• Question: how do you find the inspiration to come up with new inventions, or how to improve on previous ones??

    Asked by cookjaemie to Hermine on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Hermine Schnetler

      Hermine Schnetler answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hmm, a very interesting question and also one of my passions. There are methods that you can use to stimulate yourself to be more creative. Typically, to come up with some new invention it normally starts with som problem that you would like to solve. So if you use something like the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving that you can use the structured approached to breakdown and understand your problem, then you can start thinking of solutions. Inventing is a bit like writing a book or planning and making art.

      Here is a challenge for you: How many other uses can you think of to use a PAPERCLIP. Please send me your list I would love to know. If you are getting stuck ask the other childern in your class. I bet you, you can come up with at least 20.

Comments

  • Photo: cookjaemie

    cookjaemie commented on :

    hem holder
    cigar filter unstopper
    spray bottle unclogger
    eye glass repair
    hair barrette
    zipper tab
    clean fingernails
    Xmas ornament holder
    unclog Elmer’s glue bottle
    calendar holder
    belt holder
    emergency cotter pin
    emergency diaper pin (boy! do I date myself there!)
    unclog baby bottle nipples (man! I was sure careful to put all the modifiers in there)
    strawberry huller
    cherry pit remover
    hymn marker (for organists)
    a substitute for the thingy that holds the scotch tape in a tape dispenser
    substitute for a twist-tie to close a plastic bag
    poke snoozing parishioners
    clean the little roller thingies in your mouse
    a pastor’s helper to assist in making sure he turns the right number of pages in the altar book while conducting the Communion liturgy
    substitute toothpick and/or hard floss
    clean the shaft on your mechanical pencil
    toenail cleaner
    emergency Tie Tack (large ones only)
    inexpensive ear (or body?)-piercing tool
    inexpensive ear (or nose?)ring
    when combined with a rubber band, can be used to earn a three-day vacation” from eighth grade
    sparkly and useful alternative to throwing rice at weddings
    Lilliputian water divining rod
    holding dangles on a pierced ear
    cone incense holder/stand
    reset a Palm Pilot or Handspring Visor
    eject a powered-off LS-120 drive
    eject a powered-off Zip drive
    eject a powered-off CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, or DVD drive
    actor for Micro$oft Office “help” system
    snow shoes for mice, birds, and other small creatures
    booger hunting device
    arrange clips to spell “TIP?” and leave in lieu of cash when service stinks in a restaurant
    similarly, spell “happy birthday” on a cake for the office workaholic
    clip all these suggestions together, wrap, and send as a gifts to your cheap, I mean frugal, friends and relations
    emergency corkscrew
    pubic hair for Bionic Woman
    splint for minor injuries of fingers & toes
    makeshift antenna for small electronics
    miniature slingshot
    miniature catapult
    when a fellow smashes his thumb in a range gate, and the blood begins pressuring under the thumbnail, the doctor takes a paper clip, straightens it, heats its tip up good and proper at a bunson burner, and plunges the thing through the thumbnail to make a hole to relieve the pressure.
    construction of drinking straw buildings (slide clip in end and link together)
    nose weight for paper airplanes
    central weight (several together) for a Come-back-can powered by rubber bands
    substitute playing pieces for game (bend small part up to grasp)
    card holder when strung along string or wire
    necklace/bracelet (children love stringing them)
    emergency key chain
    emergency key to bathroom knobs (the ones that have the hole in the middle to slip a long skinny thing in and pop them open)
    quick find tabs for favorite recipes
    hold papers together (too obvious?)
    book mark
    pry bar
    lottery ticket scratcher
    pipe cleaner
    necklace clasp
    chain link
    fuse replacement
    punch a pilot hole
    clean the head on an acetylene torch
    Pirate” earring (old haunted house trick)
    hold the collar of your clerical together beneath the tab
    hold up the exhaust system under the car
    lock the door to the bird cage, hamster cage, etc.
    let the air out of your tire when you over-fill it
    let the air out of someone else’s tires when he parks across multiple spaces
    emergency fish hook
    hold temple to glasses when screw is lost
    grind one end to point; use for home tattooing
    desk-top sculpture kit for when your computer solitaire game is down
    castration rings for small animals
    construct see-through dress for next year’s Oscars®
    clean narrow grout

    here are a few, but i did uses the internet to help me. but there are so many more 🙂