Tuesday January 17th is Kid Inventors’ Day!
On this special day, we celebrate the creativity and inventiveness of young people all over the world. 🥳
It is amazing how so many of the things that we use every day, items that make our lives easier or simply more fun, have been invented by kids!
🔎Did you know?
Guinness World Records title holder for the youngest ever patent holder (official inventor and owner of a creation) in the USA was just 4 years old! Her name is Sydney Dittman and, in 1993, she invented an aid for grasping round door knobs which helped people with disabilities open doors more easily.🚪
Here are some of our favourite kid inventions ever👇
Swim Fins
You might be wondering, why January 17th?
The answer is simple – it is the birthday of distinguished politician and scientist Benjamin Franklin, whose earliest success was inventing swim flippers at the age of 11!
Benjamin loved swimming and he wanted to become better and faster (who doesn’t?).
So, after some experimenting, he made two round pieces of wood that, when grabbed with the hands, gave him a very helpful extra push through the water. 🌊
Trampoline
Who doesn’t love the trampoline?! 🤪
Next time you are bouncing around with your friends, you can impress them with this piece of trivia: George Nissen invented the trampoline when he was only 16 years old!
After watching some performers do tricks in the air and then fall down into their safety nets, he thought of how much better it would be if they could bounce back instantly to continue their show.
And the rest… is history! ✨
Now, here is another fun fact…
Do you know who holds the world record for youngest trampoline international competitor?
That would be Andrea Holmes, who competed for Britain when he was just 12 years old!
Popsicle
Okay, so technically this one was not invented… because it was created by accident. 😳
Frank Epperson was only 11 years old when he accidentally left a cup filled with soda powder, water, and a stirring stick on his porch all night.
It was so cold that by morning, it was completely frozen…
And the delicious ice lolly was born! 🤤
Oh, and by the way, have you seen the world’s largest ice lolly (popsicle)?
This giant Rocket ice lolly was made by Jan van den Berg in the Netherlands, and it weighs…
9,081 kg (20,020 lb)!!!
That’s as heavy as a hippo. 🦛
Christmas Lights
Christmas may be over but… would it really be Christmas without lights on the tree? 🎄
For this amazing discovery, we have no one to thank other than 15-year-oldAlbert Sadacca who first created the strings of lightbulbs that take any ornament to the next level!
And, in case you’re wondering, the most lights lit simultaneously on a Christmas tree was achieved by Kiwanis Malmedy in Belgium, and it is… 194,672. 😮
Pretty impressive, isn’t it?
We hope we inspired you to come up with your own ideas for some brilliant invention, or… perhaps make your own home-made ice lolly?!