Don't be an idle spectator of life,
Create splendor for others' view.
Do I think ladies could invent? Well, at the present moment I feel like saying most decidedly yes. Why, you yourself made a splendid observation. Don't you recall saying the horses lost a great portion of their food by tossing their heads about while eating? Well, yes, the flies are annoying, but I think there is another reason. Well, you see they strap the full feed bag to the horse's head. At first the adjustment is good enough, but as the horse eats the surface of the food recedes and soon the adjustment becomes bad. The horse can no longer reach the food, and tosses his head about in an effort to get it. Well, we observed, thought, and as a consequence have a problem to work out. Yes, I think we might overcome the difficulty. Why, exactly, splendid; we can properly adjust the springs and fasten them in the handle or hanging straps that hold the feed bag to the horse. Then, as he eats and the weight becomes less, the springs will cause the bag to rise and the adjustment will be proper throughout. Yes, that is a real invention. We are inventors. We will use a perforated bag. Why, I think we might call it "The Automatic Ventilated Feed Bag." The horse will thank us, and we will become so rich. Salt cellars don't work good in damp weather—the salt cakes. You should work out that problem by the "Think a little" rule. A flagpole to operate the flag on the principle of the spring roller window curtain; make the political banner collapsible. Pass tops by, too many already; besides I have been sore on them since youth, when I tried to make one to wind up with a key and run all day. It was a long time before I replaced my watch, the works of which I used in that top. Did it spin? "Nope." Postage stamp affixer. No, pass it. It may do later on when you are more experienced. I had some dealings with a simple kind: it looked and worked like a rubber stamp, but the moisture from the sponge soon got in among the stamps—impractical. It should be quite easy to make a chute wagon that would unload coal while standing lengthwise along the curb, so as not to block the cars.
Suppose you wish to cause a toy man to pass around a six-inch circle and at the same time constantly revolve, could you contrive to make it work by turning a crank? It is good practice to work all puzzles and problems you find. It cultivates reasoning and gives you splendid practice on concentrating your thought. It makes you a close observer and becomes a valuable asset for use in any walk of life. Some people don't seem to notice anything—or, at least, very few things. I one time had an amusing debate with a man. He insisted he moved his upper jaw in eating. He proved it conclusively to himself by biting on his finger. How many of you know the difference between a horse and a cow in getting up? I hope a half dozen dozen and six dozen dozen don't look alike to you. You must get things exactly as they are in your mind; then only will you have a true basis to reason from. Don't go through life with the idea that everything is "about the size of a piece of chalk."
Many people will say to those who invent, "How did you come to think of it? I could never think of anything." The main trouble is they don't think at all. If they would take an interest in things and examine them closely, study them until they can clearly explain every detail, it would be a reasonably short time until they would think of other things and invent. The inventor should be sanguine and hopeful. It spurs him on and helps him to wade through discouragement. Possibly as like produces like, like thoughts produce like thoughts, fear thoughts produce fear thoughts. You must have a little of the big I in you.
"He who dares assert the I
May calmly wait, while hurrying fate
Meets his demands with sure supply."
I don't mean that you should sit down and expect to invent by mere weight of thought. That would be like watching the clock to see the hour pass by. I mean you should make the start. Begin by noticing how things are done. Interest your thoughts on the subject. Keep the matter in mind. Time will pass by pleasantly and some morning you will find your mind engrossed with an idea of an invention or an improvement on one, and that day will appear the brightest in your life. The more you study over what others have done, the sooner you will do something yourself. I fear you won't study. Now let me see; take that trick box. In No. 1 they tilted the box to get the cent out. Well, by tilting the box they simply put the flat bottom on a slant and the cent slid out. That could be improved in working by making a slanting bottom. Again, in No. 1, after they worked the outer sleeve up so that the openings registered and allowed the cent to slide out, they then worked the outer sleeve back into position, so that the side of the cap hid the slot. That work could be saved by inserting a spring, and so you should take up each feature, learn the reason why, and impress it on your mind. Confine yourself to the very simple things. Later on you will take interest in the larger ones, but at first they would likely discourage you, though the large inventions are only a combination of simple ideas. The telegraph sounds big. In the first place, it was simply a discovery. The electric current magnetized the wire so that it attracted metal, and would do so no matter how long the wire (within reason). Now, they could not well arrange to move the magnet over the paper to do the writing, so they thought to make it stationary and move the paper. The machine to do this was the biggest part of the invention. The code or Morse alphabet followed, by arranging the dots and dashes to represent the letters. If a massive structure were built of bricks, broad, high walls, square and round towers, high, commanding, arched doorway, facades, ledges, etc., you would stand and gaze in bewildering admiration at the grand, colossal structure. Yet it is only a combination of bricks. And what are bricks, pray? Only clay molded into shape and baked in an oven. No man ever invented a great machine unless he was an adept in the line of simple things, or he engaged assistance from those who were. Don't underrate the importance of these simple ideas. Take each one up, consider and go over it as carefully as though it were new—your own thought—and as though you were going to apply for a patent on it. If you can't enthuse and work or study in earnest on these matters you are surely on the wrong line for you. Get off and devote your time to some other pursuit. You must be in earnest and