Category Archives: Inventors

Invention is the craft of creating new products or processes. Inventors are makers as well as thinkers. Innovative behavior isn’t automatic – it must be built into daily habits.

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The Successful Life of Failure

Lessons from a Crash Dummy

You have probably heard about Thomas Edison’s thousands of failed experiments. But have you ever considered what it might be like to be the failed experiment?

– The crash dummies learn when they crash and burn. –

Samuel Alderson invented the ultimate failure that keeps on saving our lives year after year: the crash dummy.

Click here to see other articles from 2016!

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What Henry Ford Didn’t Teach Us About Productivity

Read This Before You Take on Another Mindless Project

Henry Ford revolutionized the Industrial Age with his invention of the movable assembly line – all of the sudden work came to the workers and cars were built fast.

– Henry Ford’s assembly line made automobiles affordable for the average person. –

Rather than each worker building a car, each person in line would complete one role like attaching a wheel or checking some bolts. Contrary to popular opinion, studies are now showing that individuals are less productive when tackling projects assembly line style.

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Clif Bar’s Little-Told Climb to the Top

Gary Erickson Scales the North Face of Business

Mom’s calzones were so delicious. Gary wondered if they could sell them. Ever since high school he had wanted to run his own business – could he do it?

– Not many know that “Clif” Bar was named after Gary’s dad, Clif. –

One day in 1990, Gary Erickson and buddy Jay embarked on a 175-mile bike ride. As always, they packed 6 energy bars each. But Gary just couldn’t stomach them this time.

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The Untold Story of LEGO®-Themed Furniture

Don't Miss This Video Filmed in LEGO®!

Have you ever been told you should patent one of your ideas? With spray paint and a few coasters ordered through eBay, Martin decked out the doors of his IKEA cupboards like LEGO bricks. Friends and family loved it.

Instead of patenting his idea, Martin is taking his product straight to the consumer.

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Learn 4 Skills to Keep Your Brain Alive

How a Playful Mindset Led to the First Powered Flight

Your children are begging you to play with them. Playing is not your first preference…you would rather mow the yard, clean the gutters, make dinner, take out the garbage. Admit it, you’d rather clean the toilets. As long as you don’t have to play!
- Young Wilbur and Orville never forgot the day that their father brought a helicopter toy home. -

– Young Wilbur and Orville never forgot the day that their father brought a helicopter toy home. –

Learn why adults are so intimidated by play and how avoiding play allows our brains to… well, shrivel up… peacefully.

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Frameable LEGO® Modular Buildings

An Exclusive Interview with Natalia Meijerink

What do you get when you combine an architect, a LEGO fan and an Etsy shop in one person? You get Natalia Meijerink and her framed LEGO building fronts.
- Amsterdam house front. -

– Amsterdam house front. –

Framing Amsterdam landmarks and custom buildings from anywhere in the world, Natalia’s artwork is truly unique. Learn her story and see more of her artwork below.

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Credit to the Thief

A Guest Post From The LEGO Car Blog

You don’t need to be the first to do something to receive the credit of invention. Apple has become the most valuable company on earth not by their own invention, but by refining other companies’ ideas and marketing them to the masses. The iPod was the first portable mp3 right? Er… no. The iPad the first touch screen tablet? Not even close. And yet what was this blog entry typed on? Yup, a Mac.
- Hasan designed this LEGO version of the Volkswagon Golf GTI. -

– The Volkswagon Golf GTI is considered a leader in innovation. –

Such practices (and consumer delusions) are just as rife within the automotive industry as they are within tech. In fact, many Americans still wrongly believe that the American, Henry Ford, invented the motorcar. In reality, Karl Benz invented the automobile 20 years before Ford introduced his famous “Model T”!

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No More “Monopoly” on Business Games

An Exclusive Interview with the Creators of UPSTART

Have you ever dreamed of creating and selling your own game? An entrepreneur with gaming experience, Richard “D-cal” Dacalos, fell into a depression after 3 years of running a small business.
- What's more fun than starting a business? Playing a game about it. -

– What’s more fun than starting a business? Playing a game about starting your own business. –

D-cal had learned so much in those 3 years, yet he was beyond frustrated! Locking himself away in a room for a week, he cut paper scraps, scribbled ideas, and re-purposed LEGO bricks, transforming his pain into an exciting business-themed board game.

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