We all have routines — a list of things we go through on a daily basis without even thinking twice. Most of us don’t think about just how many of those “things” are patented. So, here’s your basic daily schedule, patents and all.
We wake up at 5 a.m. thanks to the alarm clock (Patent No. 8036067). Groggy, we roll over and hit the snooze button (No. 7836400). We then head to the bathroom (No. 2108575), turn on the shower (No. 8113442) and brush our teeth (No. 8079106) while the water heats up. We use the shampoo (No. 8114391), and the body wash (No. 8105994), before grabbing the towel (No. 4177171) to dry off with.
We head to our bedroom (No. 2229608) to get dressed in some jeans (No. 139121) and grab our shoes (No. D653024). We’re hungry, so we run to the refrigerator (No. D654098) and grab a yogurt (No. D547588) and a spoon (No. 3967376) to go.
We hit the remote starter (No. 2836732), and the car (No. RE43178) warms up while we turn on the coffee maker (No. 4406217). We grab the milk (No. 225900) and sugar (No. 95496), adding them to a mug (No. D480603). Pouring the coffee (No. 569575), we then head out the front door (No. D238269).
We quickly pull out our iPhone (No. D466889) to call the office (No. 1040748) and let them know we’re running late. It’s a gorgeous day, so out come the sunglasses (No. D653278) and up goes the volume on the radio (No. D438529).
As we pull into the parking garage (No. 11721841) and find an awesome spot (No. 7834778), we realize we forgot to make a salad (No. 2524638). We make a deal with ourselves that we’ll start our diet (No. 7500937) tomorrow, and order a pizza (No. D395937) today.
We glance in the car mirror (No. 2126059) before heading inside. We double-hit the auto locks (No. 5107691) as we walk. We smile at our boss, reaching in our pocket (No. 10984136) and turning the phone on silent mode (No. 20110248863). We sit down at our desk (No. 1565246), do a few spins in the chair (No. 7946972), and prepare for a usual workday, turning on the computer screen (No. D401231).
Now, that was the morning of a usual day. We bet that you didn’t notice how many patented items you touch on a daily basis. So, next time you grab for a yogurt, brush your teeth, or even place your phone on silent, remember that someone somewhere patented what you just touched.
— Emily Longeretta ’12
Source: google.com/patents
BACK TO: “Focusing on the Future“
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1 Comment
I don’t think that someone had a look at his day on that way-tooth brush with code, printed towel with code, milk with code… Immediately came a thought in my head that one day everything will be with codes and even the words will be replaced with numbers. Is that possible?