November 08, 2009
UTNE READER

Patscan @ the University of British Columbia

May 20, 2002 Issue
By Julie Madsen 
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Patscan @ the University of British Columbia,

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You may not actually find most of these innovations lining the shelves anytime soon, but these "inventive" creations have gone from the brainstorms in people's heads into officialdom as registered patents. Some may make you wonder why someone didn't think of them sooner, though mostly you'll be perplexed at the kind of circumstances that would lead anyone to think of them at all. From the weirdly sweet, such as "Love Box:" "the box including an instruction sheet that states the box is filled with love, and no matter how often it is opened, it can never be emptied," to the questionably functional weird, such as the "User-operated Amusement Apparatus for Kicking the User's Buttocks," these patents provide solid proof that the wildest thoughts of the human imagination can indeed be brought into being.
--Julie Madsen
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