There have been many ‘not particularly’ great moments in product history that have involved a lot of complaining. However, the true inspiration behind most every great product idea has not been founded on complaining, but rather the solution to a viable and important ‘complaint’.
Velcro
In 1948, during a rustic hike into a mountainside, two men on opposite sides of the globe with accompanied canine companions fell victim to a vicious patch of burrs. These men were known as John W. Leech and George de Mestral. When John returned home from his hike, he spent three hours combing the burrs out of his dog; then another four hours complaining to his wife, children, milkman, and electrician.
Unfortunately for Georges’ dog, he had to ‘stick’ it (pun intended) out, as George had other things on his mind; like the difficulty of removing Fido’s invading burrs that had been passed onto his pants. Curiosity overtook George as he inspected the phenomenon under a microscope. He found tiny hooks on the burrs enabling them to cling to the tiny loops in the fabric of his pants. He Describes this phenomenon by the combination of the two words velour and crochet, which eventually coined the term, Velcro.
Post-it Note
The Post-It-Note is noteworthy for many reasons, but particularly because it represents the first stage of most every life changing idea… failure. Dr. Spensor Silva was the inventor of a glue substance that was going to change the world with its impressive hold. However, instead of holding items together, it simply remained sticky, while the two parts would eventually fall apart no matter how long he would wait for the glue to dry.
One of Spensor’s colleagues, Art Fry, noticed that after the items fell apart, they would remain tacky, and could be stuck back together time and again. This mishap gave Fry a revelation. What if the glue was used on something light, such as a piece of paper? He sampled some glue onto a piece of paper… and presto–a reusable, non-slip bookmark that later developed into the most popular method used today for leaving notes in the office and around the house.
Toilet Paper
In the beginning, many experts (or at least those who would admit to being an expert in this area) speculated that the human species used mostly sticks, dirt, and leaves for cleansing after their bathroom ritual. Eventually Rome upgraded to sponges attached to the end of a stick. The biggest complaint of the sponge method was those few unmentionables who forgot to rinse the sponge for the next customer.
It was not until the 1700’s that the first resemblance of what we know today as toilet paper, came to life in the form of the daily newspaper. How appropriate this must have been, as I’m sure we have all read an article or two begging for such a destination in life. Next in popularity was the Sears catalog, until they changed the mixture of their paper to a heavy, glossy composition. Sears received several letters of complaint that year, but were insensitive to people’s woes.
So, rather than wait for a new publication, companies started to sell soft fluffy paper that was absolutely divine in comparison.
Pet Rock
In modern society our greatest moments continue to impress, which such classic technology as the Pet Rock, Roomba vacuum, iPhone, and iPad. What do these products all have in common? Well, almost nothing. Except the fact that you can still purchase all four today, including the Pet Rock. The only difference between the original and the modern rock is they now come with a USB wire attachment… which, of course, does absolutely nothing.
Smiley
The final moment I would like to mention is the famous smiley face, which actually received its initial break back in 1963 by a man named Harvey Ball. It was used as one of his clients logos, State Mutual Life Insurance, to help give them a more positive appeal. It worked like a charm, but Harvey failed to see the significance of his discovery. His idea was eventually taken, trademarked, and millions upon millions of dollars were made, and old Charlie only received $45. On a positive (post-it) note, just imagine all the TP, Velcro, and Pet Rocks he could have bought with that cash.
About Dr. Eric J. Leech
Eric has written for over a decade. Then one day he created Urbasm.com, a site for every guy.
About Dr. Eric J. Leech