Archive for January 2012
Magnetic Soap: For Oil Spills First, Then You!
The world’s first magnetic soap has been created by scientists at the University of Bristol in the UK and it could revolutionize the way pollution is cleaned up. It was made by dissolving iron in chlorine and bromine-rich liquid soap, similar to mouthwash or fabric conditioner. Magnetic soap could be used to create cleaning products [...]
NPR: Everyone knows what an Oreo cookie is supposed to be like. It’s round, black and white, and intensely sweet. Has been for 100 years. But sometimes, in order to succeed in the world, even the most iconic product has to adapt. In China, that meant totally reconsidering what gives an Oreo its Oreoness. But, [...]
The World: Advances in medical technology, combined with the fact that people are living longer, means that more and more of us pass away with some kind of surgical implant. Maybe it’s a steel pin here, or a titanium hip there. Have you ever wondered what happens to those metal implants after die? For almost [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 31
On this date in 1930, 3M began marketing Scotch Tape. Richard Drew, the inventor, had joined 3M in 1923 when it was still just a manufacturer of sandpaper. While testing a new sandpaper in a local auto shop, Drew learned that the two-toned paint jobs popular in the 1920s were difficult, because there was nothing [...]
How to Save Endangered Species: Hunt Them
CBS News: The scimitar horned oryx … the addax … the dama gazelle – three elegant desert antelope that you’d hope to see on a journey through Africa, except that their numbers are dwindling there. Which is why Lara Logan went to Texas — yes, Texas. There, on large grassland ranches, some exotic species that [...]
Sherpa Carry: Professional iPad Case
Next in the Walmart’s Get on the Shelf series of interviews, we have Jay McGinnis with the Sherpa Carry iPad case. With the introduction of the iPad, business men are constantly bringing the device to meetings. In many ways, it has replaced the briefcase. It can be used to do so much, but it requires [...]
MarketWatch: For the period spanning Dec. 24 to Jan. 23, Intuit reported small business employment inched up 0.2%, equating to an annual growth rate of 2.9%. During the month, small business hourly employees worked an average of 107.5 hours, down slightly from 107.6 hours in December. Average monthly pay for all small business employees slipped [...]
Teenager On Forbes 30 Under 30 List
If Forbes 30 under 30 list wasn’t interesting enough, they made it even more interesting by listing a 17 year old as one of the successes. A 17-year-old inventor from Texas, Javier Fernández-Han, the son of immigrants from China and Mexico, was named one of “Forbes’ 30 under 30″ this year, for his inventive use [...]
People in most countries may never see it, but Africa has welcomed a new competitor for the iPad. The tablet computer was invented by one of their own citizens. The tablet is called the Way-C – “the light of the stars” in a dialect of northern Congo. It measures 19 x 17 x 1.2 centimetres [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 30
1790 – The first boat specializing as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne. 1820 – Edward Bransfield sights the Trinity Peninsula and claims the discovery of Antarctica. 1826 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world’s first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales, is [...]
ZipKord: All in One Cell Charging
Next up, in my series of interviews with Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contestants is Jeff Rudd of ZipKord. What product did you submit to Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contest? 226usb – Retractable Car/Wall Charger for iPhone / Micro phones Where’d the idea come from? The retractable concept started with our Handsfree product – [...]
Sleboggan: Winter Downhill Fun
In my continuing coverage of Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contest, I’ve just had the pleasure of talk to Bill Herrick, President of Mr. Sleboggan. What product did you submit to Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contest? Sleboggan. Where’d the idea come from? During Christmas 2009 my son, daughter-in-law, and one-and-a-half year-old grandson visited us [...]
3 Great Business Ideas for College Students
The following is a guest post by Jemima Lopez. If you’re in college, chances are you’re broke. Poverty is something of a rite of passage that goes along with pursuing secondary education — at the same time, just because you’re trying to get another degree doesn’t mean you have to be penniless. But, unless you [...]
Tater tots are a lunch or snack food made of deep-fried, grated potatoes. Now, a new food truck called Tot Boss promises to add them to to the roadside dining options in St. Paul, Minnesota. Tater tot enthusiast, Dan Docken (the boss), invites you to enjoy unique snacks and meals at a location near you [...]
Small Biz Advantages In The Cloud
If you haven’t jumped on the cloud bandwagon yet, The Washington Post has a few reasons why you should. Take computer backup, for example. The old way of backing up computers was to purchase an external hard drive and a software program, install the software, physically connect your computer to the hardware, then run the [...]
Inventors Celebrating Thomas Edison’s Birthday At Free Invention Expo
MarketWatch: Sarah Miller Caldicott, the legendary inventor’s grand niece and author of “Innovate like Edison” is among an illustrious roster of speakers from 10 AM to 6 PM. Attendees will be treated to a phantasmagoric display of remarkable inventions stretching across a wide spectrum of creativity. Attendees also have a chance of winning a valuable [...]
