AbsolutelyNew Blog

Mad science has a whole new manual

We just recently discovered Theo Gray’s Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do At Home - But Probably Shouldn't, and we couldn’t wait to share it.

Written by one of our fave Popular Science columnists (Theodore Gray), it’s a collection of pieces guiding you through experiments in which he’s mixed, launched and/or detonated all sorts of things—all in the name of science, of course. Very cool!

So whether you’re into serious chemistry or you simply fantasize about strapping on your safety goggles and joining the Mythbusters folks at work on various inventive creations, we suspect you’re sure to enjoy reading this one. But please, don’t try these at home!

Chia Obama update… and lessons

Update: 

In our last posting, we mentioned the early sales success of the special edition Chia Obama, available in two SKUs: Happy and Determined. We’ve since learned of a major backlash – large numbers of people saying the iconic Chia has demeaned the iconic President – that’s snowballed to the point that Walgreens just removed Chia Obamas from its stores. Walgreens had been the product’s largest retail outlet. Now it remains to be seen how Chia will sell its Chia Obama inventory… and if the buzz sparks a run on sales elsewhere (ie: Amazon & eBay).

And because we’re all about deriving lessons from the marketplace, a few thoughts for inventors:

1. Hook ‘em. Invention success requires a “hook” of some kind to catch people’s attention. In this case, the Chia folks used our new president’s popularity as their hook. Did it work? Well, it certainly garnered attention.

2. Be objective. As you prepare to promote your product, decide upon your general business objective before you decide upon any tactics… and then let the objective drive the tactical choices. If Chia’s objective was to generate overall goodwill, it clearly missed the mark. However if Chia’s goal was simply to get everyone talking about the Chia brand again, it may have been right on.

3. Check yourself. Some say all publicity is good publicity. But we all know that’s not always the case. So as with all key business decisions, as you put together your business objectives and then your tactics, don’t be rash – always take a moment to pause, reflect and really make sure you’ve thought thought your choices before you act on them.

Ridiculous inventions... or not

BusinessWeek recently featured an online slideshow collection of “ridiculous patents” unearthed by website TotallyAbsurd.com. The influential business mag implies that these are bad inventions, that the inventors wasted their time & money... and that they hurt other patent applicants by adding to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office backlog.

Sure, it’s easy to pick on a vest designed with external, Habitrail-like clear tubing so the gerbil enthusiast need not leave home without his or her pet (pictured above, from TotallyAbsurd.com).

Yet we beg to differ with the BusinessWeek editors. Who’s to say what is or isn’t a good invention, or what will or won’t be market success, especially in this era in which a niche product can be a big seller online? Really, how many people could ever have imagined the success of the Hula Hoop? The much maligned but much purchased Snuggie? The Chia Pet (so iconic that it's now selling boatloads of a special-edition Chia Obama)?

If you believe in your idea, people you trust concur that you’re really on to something, and your follow-up research supports it… then go for it! But if your only supporter is your pet gerbil, well, do us all a favor and keep it to yourself please.

Dispatches from Factoryland… Number 3

 

Our heads of Retail and Manufacturing operations hopped a flight from China to Taiwan this week, so they could spend some quality time visiting tool factories and analyzing product samples—critical steps before we launch a number of inventive new items. We’ve already heard from these guys with their recent observations in mainland China and Hong Kong, but here are some new tidbits from the island nation of Taiwan, again courtesy of our own Tom Krysiak:

• Most of the manufacturing companies in Taiwan operate sister companies in mainland China. The Taiwan branches usually do all the heavy engineering work and quality benchmarking, because they have a much higher level of expertise in these areas. Meanwhile actual production is usually handled on mainland China, given the lower assembly costs.

• To make sure you’re comfortable with the operations, you’d be wise to visit all locations that will touch your invention.

• Even when everything looks like it’s tracking nicely, be ready to address new issues. We had a last-minute challenge with one of our new product’s assembly screws, and the team had to roll up its sleeves and make adjustments in order to meet our high quality standards.

