Bright Ideas
This document was most recently revised on Tuesday, June
22, 2021.
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 ...
A patent is a monopoly, enforced by government for the benefit of one party
and the detriment of everybody else. Patents are not beneficial
to human society. They are harmful to it. People
who invent for the love of profit are inventing for the wrong reason.
They try to reshape the needs of the people to suit their inventions.
People who invent for the love of inventing try to make inventions that
meet the existing needs of the people. ... the results can
be profoundly different.
I
presently have 37 bright ideas, some of which qualify as inventions, displayed
on my personal website. Some of them are silly and some of
them are serious but they are all declared to be public domain.
I haven't made a penny from any of them. I don't know if anybody
has ever made use of any of the ideas but the ideas are all freely available
to anyone who wants to use them. My only restriction is that
they shall never be patented.
—Sam Aurelius Milam III
writing on page 3 of the November 2012 Frontiersman
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Air Conditioner
I improved the placement of the thermostat.
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Aqueducts
In some situations, an aqueduct will work in place of a dam.
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Bicycle Dreams
It's a proposal for a coast-to-coast network of bicycle paths.
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Big Plugs
This is a solution to the problem of the big plugs that take up too
much space on the power strip or surge suppresser.
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Booby Boingers
It's a classy noisemaker for women.
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Bureau of Land Management Flood Gauge
It always indicates that the water level is normal.
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Closet Stretcher
When I was young, the grownups joked about needing a closet stretcher.
I figured out how to make one.
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Condiment Slinger
An acquaintance asked me to build this thing for him
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Cop Fooler T-Shirts
They'll think that you're wearing your seat belt.
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Curtains
They're cheap and they work.
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Dog Douser
It's for when a dog chases you.
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Door Holder Opener
The door wouldn't stay open, so I improvised.
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Drill Bits
Store them with the sharp ends down.
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Electrical Outlets
They work for either kind for extension cord.
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Fly Trap
I first thought of this idea, and used it successfully in my shop at
the time, sometime back in the 1970s.
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Grasshopper Trap
I don't know if it will work but it seemed like an interesting idea.
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Gutter Overflow
I'll find out if it actually works next year, after the downpout gets
clogged again.
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Hot Water
How to adjust your water heater.
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Impress Your Wife or Girlfriend
A useful idea for any man who drills holes in things.
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Kid Straps on Shopping Carts
Even if you don't have kids, the kid straps can still be useful.
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Laundry Water
I used to have one of these and it sort of worked.
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Lunar Cooler
It's a completely passive cooler.
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Microwave Oven Bread Box
It keeps the vermin away from your bread
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Microwave Oven Marbles
The wheels under the glass tray stopped working so I replaced them
with marbles.
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Multi-Stator Axle Motor
It's an unconventional motor design for electric cars.
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Non-Reversing Mirror
You'll see yourself the same way that others see you.
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Nuclear Technology
It's all inherently self-evident.
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Core Design, Gas Fuel
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Core Design, Unconfined Fuel
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Glass Fuel Channels
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Little Dragon
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Personal Rocket
It's just a darned cute idea.
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Pipe Decoupler
I think that it would work better than a union.
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Power Bandit
It's an idea for free electricity.
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Restart Earth
It's a plan to send seeds into the future.
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Shelf Adjuster
If your shelfs are too deep, then this will keep your books out at
the edge.
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Shop Liquid Dispenser
This makes it easier to avoid spills when pouring liquids out of cans.
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Shredded Paper
Save your paper to shred for packing material.
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Soap
Don't throw the old piece away. Stick it to the new one.
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Sockets
This idea hasn't worked out very well but I decided to leave it here
anyway. Maybe somebody can improve on it.
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Storage Frame
Instead of getting rid of the old swing set, I converted it into a
storage frame.
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Tape Container
This is a dandy way to keep the tape clean.
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The Bugburger Machine
That's what we called it when we were kids.
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The Global Cooler
I can't save the planet but I can reduce my part in its destruction.
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Tissue Dispenser
I'm not sure if this thing is an improvement.
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Trash Can
I don't live there any more but it was still a good idea.
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Tubular Highway
You could call it the Rube Goldberg Freeway.
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Vacufoam
The stuff would be strong, rigid, and buoyant in atmosphere.
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Variable Angle Brackets
Use one of these when the angle is other than 90º.
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Water Maker
If you have enough electricity, then you can make all of the water
that you want. If you combine it with a Lunar Cooler (above),
then you might not need the electricity.
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Weed Killer
Steam or boiling water works as an environmentally friendly weed killer.
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Wildlife Corridors
This idea would help to preserve migration routes for migratory land
animals.
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