he points and everyone stares. I look at Tiffany, still parading around the courtroom and she mouths, “Told you it needed some work.”
“I’ve made my decision,” he says firmly, raising his gavel. “You’re a nut who has conversations with yourself via the U.S. Postal Service. You’re menopausal and probably having a mid-life crisis. And you went through all of this just to get some good blogging material, didn’t you??”
“Guilty as charged,” I say as I log onto WordPress and begin to furiously type. Who wants to be an inventor?? I’m gonna be a famous blogger….
So that’s my story. What ideas have YOU had that might get you on Shark Tank??
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Hahahaha liability issues be darned!! I love the “The No Crawl In the Stall, Hang From The Wall Shawl” I’d buy one in a heartbeat.
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I seldom read an entire post. (I don’t even read my own crap.) but this was darn funny! The judge’s fruitcake sneeze. DMV references, “it’s called carpet.” Lol. So many funny lines. Thanks for the laugh!
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That is so completely flattering. Thank you so much! I WAS actually afraid that the word count would put people off and I was going to leave some of my inventions off. Thank you for taking your valuable time!
Stephanie
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Prego Poetry needs to happen.
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Right? I thought women needed that! Thank you.
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LOL… my best friend is a mom and I tell her she has to invent that next big mommy/baby thing, get rich quick, and take me to Italy with her. “The Zoom Room Broom!” is my favorite- gives off that Harry Potter vibe while allowing for multi-tasking, productivity, endless fun. I have been looking for a similar contraption that will allow me to suction cat hair without scaring the cats.. although I doubt they’ll want anything at all to do with it.
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lol about the cat hair. I’ve seen youtube video with cats enjoying being vacuumed! Not gonna happen at your house, sounds like?
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They are scaredy cats … No pun intended.
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I love the ‘Zoom Room Broom’ idea. You need a bigger brain Stephanie, Yours must be stuffed full to bursting with all your ideas! Perhaps you could invent something……
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I really appreciate the bigger brain remark! My head is crammed full of so much stuff, I walk around constantly overwhelmed. I really have tried to invent things (prototypes and everything) but I think I am missing the Logic Gene!
hugs to you,
Steph
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Ha Ha! Well what you lack in logic you more than make up for in wit! Hugs back!
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The tush-cush, aw! But does everyone have carpets? XD
How are you saving these witty blog-o-creations from theft?
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Well I put them “out there” for anyone to take now by writing this blog, didn’t I? Actually some of these are over ten years old and I think I have seen a vacuum that a kid can use as a ride-on toy somewhere now. But what can I do? I either have to commit to becoming an inventor full time or just dabble in it and keep getting beaten out by the competition. Thank you Timi.
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Do you have an idea or invention for a new product? Well Jane Doe didn’t, but she stole and submitted one of Stephanie Lewis’s original ideas for the “Activi-Tee Blouse” to Wham-o—makers of “Hula Hoop” and “Slip-and-Slide. Stephanie Lewis came up with the original idea and Jane reaped the huge financial reward. Jane’s success is not typical of most non-inventors, but Stephanie’s misfortune is. If you’ve stolen an idea from Stephanie and would like to patent and submit it to Wham-o—call now!
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LOL! Are you now actually soliciting people to steal my 15 minutes of Fame? You’re too much. That’ll cost ya….about 60 seconds. 😉
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Would I do that? I don’t know if I can spare 60 seconds Stephanie. :o)
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I cannot believe that someone as stunning as you are with such talent for writing could possibly be even more amazing… But you have proved it here with these must have brilliant inventions… Big applause here…. Ohhh let’s go patent an automatic applause pocket size machine for every time you walk into a room… Bowing out now xx
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Oh my goodness Ms. TT – – how I’ve missed you recently. That is the most swoon worthy comment I’ve ever received. Thank you and I’m cracking up with the pocket size applause meter idea . . . let’s start by designing one for a Back pocket and we’ll just fly by the seat of our pants with the rest! 😉
hugs,
Steph
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Can you please invent something to suck the XXXX out of a day, and send it to me yesterday so that I could have used it today! Thanks in anticipation.
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lol….I followed THAT!
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Let me get this right. On the Tush Cush, your face will be staring at the kid’s behind. That’s kind of scary, don’t you think?
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i’ve been thinking about this for days trying to figure out how you arrived at this conclusion??
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You said that your face would be plastered in every Sear’s catalogue. I figured that since you were selling the Tushies in the Sears catalog, they would have to have your face on them. Creators don’t usually have their faces in the catalogue unless it’s on the product.
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Ohhhhhhhhhhh! Now I’m getting it. See, I knew you’d not only make me understand but make me crack up too. Haha!!
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I’m just saying that you gotta be careful what products you put your face on.
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Boy, no respect are you getting for these obviously brilliant ideas! People just don’t know how much they’re missing not taking you seriously….you’re just a trendsetter ahead of her time! I think this might be my favourite post you’ve ever written. I laughed all the way through!
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Really??? I thrive on your approval so thank you!!
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Goes both ways, you know! And yes, I loved this one best of all the ones I carry in my (very dilapidated) short-term memory….
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Dilapidated–ha! You and me both. I Forget you might be somewhere around where that symptom starts because your avatar is so early 20’s!
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Hah! I had no idea that’s what my avatar was saying…perhaps I will have to figure a way to get a cane or hearing aid on there with him……
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Lol…. Hip replacement more subtle!
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🙂
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Well I still think the No Crawl In The Stall idea is genius. Have you sent it into Shark Tank yet?
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Sending it now…. You’re my new partner on this. I filled out the forms, Fran and Amy.
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Okay, sounds good to me. Just tell me where to be when!
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Neccesity may be the mother of invention, but inventing a necessity is a mother. 🙂 very funny post!
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Or mothers invent things for attention!
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That was some list of inventions. I think you are on the verge of a break through or something. Lemon Squeazey . . . I like that. Perhaps the Johnny walker vac, a devise that the child sits it and walks around with a vacuum under neath and with today’s noise reduction technology it just might work. Another you may enjoy is a stroller that you harness your dog to and you can walk the dog, stroll the child all in one. Wonderfully funny story.
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Isn’t Johnny Walker a Brand of Scotch? Can we work liquor into the invention? 😉 I think you meant Johnny Jumper, but I still love ya.
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LOL, definitely can work that into the invention. In fact it could be part of the planning. ; )
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You do never cease to amaze! Hang From The Wall Shawl? Would definitely work as long as you have a Tush Cush on the floor, just in case. You also reminded me of a visit to the DMV with my then 8 month old first born…it was ugly. Five Thumbs Up for you today Bunkie!
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Thank you — I was desperately trying to redeem myself with you from all the phone sex talk!!
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Ha, ha, haaaaaaaaaaaa! What the foccacia did I say?
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I felt I disappointed you.
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NO! Not at all…all the good comments were taken, silly goose.
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I am kidding with you but only halfway? Ever been partly teased? Seriously that was one of my lowest liked posts so I think I offended a lot of people and I would be very upset if one of them was you so I had to check!! Still blogmates till the death??
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ABSOLUTELY! But you go first and blog about it. Little Miss M’s Inferno? Heaven, Can’t Wait? Once Upon A Cloud?
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You. Are. Brilliant!
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But see only you can recognize that my friend. That says A LOT about you!! 😉 (Thank you as always!)
Stephanie
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Absolutely. It takes one to know one! 😉
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