Viewing monthly archive for January 2010

So it’s nearly the end of Cranberry January – how are those New Year’s Resolutions coming along?  Managed to keep that lock on the cookie jar, and kept up a regular attendance down the gym?  Or are you getting a bit sick and tired of scantily clad celebrities leaping about in lycra, endorsing their latest weight loss video?

This inventor has devised a far simpler solution to help you blast away those Christmas puds – a fork with a timer.  No, it doesn’t give you 2 minutes to scoff as much as you can!  It trains you to take time between mouthfuls to allow your body to realise that it is actually full, and you really don’t need that extra carrot stick…or chocolate profiterole!  US5421089 Fork with Timer (Dubus).

Attempting to beat the World Record for the biggest snowman, but struggling to find lumps of coal for the eyes and a carrot for the nose?  This inventor has devised a kit of parts to accessorise any mound of snow, and turn it into Mr Frosty.  Your snowman will be ‘Walking in the Air’ in no time.  US5380237 Snowman Accessory Kit (Kenyon).

The train’s cancelled, the car’s buried in the snow, yet somehow your employer expects you to make it into work.  Well this inventor might just have the answer.  Wear your skis to cope with those icy pavements, and rig yourself up to a ‘one-man locomotion apparatus’.  And no, that doesn’t involve Kylie!  Designed to be used on snow, ice and water, perhaps you’ll be able to travel ‘as the crow flies’, and take that shortcut across the Thames.  US4189019 Propulsion Support Unit (Zech).

So, we’re in the middle of yet another ‘Big Freeze’.   Schools are closed, trains and planes are cancelled, and it feels like a Bank Holiday!  Wrap up warm and venture out into Winter Wonderland.  And while you’re at it, why not take one of these useful bits of kit with you.  This invention lets you make the ultimate snowball, compacting the snow for extra durability during flight.  US4859167 Snowball Maker (Maerz).