You probably don’t know this but over the years, there have been an increasing number of amazing things invented by kids which have reminded us of what Elbert Green Hubbard the popular American philosopher who died in 1915 once said about the world moving very fast and those fond of saying “it can’t be done” being “interrupted by someone doing it”.
If Thomas Edison regarded as one of the finest world’s inventors of all time says good imagination is needed for invention, then it is truly needed. So like the man famous for his children’s books – L. Frank Baum, we believe that imagination was responsible for bringing humanity out of the dark ages to the present stage of civilization, that it led Franklin to discover electricity, that daydreaming with the eyes wide open and the brian-machinery whizzing are likely to lead to the betterment of the world, and that an imaginative child will likely become an imaginative adult with a tendency to create, invent and foster civilization.
For this and other reasons, we decided to take a look at some of the awesome things invented by kids. Who knows, it might inspire more to stop ignoring the things popping up in their heads and lead to further beautiful inventions the world would find useful.
Popular Things Invented By Kids
- T-Pak by 6-Year-Old Kelly Reinhart
- Food Cooler Fork by 6-Year-Old Ameliya Liddle
- Water Talkie by 10-Year-Old Richie Stachowski
- Wristies by 10-Year-Old Kathryn Gregory
- Popsicle by 11-Year-Old Frank Epperson
- Tooth-O-Matic by 12-Year-Old Henry Hughes
- Braille by 15-Year-Old Louis Braille
- Trampoline by 16-Year-Old George Nissen
- Earmuffs by 15-Year-Old Chester Greenwood
- Pascal’s Calculator by 18-Year-Old Blaise Pascal
- Water Skiing by 18-Year-Old Ralph Samuelson
- Snowmobile by 19-Year-Old Joseph-Armand Bombardier
1. T-Pak by 6-Year-Old Kelly Reinhart
The T-Pak as is known today was birthed after Kelly Reinhart’s parents tasked her and her six siblings to make a drawing of something they thought should be available in the market for people to buy that can’t be found in the market. Inventing anything wasn’t what was hoped for by either the parents or the kids. It was just the family’s way of having some fun. Kelly who was only 6 years old was inspired by movies she watched made a drawing of someone with a thigh pack that was like a gun holster. Today, T-Pak is popular across the globe and the family runs a company, T-Pak international valued at millions.
2. Food Cooler Fork by 6-Year-Old Ameliya Liddle
The food cooler fork was inspired by what its name suggests, a fork that would provide cool air for hot food. We can all relate to why Ameliya Liddle feels like this should be a thing. – hot foods are infuriating. Well, it is expected that this fork would have a button which one can press to transmit cool air which would make the food more friendly to consume.
3. Water Talkie by 10-Year-Old Richie Stachowski
Talking underwater is no longer something impossible, thanks to Richie Stachowski. From what we learnt, the water talkie idea came to Richie when he and his family went for a vacation in Hawaii. As the story goes, little Richie was pissed he couldn’t share what he was experiencing and the things he encountered with his father while they were snorkelling. His frustration got him thinking about how to communicate underwater, water talkie was invented and it went on to birth a company that produces water toys. Richie has also been given credit for inventing other water toys
4. Wristies by 10-Year-Old Kathryn Gregory
Now popular as fingerless gloves, Wristies was invented by little Kathryn Gregory to protect her hurting wrists. She designed them to be worn under her coat and mittens. People found what she created interesting and urged her to make more of them, she did, got a patent and a company was birthed. Today, Wristies are been worn for several reasons but majorly for the warmth it offers. For this and other reasons, Kathryn Gregory in 1997, was inducted with some other kids around the world into the Kids’ Hall of Fame.
5. Popsicle by 11-Year-Old Frank Epperson
Frank stumbled on this one, it was all an accident that dates back to 1905 when the first popsicle became a thing. It is said that Frank left his cup of soda ant the stirring stick in it outside after having a good play outdoors. After a cold night, he found the drink frozen – the frozen ice on a stick image stayed with him until he patented it in 1923. The water-based frozen snack is today popular with several names across the globe.
