| SafetyTat: The Tat That Brings Kids Back Posted: 12 Apr 2012 11:34 AM PDT 
If you have you ever lost your child, even for a moment, you know that it is every parent's worst nightmare. Here’s a product to make you feel better about that eventuality: SafetyTats are temporary child identification tattoos that when applied to a child’s arm provide an immediate and highly visible form of identification and contact should your child become lost. Unlike just writing your telephone number of your child’s arm, the temporary tattoo is waterproof. Where’d the idea come from? The idea for SafetyTat temporary child ID tattoos was born of necessity one weekend at an amusement park. On Labor Day Weekend, Baltimore Mom, Michele Welsh and her husband, there with their three small children, felt out-numbered. To stave her panic, she quickly wrote her mobile phone number on each of their arms with a ballpoint pen. As she did this, she thoughtfully explained to each of them the importance of staying close to Mommy and Daddy. She also told them that if they were separated that the number on their arm was a way to reconnect with them. Throughout the day of fun, Michele had to rewrite the number several times as it smeared or washed off. Several parents in the park stopped her to ask if that was her number on the kids’ arms. Each time, they loved the idea. The day was a success and the idea for SafetyTat temporary child id tattoos was born. 
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| An Airbag for Motorcycles Posted: 12 Apr 2012 11:27 AM PDT 
The Italian company Dainese has created a airbag system for motorcycles called D-air Street. Springwise has more: Having already developed a working airbag sewn into clothing for motorcycle racing professionals, Dainese has now produced a version suitable for street riders. The protective gear comes in two parts – the J-Kit, which is the clothing unit, and the M-Kit, which is the bike unit. The J-Kit features a pneumatic gas system fitted into the rider's clothing, which generates the air needed to fill the 12-liter airbags positioned at key points in the armour. An electronic radio system sends data between the bike and the riding gear to release the airbags upon detection of an event. The company claims that the D-air reduces the force of an impact by 92%. Video below. 
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| The Cooperstown Cookie Company Posted: 12 Apr 2012 11:17 AM PDT 
CNN: Cracker Jack, peanuts, hot dogs. It almost seems like ballpark food is more exciting than the game itself. And if Pati Grady has anything to do with it, we’ll soon be adding shortbread cookies to the list of iconic ballpark snacks. In 2004, Grady searched online for a baseball cookie cutter to no avail. Improvising, she used a drinking glass to cut rounds out of dough made from her family’s shortbread recipe and used a crimping tool to make stitches. Coincidentally, the cookies were the exact size of MLB regulation baseballs, and Grady sensed that she had the seed for a new business. She incorporated and named the company Cooperstown Cookie, in honor of her hometown and the location of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. 
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| Video: How iPads Are Made in China Posted: 12 Apr 2012 11:14 AM PDT Marketplace Shanghai Bureau Chief Rob Schmitz is only the second reporter ever to gain access to visit the factory floor at Apple’s Chinese producer Foxconn. See highlights from his tour of the assembly line and the Foxconn facilities. 
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| Finding Homes for Pet Chickens Posted: 12 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT 
JS Online: Though she probably wouldn’t mention this on her business card, Liz Perry is a chicken matchmaker. One of the few, if only, people performing the worthy service in southern Wisconsin, Perry helps unwanted chickens find new homes – homes where they will be egg-producing pets and not end up in a casserole dish. As the number of urban chickens taking roost in cities and suburbs explodes, Perry – who owns two pet stores in Madison – has become the go-to foster mother for unwanted birds. She figures she’s found homes for as many as 250 chickens in the last few years. She doesn’t have a website nor does she advertise her urban chicken rescue services, but people find her anyway, often by posting questions on the madcitychickens.com. 
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| Video: World’s Largest Rube Goldberg Machine Posted: 12 Apr 2012 11:02 AM PDT World Records Academy: “The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers team smashed its own world record for largest Rube Goldberg machine with a 300-step behemoth that flawlessly accomplished the simple task of blowing up and popping a balloon – setting the new world record for the Largest functional Rube Goldberg machine.” 
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| Tapping Into The Invention Mine Posted: 12 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT 
GEN: Invention mining, also known as "invention harvesting," is the art of engaging with an engineer or scientist to identify and capture inventions, including those that might otherwise go unrecognized. Inventions are the raw material of any patent program, so identifying a company's inventions gives the company more choices for strengthening its patent portfolio and making the best use of its patent budget. Done well, invention mining is not disruptive to the inventor's work and can generate significant return on investment. The art of invention mining turns on the ability to ask the right questions, not only to uncover inventions, but also to overcome barriers that may be holding back their disclosure. In both respects, a little experience goes a long way.
Photo by Steve Jurvetson 
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| Football Knee Brace Inventor Dies At 82 Posted: 12 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT 
Aberdeen American News: Anderson was the Raiders’ original athletic trainer, beginning in 1960, three years before future owner Al Davis came aboard as head coach and general manager. In 1977, after quarterback Ken Stabler suffered a knee injury, Anderson came up with a double-hinged brace designed to protect the joint from further damage by distributing the impact of hits to the leg above and below the knee itself. The Anderson Knee Stabilizer was widely used not just by quarterbacks but also by linemen seeking to protect the joint yet be free to move about the field.
Photo by Patrick Briggs 
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| Just Keeping Spit Off The Cake Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:30 AM PDT Ever wonder about the germs that land on a cake when someone blows out the candles? It was the spit that bothered Russell Brown, reports Columbus Ledger Enquirer. Brown spent his lunch hour the day after the party shopping for small plastic kazoo-like toys. Then on to the hardware store where he found a variety of small filters. He tinkered with the toys, took them apart, shaped the filters, reassembled and tested. Again and again. Upon further research, he discovered the health implications that can accompany the unrestrained mist of one’s breath. A person can walk around with a cold for two or three days before showing symptoms, and those little droplets of saliva carry those viruses that cause colds. As he tested his product, he used a spray gun to make sure the device’s micro filter would block the breath’s spray while allowing enough air flow to keep birthday wishes alive.
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| Today in Entrepreneurial History: April 12 Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:21 AM PDT |
| Niche Pets: Putting Your Pet In The Wedding Posted: 12 Apr 2012 07:07 AM PDT 
People love their pets, and they are willing to spend a lot to show it. If you’re anything like Sheryl Bass and her husband Neil Cline, you want them to participate in all aspects of your life. This includes weddings, reports TheStreet. And so, Pawsitively Purrfect Products and its “Pet Petal Pullcart” was created. It just so happens that Cline is pretty handy, Bass says. After testing various contraptions on their own pet, they came up with a wooden cart that attaches to a harness and dispenses flower petals from the back. The customizable hand-carved pull cart is for small dogs (less than 30 pounds) and sells for $130 on the company’s website. The Pet Petal Pullcart is so popular that the couple cannot keep up with production (pull carts are made-to-order given the pet’s weight and length specifications), Bass says. However, the couple has had to turn away customers, especially those looking to use the product for bigger breeds. Bass says they hope to license the product, so that a bigger company can mass produce the item and come up with a solution to the big-breed dilemma. She also wants to add other products to the business down the line, she says.
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