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It tell you what inspires inventors for them to build something.

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What inspires the inventors of today's most popular, unique, and sometimes outrageous products may be surprising. Many inventors talk about childhood as being the inspiration behind their unique inventions, while others may be inspired by experiences later in life. Whatever the inspiration may be, the inventors below have brought their unique ideas into the forefront and have added some interesting and creative items to our world. The following five inventions are just a few examples of innovative inspiration that took off.
1. The Not-So-Silliness of Silly Bandz

Any parent of an elementary school child, tween, or teenager has probably come across the elastic silicone bracelets known as Silly Bandz, which are colorful bracelets shaped like everything from fish to hearts to dinosaurs. Kids from all over the world are obsessed with Silly Bandz and are making their inventor, Robert Croak, a fortune. The Toledo businessman was inspired by a cute rubber band he came across at a product show in China, invented by a Japanese artist. Since then, the bracelet's sales have taken off, selling millions of Silly Bandz. And with virtually no advertising except for word-of-mouth promotion through the Internet.

Silly Bandz are affordable, at about $5 for a pack of 24, and are so popular that they have even been banned from some schools across the country for being too distracting. However, Silly Bandz keep getting bigger and bigger. How big? It is rumored that Macy's may add a Silly Bandz float to its 2010 Thanksgiving Day parade.
2. The EnergyHub Dashboard - The Smart Thermostat That Talks to Your Appliances
Seth Frader-Thompson had a "green" inspiration while driving his energy-efficient hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius. The Prius features a dashboard screen that shows current gas mileage so drivers can keep an eye on efficiency. Frader-Thompson wondered why houses didn't have a similar gauge to keep track of household energy use. This inspiration led to the EnergyHub Dashboard, a device that gathers efficiency info from a house's furnace, air conditioner, light bulbs, alarm clock, etc., and reveals how much electricity or gas each appliance is using and how much it costs.

Not only does the EnergyHub help homeowners keep track of their electricity and gas consumption by revealing usage; it can also be used to turn appliances on and off, and adjust the thermostat. Frader-Thompson's invention has been named one of the "best new gadgets" and "breakthrough ideas of the year" by Time Magazine. Not bad for an inventor who was inspired by driving his car!
3. Dyson Does It Again - The Bladeless Fan
The father of vacuum inspiration and invention, James Dyson, has done it again. Best known as the inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, Dyson had another inspiration last year that evolved into the bladeless, non-buffeting Air Multiplier, otherwise known as a bladeless fan. The inspiration for this latest Dyson invention came from the work his company did when it created its Airblade hand-dryer, a device that blows a thin stream of air at 400 miles per hour in order to get water off of one's hands, three years ago,

The Air Multiplier works similarly to the Airblade by moving the fans blades into the stand and directing air through the fan's ring, creating a continuous stream of cool air. This new device is safer than conventional fans because it is bladeless and it promises to be 15 times more efficient than the standard fan.
4. Beer Pong as Inspiration?
Many inventors have credited childhood games as inspirations for later inventions, but beer pong? This popular college drinking game inspired Andy Wright and Mike Johnson to invent a triangular rubber mat that helps keep plastic cups of beer from falling over and wasting beer during the game.

Marketing the mats through their online company, Bottle Cap Technologies, the Northwestern University graduates join a wave of young inventors who have been inspired by the popular drinking game in which teams take turns trying to toss ping pong balls into an opposing team's beer cups. Tossing balls at partially-filled beer cups naturally resulted in a lot of spillage. Until Johnson and Wright's beer pong mat, that is.
5. Last, But Certainly Not Least - The Snuggie
If you have a television, you've probably seen the quirky infomercial for the Snuggie. Millions of Snuggies have been sold across the country, and the popular blanket with sleeves has been seen on the television shows Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and even Oprah.

What inspired Snuggie creator Scott Boilen, President and CEO of Allstar Marketing Group? Boilen has admitted that the Snuggie was not an entirely original idea, and he may not have been inspired by a cold night in college, which fellow inventor Gary Clegg claimed gave him his idea for his "Slanket" 10 years prior to Snuggie's appearance on the infomercial world. However, one difference that made the Village Voice declare 2009 "The Year of the Snuggie" was the creative infomercials, in which Snuggie owners are dancing, watching sports games, and simply having fun in their Snuggie attire.

The popular Snuggie product has expanded to not only fit adults, but children and even pets, and has even inspired Snuggie Pub Crawls in Cincinnati and Chicago, in which more than 2,000 people bar-hop through their respective downtown areas in Snuggies. And the inspiration doesn't stop there; a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000 fans at a Cleveland Cavaliers game set the Guinness World Record this year for the largest gathering of people wearing fleece blankets when the spectators all wore Snuggies at the "Cavs Snuggie Night."

Are You Inspired?

If you're ready to patent your inspired invention, LegalZoom can help. Check out our patent information page to get started on your patent.

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invention innovation: what inspires inventors?

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Invention Innovation: What Inspires Inventors?

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What inspires the inventors of today's most popular, unique, and sometimes outrageous products may be surprising. Many inventors talk about childhood as being the inspiration behind their unique inventions, while others may be inspired by experiences later in life.

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It tells that you need to study mathematics and electricity has math it also has some schools it shows you that are great for that stuff.

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t tells you that master welders can create something like inventing.

