We have grown accustomed to the image of the solitary inventor, hunched over a lab table, glasses slipping down his nose, in deep concentration and isolation until that sudden moment in which he leaps up, shouting “Eureka!” However, this classic archetype is often far from the truth. The best inventions have come from group collaborations, simple accidents and horrible failures.
Today’s inventors and creatives can learn a few lessons from their predecessors by examining how they came across ideas and the sometimes strange circumstances that surrounded their moments of discovery.
The O-Ring
In 1937, Danish immigrant and machinist Niels Christensen invented a simple circular seal that came to be known as the o-ring. Though simple in concept, o-rings fit into cylinder applications of mechanical devices and prevent whatever material you are working with from slipping through the joints of the mechanical construction. Many inventors, even Thomas Edison, had tried and failed to produce an efficient o-ring prototype.
Christensen, who had just lost a legal battle with Westinghouse over the patent for electric streetcar brakes, turned all of his focus to the o-ring, perfecting the design just years before U.S. involvement in WWII called for mass production of mechanical products, many of which required o-rings.
Today, o-rings are available in many shapes and come in a variety of materials with elastic properties, such as silicone, polyurethane, nitrile rubber, fluorocarbon and neoprene. New inventors can take away a lesson in patience and persistence because Christensen was 71-years-old when he patented the o-ring.
The Paper Clip
The lowly paper clip was originally developed as a means of holding claim tickets to fabrics receiving washing or tailoring services. To find a way to attach the ticket to the item without puncturing the garments, Samuel Fay manipulated a small length of wire into the shape of an X and would slip the piece of paper between the legs of the wire, adhering it to the fabric without perforation.
In April of 1867, Fay was awarded a U.S. patent for his paper clip, though the design went through many interpretations before becoming the oblong shape we recognize today. As Fray demonstrates to contemporary inventors, if you have a need, you will find a solution.
The Pulley
An ancient Greek equivalent of a Renaissance man, Archimedes stamped his name in the fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy and engineering. However, one of his most notable accomplishments was the invention of the first block-and-tackle pulley system 2,200 years ago.
Archimedes’ system of multiple pulleys work together to lift a heavy object to the highest of heights or farthest of distances with the least amount of strain. It is rumored that he used his block-and-tackle pulley system to haul a warship from point A to point B with his own two hands.
The lesson: the simplest of designs is often the most elegant and effective.
The Little Blue Pill
Oddly enough, Pfizer scientists discovered Viagra by mistake. In 1992, while testing a new medication to combat angina, Welsh participants found that although their chest pain still existed, another part of their anatomy was responding quite well to the treatment. With this new information, scientists switched their focus and began marketing a miracle cure for erectile dysfunction.
Budding inventors can take away an important moral from this discovery: when lab studies give you lemons, market lemonade.
There is no questioning the dedication it takes to discover or create that singular perfect invention. Plans may not always play out the way you think they should, and your next invention may be one argument, accident or perceived failure closer than you think.
