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Ladies, does your husband stay
up half the night tinkering in the garage? When you catch him
sneaking off to the local hardware store late at night, does he deny
working on his latest invention and instead make up some lame
excuse… such as claiming that he was at the bar with the guys?
If so, then he might be an
inventor.
Guys, do you notice that your
wife's purse seems to be getting bigger every day? By the way, have
you ever tried to figure out what some of the items are that she
carries in her purse? Chances are, it's more than just makeup and
keys. She probably has some prototypes, a copy of Inventors' Digest
magazine and maybe the business cards of a few good patent attorneys
in there.
If so, then she might be an
inventor. Since you, as a guy, are not allowed to look into your
wife's purse under any circumstances, you have no way of knowing for
sure. This column -- the ultimate test to determine if you or your
spouse might be an inventor -- will help you figure it out.
You might be an inventor if…
You might be an inventor if…
- You believe that Binford
Tools, the fictional company on TV's "Home Improvement" show, is a
real company.
- You actually own some
Binford tools.
- As a kid, you routinely
took apart electrical appliances or engines and tried to put them
back together. Add five points if you finished with more parts
than you started with.
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in this article] |
You might be an inventor if…
- Your list of "most
admired people" includes Hollywood inventors such as Major
Boothroyd of James Bond fame (also known as Q), the frazzle-haired
Doc Brown from the "Back to the Future" movies or Rick Moranis'
character in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."
- You believe that TV's
MacGyver really could make a homemade bomb using only a paper clip
and an empty gas can. Deduct five points if you've ever tried to
make a homemade bomb using only a paper clip and an empty gas can.
- You go more than three
months without filing a patent application and the patent office
calls to see if you're OK.
- The patent office's phone
number is on your speed dial.
-
Your
phone number is on the patent office's speed dial.
If
you think you're an inventor, then you just might become one
someday.
[Paul
Niemann]
Invention Mysteries is written
each week by Paul Niemann. A special thanks goes out to Paul's
nephew, 14-year-old Johnny Wood, for his contributions to this
article. Johnny plans on taking over this column when Uncle Paul
turns 65 in the year 2030.
© Copyright Paul Niemann 2004 |