willing to persevere. Keep everlastingly at it. Dabblers rarely ever succeed at anything. I saw a patented churn. It was a plain tank and a long round handle with propeller blades set on the end. The propeller was pushed down through the cream. It did not revolve, and hence agitated the cream very much. Then, when it was pulled up to the top, the propeller revolved and the cream was scarcely moved. In going down the propeller would move up about one inch and lock. In pulling up it would move back and unlock. I remember the man who patented an iron ore washer. It was a large tank affair, say eight feet long, three feet at one end and six feet at the other. Inside it was lined with iron plates having a flange projecting upward. These were fastened so that the flanges formed a spiral from the large to the small end. An axle was placed in the centre by braces. The large end almost touched the ground; the small end was, say, two feet above the ground. The ore dirt was shoveled in the big end. A stream of water entered the small end. The washer was revolved. The dirt ran out with the water. The ore was worked by the flanges up to and fell out of the small end. I met a party who had a patented bung for barrels. It looked like a straight piece of round wood. I inquired, what is the patent. He said, bungs blow out of barrels, but his would not, because it was first made larger at one end than the other, then by driving it through a tube it was forced equal at each end. The original big end was marked and put in the bung hole. The liquid would cause it to swell to its former size. It could not blow out, and to tap the barrel it was driven in. The shores of Lake Superior are full of fine iron ore, probably millions of dollars worth. A party got up an electrical separator. To reclaim the iron sounds big. Let us see. An iron cylinder, an electrical battery or dynamo to charge and magnetize it, a long trough with a moving belt in the bottom. The sand and fine iron were shoveled on the belt and carried up to and fell on one side of the revolving magnetized cylinder. The iron adhered, and as the separator revolved it was scraped off on the other side. Some ten years ago I wrote to a number of chewing gum firms and proposed they make sugar-coated tablets. They did not enthuse and I dropped the matter. To-day it forms quite a business. About twenty-five years ago I proposed to put India-rubber along the water line of war ships, so that when struck the hole would close and prevent the water going in. To-day every war ship is equipped with that idea, using cellulose instead of rubber. So, don't give up your ideas too quickly. Become well convinced before you drop them. During the past month I read an article stating that the railroads required a heavier rail. I thought the added weight might be used to make the rail alike top and bottom—a double rail—so that when one side wore out the rail could be turned and virtually have a new one, and it being on the ground would save the handling in the second case. A special shoe would secure it to the tie. First costs are often increased to get economic results. I simply advance the idea. Any one interested can put it in their pipe and smoke it. If any of you use a rubber ball in the heel of the shoe to make walking comfortable you may be able to fit a small tube and have it arranged to ventilate the toe of the shoe. A party made a horseshoe having a toe piece of three parts. The centre was very hard steel; the outsides were soft. They wore down and the hard centre stuck up. It was always sharp. He said the blacksmiths would not handle them because it hurt their business.
It always seemed a good idea to make a wheel so that the spokes formed a hub at the centre. If all the people were alive to their needs all hats would be ventilated. The corrugated band is a good idea, as far as it goes. It should be supplemented with vents in sides or top. Do you know they paint ships without brushes? Simply spray it on with an atomizer and sweep with a suction hose. I hope it will be after my day when some of you get up a machine to do the eating. A cannon was mounted with mechanism to absorb the recoil and other service. A hole was drilled through the side of the cannon about one foot from the end or muzzle. A tube was fitted and extended rearward to the mechanism. When the cannon was fired the pressure became very great in the chamber, and the instant the projectile passed the drilled hole, and until it left the gun, this high pressure or power went through the tube and worked the mechanism at the rear of the gun. I know hoopskirts are long out of style. Could a flexible metal band be arranged at the bottom of pants and end of coat sleeves, so that they need not be sewed and could be worked to shorten or lengthen them, as desired?
I saw a funnel that had a wire rod running down to the small end. A ball on the end of the rod was used to close or open the funnel. When the bottle was full you could close the funnel, and no more would run out of it. I don't think there is a good nutmeg grater on the market. The price at retail should not be above 10 cents. It should have a good appearance, convenient and practical. It should all be enclosed, fly proof and dust proof—a sanitary grater. There is a chance to improve a match box to hang on the wall, something that won't show the marks. You should be alive to the difference between goods being on sale at stores and taking hold of a specialty and pushing it.
Sometimes the horses are driven with slack lines, and shy or scare suddenly. Often the driver is bothered to take up the slack. Could you invent handles to put on the lines that could be moved forward easily, have them grip so not to slip back until a spring or catch released them? I don't understand why they don't connect the shafts to the vehicle so that they could be instantly disconnected in case the horse ran away.
They sell a number of popcorn roasters. One to revolve should prove a good seller. The shaking plan is very tiresome. Some arrangement should be put on the bootblack boy's box to prevent the foot from slipping off. A propeller rocket could be made to go very high. Could you make a metal frame that any one, by using a strong manila paper, could make a pocketbook to hold notes, bills, etc.? How do you like a wire device to be put on rolls of ribbon to keep them from unwinding in the retail stores? A watch might be made so that the opening and closing of the lid would keep it wound up. I have not been inside a school for a long time. Perhaps they have holders to prevent the chalk crayons from breaking.