APRIL 10th - They Could be Like Walter Hunt



You ever think about simple inventions and the inventors that became millionaires off of them by creating a little thing that made life just a little bit easier. Like the person who created the plastic doohickey that goes on the end of shoelaces? Or even something purely aesthetic like the person who made the little umbrella to garnish fruity drinks. That’s the way to do it, right? Invent this simple little thing and reap the benefits. None of the drama of creating Facebook or the arms race of the computer world. But things don’t always work out that way. Take Walter Hunt as an example. On this day in 1849, Walter patented the safety-pin. Simple enough invention, but a completely brilliant and useful one. I’m not quite sure why, but then I’m not much of a seamstress. The problem was that Walter, like me, failed to realize just how useful. He sold the pin for $400 hundred dollars. That is close to $11K today, but W.R. Grace and Company made millions off that little tiny pin, leaving Walter to stew over what could have been his. Walter supposedly only created the pin because he was trying to figure out how to pay off a $15 debt. So he came out ahead. If you consider failing to realize that a safety-pin was potentially worth millions of dollars and clearing $385, coming out ahead. So next time you’re lacing your shoes with ease or using the little twisty thing to re-seal your bread, don’t just assume that the people who invented those improvements are on Easy Street. They could be like Walter Hunt. And you should spend more time focusing on yourself rather than coveting what others have anyway.

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