• We Americans think we’re great fans of baseball, but the Taiwanese people may have us beat: Taiwan’s $500-bill (worth about US $20) actually has a picture of its national baseball team on it.

Today in invention history

We’re always on the lookout for new tools that can help us with invention – be it to enable product development efforts, to inform market research analysis, or simply to motivate us even more about this space we love so much.

In that last area of motivating, we found and wanted to share a fun tool we discovered on the History Channel’s UK website: a “This Day in History” page. Enter a date (month and day) and it will recap all the monumental things that occurred in history on that date. Today, for example, simply within the world of invention and innovation:

April 14, 1970: The Apollo 13 explosion took place. We’re big fans of the movie, but even bigger fans of the “let’s work the problem” spirit demonstrated by the inventive scientists who rolled up their sleeves, brainstormed, bootstrapped, and ultimately did “invent a way to put a square peg in a round hole” to bring our boys safely back to earth.

April 14, 1927: The first Volvo automobile rolled off the assembly line in Sweden. Years in the making, it wasn’t nearly as safe as the Volvos we all know today, but it lay down a foundation for a new movement in crash-resistant cars. Many a lives have since been saved by Volvo’s boxy inventions.

April 14, 1912: The ill-fated Titanic hit that iceberg. Not the world’s finest hour in invention. Yet the legacy has been of great consequence: it led to extensive efforts to invent more secure vessels, parts and configurations. And it broadened the use of then-breakthrough wireless telegraphy devices for communications and the issuing of distress calls.

We’re already looking forward to looking up more stuff tomorrow. But more importantly, what are you doing to add to today’s inventive history? It’s not too late.

The new door-to-door to Topeka

In our never-ending search for cool inventions, we found one we thought you too might really enjoy: Terrafugia’s Transition “roadable aircraft,” scheduled for initial deliveries in two years.

The Terrafugia folks are quick to point out that their creation is not a flying car, but rather an airplane you can drive on roads. This means when you fly into that small regional airport a few miles away from your ultimate destination (in the outskirts of Topeka, for example), simply take 30 seconds to fold up the wings and then you’re ready to hit the road… and even to hit the nearby Texaco for a refill.

We’re not sure if we should call this sky-driving… but we do know we should call this one VERY COOL invention. So much so that it’s already on our 2011 list for Santa.

And beyond the coolness factor, there are also some great invention lessons to be picked up from how the makers are advancing their Transition. Our three top lessons:

1) The makers studied other flying car designs (kits that sold but handfuls of units) that have been around for decades, and mapped out a business plan to one-up them all. Among the ways they’re driving – couldn’t resist – to do so: working closely with the FAA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, because they recognize that they’ll only be commercially successful if they earn OKs from the government agencies overseeing aircraft and vehicle operations. You too should work to identify your greatest obstacles early so you can work to proactively address them head-on.

2) The Terrafugia team made a thoughtful decision to NOT market to car drivers who will see the Transition's $200,000 price tag as high. Instead, they’re marketing to prospective small plane owners who will see the price as a bargain compared to a new Cessna, Piper or other light aircraft. The lesson: determine what target segment will best serve you (it’s not always the biggest group of people), and then frame your invention so it is most appealing to that target.

3) Also on the marketing front, the makers are playing up the fact that their invention enables a door-to-door solution like no other – because currently small plane owners landing at regional airports need to arrange separate transport from the airport to their end destination, adding cost and complexity to any trip. It’s best to have one primary message for your marketing, but secondary points like this one can be your door-to-door solution to securing purchase orders or a sweet licensing agreement.

BTW, the above photos are courtesy of the Terrafugia website.

Exploding Atari attire

Our industrial designers, engineers and animators often work with “exploded” images of inventions – images that depict an inventive product broken wide open in order to show the many different components of it, highlight key pieces and/or clarify how parts fit together during manufacturing.

We also think exploded images look cool. Really, REALLY cool!

So when we came across a t-shirt (a super-soft, made in the USA American Apparel shirt, no less) featuring a partially exploded Atari game console of our youth, we were tickled. And we just had to share it here. Enjoy!