Inventions

Inventions are amazing! Finding a way to solve an everyday problem can make life so much easier. I think in my life I have done at least one invention. When I lived in an apartment in Winnipeg, I wanted to hang a plant from the ceiling. I found someone's invention of hardware that got inserted through a hole and then expanded so the weight of the object that was hanging was spread over a larger space.

What I needed was arms that reached from the plant pot to the hook on the ceiling. I had bought a pot that had a plastic hook with extensions that went to the pot but they were too delicate and they broke.

I decided that material that was more flexible would work better, and then I remembered my spool of speaker wire I had bought in the 70s and had carried around with me for years. I cut two lengths of the wire, and separated them. That gave me four lengths of wire but I only needed three. I gathered the ends and remembered my days of macrame and created a loop with a tidy turn of wire because the ends were slid under. (Very clever whoever thought of that.)

At the other end, I took each wire and threaded it through the hole and then placed a small nut that I had in with the screws. I pulled the end of the wire back up through pot hole and the weight held it in place.

What was really neat about my invention was that it was subtle - none of that boisterous macrame that stole the plant show.

Given my intrigue with inventions, I found one in Lethbridge last fall, but threw it out. I found another one this week. Perhaps you may have seen it already...



It belongs to this...


Its job is to make sure the liquid in that cup doesn't get out. It fits quite nice and tight. And it does the trick. (Cute too.)

Now, here is the issue that I have with it. They call it a Splash Stick. I don't think that actually captures what it really does. A splash stick sounds like it creates splashes, but this actually prevents them.

Any ideas for a better name?