Thomas Edison: Most Iconic Inventor
The Huffington Post: Even the Apple generation doesn’t favor Steve Jobs over the most iconic inventor in U.S. history. Young Americans overwhelmingly chose Thomas Edison as the “greatest innovator of all time” in a new MIT survey. That doesn’t mean Jobs lacks for fans in the wake of his death last year. The man who [...]
In my continuing coverage of Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contest, I’ve just had the pleasure of interviewing Joseph Berto, President of Equi-Tee Manufacturing. What product did you submit to Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contest? Kitty Clean Automatic Litter Box Scoop Where’d the idea come from? We make sifting tools for other industries ranging [...]
I recently had an opportunity to ask a few questions of Linda from Collars2Switch one of the contestants in Walmart’s Get on the Shelf contest. What product did you submit to the contest? The Collars2switch dog collars with switchable designs. You can peel off one, put on another without removing the collar and tags from [...]
This Hundehiet (“Dog Den” in Norwegian) sit unassumingly outside of a grocery store in Oslo, Norway. For just about $1.75, you can keep your dog safe and dry in a doggy-storage-locker while you shop. As I see it, the locker solves a number of problems that shoppers with pets-in-tow might have: Shoppers won’t be tempted [...]
FTC Shuts Down Fake News Sites Selling Acai Berries
FTC: Six online marketers agreed to settlements with the Federal Trade Commission that will permanently halt their allegedly deceptive practice of using fake news websites to market acai berry supplements and other weight-loss products. As part of its ongoing crackdown on bogus health claims, the proposed settlements will require that the six operations make clear [...]
Infographic: History of the BBB
The Better Business Bureau is 100 years old this year, and to celebrate, they’ve made an infographic of their accomplishments. The top of the graphic is below, and the full version is available here.
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 27
1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.. 1984 – Pop singer Michael Jackson suffers second degree burns to his scalp during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in the Shrine Auditorium. 2006 – Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services.
Entrepreneur Creates His Own Stonehenge
The more money some entrepreneurs make, and the more money they have to spend on their hobbies. For Edward Loyst, that includes $65,000 on carving and building with stones. “Nobody is going to rush up and say, ‘Here is another Rodin or Henry Moore. But it’s interesting to build something that people will wonder in [...]
People have been trying to create a portable phone since Alexander Graham Bell first attempts. So, just how early on did someone finally succeed? According to The Daily Mail Online, W W McFarlane’s creation in the 1920′s was one of the earliest in portable phones. The device, invented by Philadelpia experimenter W W McFarlane required [...]
The Last Lid: Kevlar Garbage Can Cover
LoHud.com: The problem: You put out your garbage cans, the wind knocks them over, the lid pops off and everything that was once inside is now blowing down the street. “Physics makes the lid fall off,” he said. “Not me.” Then someone drives over the lid and now — because you can’t buy lids separately [...]
FBI To Use Social Media To Predict Crimes
The Telegraph: The Bureau is asking companies to build software that can effectively scan social media online for significant words, phrases and behavior so that agents can respond. A paper posted on the FBI website asks for companies to build programs that will map sentiment and wrongdoing. Although the software would only be able to [...]
Walmart’s Get on the Shelf Contestant Update: Lots of Videos!
Walmart’s Get on The Shelf contest is in full swing. The contest, if you don’t remember is a competition that anyone can enter for the chance to get their product sold on Walmart.com and Walmart stores. Any product in any category currently covered by Walmart is eligible ranging from housewares and electronics to toys and [...]
10 Things That Will Be Obsolete by 2020
Wrist Watches Paperbacks Traditional Homework Newspapers Car Keys College Backpacks DVDs Instruction Manuals Corked Wine Offline Voting 38 more can be found on Socialnomics.
Yesterday I mentioned that the Pirate Bay is now offering physical items for download. The digital files can be loaded into 3D printers and fabricated plastic. Now, a professor from the University of Southern California wants to do for houses what the Pirate Bay is doing for smaller physical items. He wants to print houses [...]
Bulk Dishwashing for Restaurants
Channel NewsAsia: Restaurants [in Singapore] may be doing brisk business, but that has created a headache for some bosses. That’s because they are finding it hard to hire people to clean their dishes! Well, one company has turned this into a business opportunity. Synnovate Solutions collects crates of dirty plates from restaurants across Singapore. The [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 26
On this day in 1905 the world’s largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats, is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa. For those of you, like me, who can’t compare carats to pounds in your head, three thousand carats equals 1.3 lbs!
Professor Quits School, Starts an Education Company
The Chronicle of Higher Education: The Stanford University professor who taught an online artificial-intelligence course to more than 160,000 students has abandoned his teaching position to aim for an even bigger audience. Sebastian Thrun, a research professor of computer science at Stanford, revealed today that he had given up his teaching role at the institution [...]
Veterans Small Biz Conference Visiting Detroit
Detroit Free Press: The National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo will be held at Cobo Center in June, bringing an estimated 6,000 veterans, small-business owners, federal employees, and advocates to the city, Mayor Dave Bing and U.S. Veterans Administration officials said Wednesday. The conference will be June 25-29 at Cobo. The event is billed [...]
