Why Didn't I Think of That? - by Allyn Freeman & Bob Golden (Paperback)

About the Book

Insightful, detailed, and always quirky, "Ingenious Inventions" chronicles the odd origins of famous products, explores how these inventions changed our lives, and reveals the business side of their production and distribution. Readers meet inventors from all walks of life striking it rich with unlikely contraptions. Illustrated.

Book Synopsis

Eine Chronik der weltweit berühmtesten Erfindungen und Ideen, die uns allen (und auch ihren Erfindern - finanziell) das Leben leichter gemacht haben. Die Autoren erzählen auf scharfsinnig-detaillierte und liebenswert-exzentrische Weise die merkwürdigen Entstehungsgeschichten berühmter Produkte. Sie erläutern nicht nur, wie diese nützlichen und bisweilen auch kuriosen Erfindungen unser Leben verändert haben, sondern gehen auch auf die geschäftlichen Hintergründe wie Produktion und Vertrieb ein. Insgesamt eine bunte und faszinierende Anthologie genialen Erfindertums. (10/97)

From the Back Cover

Ben & Jerry originally wanted to start a bagel business, but they couldn't afford the bagel-making machine?
* The Slinky(r) toy was born aboard a World War II battleship?
* Band-Aids(r) were invented by a husband to help his accident-prone wife dress her own cuts and bruises at home?
* The idea for Velcro(r) came from cockleburs that got stuck on an engineer's wool trousers and in his dog's fur?

Ever wonder how anyone came up with the idea for a product you couldn't imagine living without? Familiar products like Velcro(r), disposable diapers, Post-It Notes(r), and coffee filters. Read this book and you'll discover - once more - that truth is indeed often stranger than fiction. You'll also see that coming up with a million-dollar idea isn't as difficult as you think. This collection of entrepreneurs ranges from housewives to PhDs.

Filled with wacky and fascinating facts, awe-inspiring success statistics, and rags-to-riches stories, Why Didn't I Think of That? chronicles the odd origins behind 50 famous inventions and reveals the business side of each product's actual production, marketing, and distribution. You'll discover how inventors from all walks of life struck it rich with unlikely contraptions that range from the practical (like Tampax(r) and Tupperware(r) ) to the curiously inane (like the Barbie(r) doll and Silly Putty(r) ).

Inspirational, detailed, and always quirky, this delightful book captures all of the drama and colorful history of products like Heinz(r) ketchup, The Club(r), Jell-O(r), Hallmark(r) cards, Trojan(r) condoms, Vaseline(r), Rollerblades(r), Kitty Litter(r), the Swiss Army(r) Knife, Bic(r) pens, Dirt Devil(r), Pampers(r), S.O.S(r) pads, and many more.

About the Author

ALLYN FREEMAN is a writer and business consultant whose television credits include M*A*S*H and Hart to Hart. He has also written numerous articles for leading business journals. He holds an MBA from Columbia University Business School. BOB GOLDEN is a writer and composer whose musical credits include Sesame Street, TV Nation, and Comedy Central. He is the coauthor of the Jerky Boys Book, and, with Freeman, has written material for America Online.