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A thing of beauty is a joy forever. And around our Saturday Mechanic shop, beauty often takes the form of a perfectly laid welding bead--one that looks like a tall stack of dimes laid on its side. Okay, welding has some practical aspects, too. Your world, as a tinkerer and fabricator, fundamentally changes when you can permanently fasten two pieces of steel together in seconds. Sure, it takes years of experience to perfect the craft, and an investment in welding equipment. But don't let the cost intimidate you. For most backyard projects, top-level welders aren't necessary. A consumer-grade welder costs only a few hundred dollars. A better machine lasts longer and has a longer duty cycle, too. But unless you plan on welding a safety cage for your race car, an expensive welder is overkill. A good setup (with accessories and protective gear) costs around $500 and lets you weld mild steel up to 1/4 in. thick.

The first project most new welders tackle is predictable--you need a shop cart to hold that new welder and warehouse the accessories. Our cart took only a few hours to complete. It has a rack along the back for C-clamps, a couple of coat hooks for hanging helmets and wiring, and an upper deck to hold a plasma cutter. The design is simple, so you can customize it for your own needs. Expand on these simple techniques to make patio furniture, repair bicycle frames or build that junkyard sculpture that's been rattling around in your head for years.

So what's the best way to learn welding skills? Sign up for a course at a community college or vo-tech school. You'll learn proper safety procedures, have access to different types of welding machines and get plenty of practice. As you become more skillful, you'll want to tackle more ambitious projects. Have fun--make something beautiful and sturdy.

The Equipment

The Art of Puddle Control

Before you weld two pieces of metal it's important to tack them. Tacks (series of small welds) hold the workpieces together, ensuring they won't warp as you weld. But the one fundamental skill in welding is puddle control. Welding uses a heat source to melt the edge of both workpieces and a filler rod into one molten puddle. Then you simply march the puddle along the seam. It sounds simple, but welding is a delicate dance between heat, filler rod and puddle control.

The Steps

Featured Welding Process

Inexpensive wire-feed machines use a spool of hollow, flux-cored wire that feeds out automatically. Originally developed for welding outdoors at windy construction sites, wire-feed welding is ideal for beginners trying to complete projects around the house.

Other Types of Welding

Instead of a consumable electrode, which conducts current and melts into the metal, a TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) machine has a nonconsumable tungsten electrode to strike the arc and establish the puddle of molten metal. A separate filler rod, held in the welder's other hand, is added to fill the puddle.

Use a solid-core filler wire, surround it with an inert gas like argon or CO2, and your wire-feed welder becomes a MIG machine (Metal Inert Gas). It leaves a cleaner, slag-free weld and can be used on stainless steel or aluminum.

A flux-coated metal electrode that melts into the puddle and fills the bead is faster for welding thicker pieces. But stick welding is overkill for a lot of household projects, and it takes practice to do it well.

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Master Basic Welding Skills: A Step-By-Step Guide

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A thing of beauty is a joy forever. And around our Saturday Mechanic shop, beauty often takes the form of a perfectly laid welding bead--one that looks like a tall stack of dimes laid on its side. Okay, welding has some practical aspects, too.

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t tells you to be creative for your project.

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t tell's you that you need to record your ideas in what they call lab notebook.

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Vincent LoTempio | Registered Patent Attorney, Trademark, and Copyright | 1-800-866-0039

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So you are an inventor with a new invention, what next?

Inventors usually have a questions like: Should I get a prototype? Do I need to have a patent to protect the idea? Who can I speak about it to? Is it a good idea? Can I make money from it? Who can I trust? Is there some great blueprint I can use to follow? Is it possible to get a manufacturer to make the product for me and pay me a royalty?

Many inventors come to me with their ideas but don't know what to do about it. I tell them that I do not want to encourage them or discourage them however ideas don't usually sell themselves. It takes many things to sell the idea. In order to take a product from the idea stage to the store it is necessary to learn what it will take to manufacture, market and distribute the product.

There's a good checklist described as the ABCs of inventing in . I think this list is a good starting point and should be thought of as the "Inventors 10 Commandments":

1) Stay away from invention marketing companies that advertise on radio and late night TV.

2) Keep good records about your idea...some day they may be the back up you need to prove YOUR idea is YOURS! (Lab notebook)

3) Do your own patent search online at the USPTO or at a Patent Depository Library.

4) Build a model.

5) Have your invention evaluated by a non-biased professional (even if your Mom's in the business, go to someone else!).The nonprofit United Inventors Association offers an excellent invention evaluation.

6) Read all you can about new product development. Go to your local book store or library . . . others have gone before you. Don't reinvent the wheel.

7) Network with other inventors. Join a local inventors' organization.

Who can I trust? What do I do next? How do I find the help I need?

8) If your patent search looked promising (see #3), make an appointment with a patent attorney, patent agent or professional patent searcher. Show him the results of your search and follow the advice.

9) Do what you do well and hire pros to do the rest.

10) Don't fall in love with your invention, but if you're sure you've got a winner (see #5), hang in there!

These are all great points and should be taken into consideration. One thing inventors should understand is that it's a long way to . Anything that is worth it may take a lot of blood, sweat and tears to be a success. The ancient Chinese Confucius said, "A journey of a thousand miles starts from the very first step."

Remember the inventor's first step is coming up with the idea. There are many more steps that need to be completed in order to bring a product to market.

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Ten things an inventor should do when they come up with a new idea

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So you are an inventor with a new invention, what next? Inventors usually have a questions like: Should I get a prototype? Do I need to have a patent to protect the idea? Who can I speak about it to? Is it a good idea? Can I make money from it?