Inventions and Reinventions 5

Invent:
plastic windows in different designs and colours (“in keeping” with the buildings)
all terrain "wheelchair" on six robot spider legs
double umbrella (good.is)
‏pocket "one size fits all" device for stabilising wonky tables @TracyBiram
marine drone to scoop up plastic debris (good.is)
safety pins for attaching Flanders poppies

Reinvent:
small, short, light books (People used to scoff at airport novels, doorstop novels, brick-sized novels – now they’re all that size. And weight.)

drying areas – tumble dryers use too much energy. Being suggested for new developments Nov 2012

one product that does one thing – abolish its “range”. (Take Head and Shoulders. It actually cleaned hair. Now you never know if the bottle you pick up is for men, is for frequent use, contains menthol, contains conditioner, is conditioner…)

medicated makeup (banned by EU rule)
half-size loaves of bread
wooden spoons with bowls (that actually function as spoons)
typewriters – computers were always hopeless at address labels

oriel/box bay windows, and 60s windows that look like pulled out drawers (you could fit them up with a bed inside so you could sleep almost in the open air.)

Import:
Open-air ice rinks with music like in Vienna – oh, we have!
German double beds are made with two single mattresses and two single duvets.

Good ideas:
Turn redundant shops into flats, offices, lunch clubs, reading rooms, seminar rooms, libraries, book swap shops, clothes swap shops, cinemas screening old movies, shared offices, studios, lunch clubs, soup kitchens, reading rooms, seminar rooms, village halls (Lorna Soar), workshops, classrooms,  music/dance/yoga studios, night shelters.

Render fat from joints, chicken, bacon etc and keep in a pudding bowl in the fridge (no need to buy goose/duck fat).

Convert traditional windmills to generate electricity (being done).

Turn malls into downtowns: “Where there’s access to mass transit or a strong market it often makes sense to clear the site, connect a walkable grid of tree-lined streets and parks, and build up with a mix of retail at the ground floor and several floors of housing and offices above.” good.is

I can see within the next 3-5 years that ebooks will be the primary source of reading with printed copies available as an option or special order (except for printed speciality books which will always exist.) We may see book dispensers that can spit out a printed book from your ebook while you wait (similar to the Kodak develop/print stations for photos) and even personal printers that can print and bind a paperback subject to your choice of paper size, typeface and font size. JP Paul on LinkedIn

Make clothes using old patterns (instead of using vintage styles as “inspiration” – ie complete misunderstanding).

Reactivate all those Victorian water fountains. No more bottled water!

Make contraception free in the US and reduce abortions by 50%.

Make religions pay tax (then we wouldn’t have to cut benefits).

The NHS should stop funding homeopathy (and we wouldn’t have to privatise it).

It's cheaper to rent storage for your extra stuff than to buy a bigger flat/house. Or you could sell it on ebay! BBC News

Move Malmesbury and Tewksbury to higher ground; if building in flood plains, build on stilts or artificial mounds.

Why don't we have wireless chargers like we have wireless internet? Come on inventors. This is meant to be THE FUTURE. @HeardinLondon

Paint wind turbines blue, green or grey. (Hugh Pearman)

Bake your pastry case and then squash down the middle – no need for greaseproof paper or baking beans. BBC.co.uk

Pretty much, the way to meet people is through friends. Those little dating groups. You bring x number of boys, I will bring x number of girls and we will see who connects kind of things. reddit.com (discussion re meeting partners in Japan)

Teach children to read (d says duh!). (Lot of whingeing about synthetic phonics late Oct 2012, “fashionable in the last 10 years”, “takes the fun out of reading”, too “task-based”, forces children to learn too early etc etc)

Paint all dark passages white.

Turn redundant office space into flats. (Happening.)

Make bigger clothes for the bigger people we have now.

Make smaller baths, kitchens, cookers, fridges and sofas for the smaller houses we have now.

Reinvent cycling helmets as riding helmets. (Cyclechic)


Reinventions 4Reinventions 3
Reinventions 2

Reinventions 1