re: Anyone know someone who invented something and made some money?

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Moral of the story:: If you're gonna invent something, don't do it at work.

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I've met the guy who invented Post-It notes. It is the same story with him. He worked in R&D for 3M. His group was working on alternative uses for some of the company's adhesives. His wife was a song director or something or the other at church, and kept fussing about no good way to mark pages. So, while he was at work one day, he took some scrap paper, and a little of some certain glue and made these little page markers for his wife. Before long, the whole choir were using them, along with half the church.

The big whigs saw him using it to mark pages in a book at work, and the rest is history. He may have gotten a raise and promotion out of the deal.

One of my best friends in high school dad invented pedal valves. It’s where you use foot pedals that turn on the faucet. It’s used in restaurants and grocery stores around the country. A bunch of my other friends work for them and they are all rich. Some reason he wouldn’t give me a job

One of my childhood neighbors invented a type of hoist that was the heavy industry standard for years. He built a home next door to us in the 80’s and it had wireless remote controls for automation things like blinds, lights, motorized TV lifts, etc. They also built their house around several live oak trees. It must have been a nightmare to maintain I’m sure but I was a kid when he died in like 85 or so.

This dude who used to work on my wheelchair told me he came up with something and he hired a lawyer who was in the process of getting a patent.

We were talking and he mentioned something he was working on. He hesitated for a few seconds and told me he didn't like to share it with many people because the patent wasn't official yet, but then he started telling me about it.

It was a way to make ceiling fans much easier to replace. The next time I went to him he showed me the drawings and some of the patent paperwork.

He told me there was a change GE had interest in buying the patent from him, but the problem was that it would have to become a universal thing. As in, when people build a new house, like electrical sockets, they would need to have the "male" connection in the spots where ceiling fans would go and the fans would have the female part attached so that people would just have to slide it in the screw in a few screws.

In theory it sounded like a good idea, but there were some flaws in his plan, which he was aware of. I think he was hoping GE would be interested in buying it (which I am not sure why they would want it since it would be a universal deal where all brands would have to have their fans with the male part on it).

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One of my dad’s friend’s grandpa invented the Higgins boat. 

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Fam from New Orleans? Grandkid went to Runnels in BR?

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Only the guy who invented the pet rock.

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nm

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My sister’s SO invented some type of technology/device that reduces the noise levels of large machinery. Got a contract with NASA & his device was used with the crawler transporter.

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Invent a way to make things quieter and they use it in a vacuum where this is no noise /s

My fil invented is a chemist and invented many things that I don’t comprehend but he also invented what would become Rhino bed liner and rhino shield paint. Did it as an employee so all he got was an attaboy.

Also worked with a guy that got a royalty check every month for inventing and producing the first ejaculating dido. As a side note, he was also one of the key witnesses against the John Gotti crime family because of his involvement as manger of the gold club in Atlanta back in the ‘90’s. He also testified against Madonna, Andrew Jones, Stephen Baldwin etc. He had a hell of an art collection too.

The people that invented Sqwincher are customers of mine. Sold out for a chunk.

Will Primos of Primos Hunting Calls is a friend of mine. Sold out for two chunks.

I know numerous oil field equipment inventors. A couple of guys did the hydraulic snubbing deal and made a piss pot twice.

A friend of mine made a plywood shack to enable contractors to do hot work on production platforms Without shutting in. He was getting 8 000 a day for a stack of plywood and 2x4,s
He had about a dozen of them going. Sold out for a chunk.

Plus some others.

The most infamous would be Ron Popeil who invented the Popeil’sPocketPussy.