Creating Electricity With Bicycle Power
Bicycles has been used to wash laundry, power the TV, and as an alternative form of transportation. A man in Seoul has now made it his main source of electricity, but creating a bicycle generator for his own home. [Interview : Moon Jang-man, Inventor ] “The generator is attached to the bicycle so that electricity [...]
UK Inventors Need More Support
Trevor Baylis has seen success with his inventions like the wind-up radio, but he cannot help but wonder why the government isn’t doing more to help inventors get going. So, he is doing something about it. He set up Baylis Brands to help inventors to patent their ideas and get them to market, and he [...]
You Can Download Real Physical Objects
The Pirate Bay has launched a new category called Physibles. They explain: Data objects that are able (and feasible) to become physical. We believe that things like three dimensional printers, scanners and such are just the first step. We believe that in the nearby future you will print your spare sparts for your vehicles. You [...]
Anachronistic Swiss Village for Alzheimer’s Patients
The Independent: Its detractors may end up dubbing it “Dementiaville”, but Switzerland is brushing aside a debate raging among geriatric-care experts with plans to build a mock-1950s village catering exclusively for elderly sufferers of Alzheimer’s and other debilitating mental illnesses. The newly approved 20 million EUR housing project is to be built next to the [...]
Smart Contact Lenses Coming Soon
CBS Pittsburgh: In the not so distant future, contacts may do a lot more than just help you see. What if the lenses could look inside of you to diagnose, monitor and even treat disease? Sound far-fetched? Well, it may not be too far away. The new generation of contact lenses is being called “smart [...]
Thomas Edison was a busy guy. As the fourth most prolific inventor in history, he created more than one thousands inventions for which he received a patent, and many more than went unpatented. Some of his most well know, and world changing, inventions include the phonograph, the lightbulb, the motion picture camera and the stock [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 25
1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company. 1915 – Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service, speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco. 1937 – The Guiding Light debuts on NBC radio from Chicago. In 1952 it moves to CBS television, where it remains until [...]
Business Insider: “I’ve found that entrepreneurs, unlike smart people, get focused on working with whatever they have at hand and doing one important thing at a time. Smart people tend to enjoy thinking about a lot of things at once.” Perhaps all entrepreneurs are smart people, but not all smart people are entrepreneurs. In order [...]
At first people wondered if the iPad would be undercut by competitors with a cheaper tablet, like Amazon’s Kindle, but it appears the opposite has happened. Not only are iPad sales on the rise, but they have also had an effect on the sales of regular computers, reports Apple Insider. Demand for iPads helped to [...]
Furniture Maker At The State Of The Union
Instead of going to China, Bruce Cochrane set up his business in the US to give Americans jobs. His actions grabbed the attention of the President, and he was invited to the President’s recent State of the Union address, reports KTVZ Bend. Cochrane interrupted years of business consulting in Asia to reopen a furniture factory [...]
TerrePURE from Terrasentia is an innovative, yet completely natural, process that is AN application of technology to improving the taste of distilled spirits. Unlike simple filtration, re-distillation, or barrel aging, *(the traditional methods of improving taste) their process removes a greater amount of harsh tasting minor alcohols and free radicals and provides additional taste enhancements [...]
No More Resumes: Send Us a Link
WSJ: Union Square Ventures recently posted an opening for an investment analyst. Instead of asking for r’esum’es, the New York venture-capital firm-which has invested in Twitter, Foursquare, Zynga and other technology companies-asked applicants to send links representing their “Web presence,” such as a Twitter account or Tumblr blog. Applicants also had to submit short videos [...]
Infographic: Who Buys Advertising on Google
(Larger view) Finance & Insurance – $4.0 Billion (example keywords in this industry include: “self employed health insurance”, “cheap car insurance”, “credit cards for bad credit”) Retailers & General Merchandise – $2.8 Billion (example keywords in this industry include “zumba dance dvd”, “proform treadmill”, “weber grill accessories”) Travel & Tourism – $2.4 Billion (e.g. “new [...]
Today in Entrepreneurial History: January 24
Historically, January 24 was both a good day, and a bad day for entrepreneurs. Not only was gold discovered in California and the first Apple Macintosh put up for sale, but the income tax was declared legal in the United States. 1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter’s Mill near [...]
Website Helps Homeowners Keep On Track
Sacramento Business Journal: The new enterprise is HomeZada, an internet site and a mobile application that helps homeowners organize and protect household inventory documents and receipts. The interactive software also sets checklist schedules for all types of household maintenance, such as when to change heating filters, clean the chimney and other duties.
Low Cost Startup Biz Ideas: Image Consultant
Fox Business: If you want to start a business as an image consultant, you need to have an understanding of color basics, textiles and clothing silhouettes. Reed, who has a master’s degree in theater make-up and costume design, suggests taking courses in color theory and retail merchandising to sharpen your skills. She started out in [...]
