Unworthwhile Inventions: My Humble Contributions to the World of Innovation

Every inventor, whether they are children daydreaming up solutions to intractable problems or seasoned engineers tackling complex challenges, is guilty of at least one 'useless' invention. In this article, I share some of my own creations that, despite their initial promise, turned out to be more of a humorous anecdote than a practical solution.

The Magnetic Anticollision System

As a child, I discovered the fundamental principle of magnetism—the repulsion of like poles—and instantly imagined a solution to prevent car accidents. My idea was to place powerful magnets on all vehicles, with their North poles facing outward, so that if two cars were approaching, their magnetic fields would repel and act like an invisible cushion, preventing a collision.

Years later, after abandoning the project, I understood just how impractical and potentially disastrous the scheme was. The magnets would need to have astonishing power to work, and the consequences of even a minor malfunction could be catastrophic. This experience taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of realistic assessment and safety considerations in innovation.

The Invisible Mouse Cursor Clone

During my early days of learning web design and coding, I created a project that generated an invisible clone of my mouse cursor at a specific distance. The idea was to use this innovation for some unknown purpose, but I quickly realized the potential for it to be misused. A decade later, with the evolution of pop-ups and privacy concerns, the concept of such a clone would likely trigger alarm.

This project, while initially an exercise in creativity and flexibility, serves as a reminder of the unintended consequences one must consider when introducing new technologies into the ecosystem.

The Typing Bot that Failed

Another of my less successful inventions was a typing bot developed to compete in online typing competitions. Initially, I envisioned it scraping text from the website and typing it at an accelerated pace, aiming to outperform human players. However, in the real world, competing in TypeRacer, an online typing competition, has strict rules: if your speed exceeds 100 words per minute, the system automatically asks you to take a typing test from an image to ensure legitimacy.

Due to this requirement, the bot was rendered useless for the competition. Nonetheless, the project remains a testament to my problem-solving skills and coding abilities, albeit not directed towards practical applications.

The Overthinking Conundrum

Overthinking, a common human trait, often leads us to create our own problems, as we impose challenges on ourselves that may not even exist. For example, when working for an engineering firm, I faced the task of beautifying and improving a document while adhering to strict formatting rules. My idea of creating a special font to mimic strikeovers turned out to be impractical due to the limitations of the hardware and software at that time.

The first issue was that certain letters with the strikeover font pushed too many matrix pins simultaneously, making them untidy. Secondly, the printer stored only one font at a time, requiring a 2-second reload whenever a font change was needed, significantly slowing down the document editing process.

With these challenges in mind, the project was ultimately abandoned, leading to the upgrade of the software and the purchase of a more expensive printer to meet the requirements.

The Nasal Fan: A Playful Idea

In a vein of playful innovation, I conceptualized and built a small fan attached to a nose that blows upward to keep hair out of the eyes. This whimsical idea was born from the desire for convenience while indulging in intellectual pursuits that often involve long hours of focused work. Despite its impractical nature, the fan reflects the fun and creativity inherent in my approach to problem-solving.

These stories serve as reminders of the importance of pragmatic thinking, safety, and realistic assessment in my approach to innovation. Though some of these inventions did not meet practical expectations, they certainly enriched my journey as an inventor and provided valuable lessons along the way.