6. Tooth-O-Matic by 12-Year-Old Henry Hughes
For 12 years old Henry Hughes, Tooth-O-Matic would save time. He explained that his invention would have a hatch where the toothpaste will be housed and a button to push for the toothpaste to be pushed up the tube onto the brush. Henry essentially invented a useable toothbrush that would bring up the toothpaste to be used on the surface of the brush.
7. Braille by 15-Year-Old Louis Braille
“Bad things happen for a reason” and other similar expressions are what comes to mind the moment one comprehends the circumstances surrounding the invention of the visually impaired writing system. The miracle of the blind being able to read with their fingers was perfected by 15 years old Louis Braille after he had an accident that cost him his sight. To keep up with reading an writing, he invented his own language by developing codes the French alphabet. Thanks to him, the visually impaired can today, operate computers and other gadgets.
8. Trampoline by 16-Year-Old George Nissen
The coming of trampoline has been traced back to 1930 when Nissen who was a gymnast and swimmer watched a group of trapeze perform in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. he enjoyed the travelling circus performance but couldn’t stop thinking that the artists would’ve presented a more-fascinating performance if there’s a way for them to bounce more. This thought lingered until he started working on what metamorphosed to become the trampoline. Records have it that the 16-year-old was assisted by his gymnastics coach (Larry Griswold) at the University of Iowa to create the device which people all over the world now bounce on for recreational and at times, competitive purposes.
9. Earmuffs by 15-Year-Old Chester Greenwood
While many people are very much aware that earmuffs are meant to offer warmth and as well protect the ear from noise-induced hearing loss and other risks, only a handful know that the object was invented by a teenager. If you’ve bothered to check, you will find that Chester Greenwood at the age of 15 (in 1873) was forced to invent the earmuff while he was ice skating. He had had enough of the cold and other things bothering his ears whenever he steps out for ice skating. His invention gained rapid recognition, he patented it sometime in 1877 and started mass production which triggered profitable economic activities in his hometown, Farmington, Maine.
Greenwood is no more but for each first Saturday of December every year, Farmington celebrates Chester Greenwood Day to honour the Earmuffs inventor who died on the 5th day of July 1937.
10. First Digital Calculator (Pascal’s Calculator) by 18-Year-Old Blaise Pascal
The first thing you are most likely to find about Blaise Pascal if you check him up is that he’s France’s most celebrated physicist and mathematician. In a nutshell, everything you will find about him will suggest that he was a child prodigy. His father who was a tax collector handed him his earliest education and, to give something back, he invented what is regarded as the first digital calculator to help the man carry out his tax calculations more effectively and effortlessly.
11. Water Skiing by 18-Year-Old Ralph Samuelson
What gave birth to water skiing as known today was a simple quest of Ralph Samuelson to enjoy snow skiing but on water. Check the history you will find that Samuelson eventually had the skiing he wanted on wanted. The first was in Lake City, Minnesota sometime in the summer of 1922. Although Fred Waller out-witted Samuelson and got the water skiing invention patented for himself, Samuelson was inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame way back in January 1977. He dies in August the same year.
12. Snowmobile by 19-Year-Old Joseph-Armand Bombardier
Though the invention of the motorized vehicle made for riding on snow and ice has been linked to several individuals, the breakthrough that propelled the recreational and winter travel vehicle to its prominence as know today has been hugely attributed to 19-year-old Joseph-Armand Bombardier. It is commonly reported that he created a caterpillar track system that works fine for all snow conditions.
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True, the French-Canadian inventor invented other things but he is most popular for his Snowmobile endeavours. He died on the 18th day of February 1964 but that didn’t stop the government of Canada from honouring him by making a postage stamp with his image. This happened in 2000. Meanwhile, we uncovered that the man has been inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.
