No doubt you have all seen the little egg separator, a circular piece of sheet metal having a concave centre with little slots near the top of the concave portion. It is placed on a cup. The egg broken and contents placed in the separator, the white runs through the slots into the cup and the yolk remains in the separator.
A good ink tablet should be a good thing. They certainly would be a great convenience, and should do for fountain pens too. I have often thought that chairs are not made right. When you lean back the front part of the seat rises and it tends to stop circulation in the limbs. Could the seat part be so hinged or arranged that the front portion would not rise, or would it answer to simply have the back hinged?
The stem wind on the watch was a very simple thought, and should have been forced on the mind every time the key was lost. "Necessity is the mother of invention."
I advise all who have any idea of inventing to practice drawing. It is an excellent practice and makes one a close observer. In thinking of subjects combining several movements or features the drawing clinches them; oftentimes the idea will slip the mind, and puzzle as we will we can't recall it at the desired time. "Now you shall wish, but wish in vain to call the fleeting words again." When you draw it it is there. You can leave it and take up any part you wish to consider. There is a lot of studying to do to equip yourself well for inventing. The better you are equipped the better your chances. But you should look upon the work as a pleasure. Then each thing you learn will please. I don't believe in scolding the learning into people. We should aim to make learning pleasant and agreeable. I know the subject is dry to many. I don't wish to weary, remember.
"It's pennies for labor and dollars for thought."
A contractor was building a pier at the seashore. When he tried to drive the piles down into the sand they would continually bounce up. He became very much discouraged; he was completely puzzled. It baffled his wits. A gentleman from the West was visiting at the resort. He became very deeply interested in the little clams. He was amused to see how quickly they could go down in the sand. He visited the pier and learned of the contractor's troubles. He sought him and advised that a hose be attached to the pile and force a stream of water ahead of it as it was driven down. The idea worked very satisfactorily. Observation. Yes, ideas are good things. A cow had fallen in a well that was being dug. The neighbors gathered about the well, which was ten feet deep. No one could suggest a means to rescue the cow. An old darkey passing by was attracted by the crowd. He looked down into the well and saw the cow apparently unhurt. He said, "Let's git her out." "How?" they sang in chorus. "Why, jist shovel de sand back inter de well; she'll keep on top."
During the siege of Paris they wrote letters and reduced them in size until they looked like mere dots to the naked eye. They were then sent out on pigeons and magnified to the original size. That is possibly the basis of a freak thought. Suppose a $1 bill was placed on a hillside; we go a distance away and take a photograph of one mile square of the hillside, having the bill exactly in the centre. Say the photograph is one foot square. Now we cut off one and three-quarter inches all the way around the picture, leaving say one-half of the same. Then we enlarge this to one foot square and repeat until the foot square picture shows say ten feet square of hillside with the bill in plain view in the centre. If that could be done we could examine the moon and planets too, very closely.
"One science only can one genius fit,
So vast is art, so narrow human wit."
Probably the most uncertain feature of a majority of patents is, will the people buy them? The theory of most patents is plausible enough. But often the practice or fact is very doubtful. The public seem to be whimsical and act as the spirit moves them, oftentimes without rhyme or reason; things become a fad or are turned down. They spring up and die like a flower. There is no rule. You must take your chance. It is a natural stumbling block. You must be sanguine to invent and cautious to keep off of wrong leads. Take the matter philosophically. Don't allow it to irritate. You can counsel with practical people and those whom you expect to use your device. Feel your way the best you can. When ready, take your plunge, and be satisfied to settle the matter, either as a success or failure. If the latter, make your bow, "Nor with weight of words offend the ear."
There seems to be no rule; they come and go. The first time I saw a match with the handle end fire proofed, so not to burn the finger, it looked good. I thought all matches would be made that way. Now I scarcely ever see one.