Ideas Looking For A Twist

After describing my typical work day in a recent Blog, a friend remarked how exciting it must be looking at a thousand new ideas every month.  It is exciting to see a new invention idea in its infancy, but not all of the ideas are new.

There are several ideas that I see over and over and over again.  It’s not the client’s fault.  They identify a problem, come up with a reasonable solution and nothing like it is on the market.  The problem is the idea might have multiple patents that were manufactured and introduced to the public, but weren’t strong enough sellers to stay on the market.  The following is a list of seemingly good invention ideas that I see several times a week that just never seem to go anywhere.

LOCATING DEVICE

People must lose a lot of things.  I have seen invention ideas to locate lost remote controls, pacifiers, jewelry, pets and children.  Some of the ideas incorporate GPS technology so that the lost item can be tracked while it’s being lost.

TOILET EXHAUST SYSTEM

Many inventors must do their best thinking while “on the throne” as they say.  Why is there an exhaust fan in the ceiling pulling the foul odors from the commode through the room to ceiling before being exhausted?   So the obvious answer is to collect the odors near the toilet by means of an exhaust around the rim or the toilet seat.

ALL-IN-ONE TOOTHBRUSH AND PASTE

The idea is a quality toothbrush with toothpaste stored in the handle that can be pumped up through the bristles for brushing.  Some inventors envision the idea as a new dental system, while some look at it for travel purposes.  Different dentifrices have been tried but nothing has become a big seller yet.

BAR-B-CUE SAUCE

It seems like there’s a lot of backyard chefs who have made a Bar-B-Cue Sauce to rival those being sold by Kraft, Heinz and the rest.  Representing a food product is tough because the recipe should be kept as a trade secret.  The best advice is to enter cook-off contests, win a bunch of gold medals, get a restaurant to use the sauce and have the restaurant sell the sauce to their patrons.  You will have a better chance with a positive track record.

BACK SCRATCHER, MASSAGER AND APPLICATOR

Everyone has a back and it will eventually need scratched, massaged or have sun-screen applied when there’s no one around.  I have seen some very good inventions for this purpose but for some reason nothing catches on with the public.  Why?  I wish I knew.  The invention idea seems like a good one.  That’s probably the reason that I see it so often.

It is not my intention to halt anyone’s creative juices.  Eventually, someone will add a new twist to one of these ideas and make a million dollars.  I hope it will be you.