IP Goes Pop! Episode 309: Game Changing Inventions Part 1- the 1800s

In this episode of IP Goes Pop!, co-hosts and Volpe Koenig shareholders, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue, take you through their first round of pop culture “game-changers.” That is, who were the people, artists or innovators after which the world was never the same? Game changers exist in so many pop culture areas, including movies, music, television and sports. In the world of patents and inventions, game changers from hundreds of years ago still impact our lives every day.

While the age of the tinkering in the garage or basement and coming up with an invention that changes the world may be much less likely today, this episode looks at the history of how a few brilliant minds saw a problem and set forth solving it—not just for themselves, but for the world.

Michael and Joe set the table with their choices for iconic pop-culture game changers in basketball, music fandoms, special effects, TV shows and stand-up comedy. These were legends that helped re-define their crafts. This episode then takes us further back into patent history than IP Goes Pop! has ever gone before. Michael and Joe dig deep into the patent archives and pull out some exceptional early inventions that are still relevant now. You will hear the story of each inventor, the background of their invention, and how their innovations impacted the larger culture.

In many ways, pop culture is defined by constant change. You never know from whom, from where, or how innovations will come about, but you can rest assured IP Goes Pop! will be there to walk you through the intellectual property game changers that continue to influence our world and the ways we interact with it.

This episode may inspire a listener to put an idea into practice that could end up making everyone’s life better or easier. The next game-changing invention could be just around the corner of curiosity and problem solving.

Timestamps:

2:45 Sports Game Changers

• Wilt Chamberlain
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

5:33 Music Game Changers

• Nirvana
• Little Richard

8:07 Movie Game Changers

• James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
• Jurassic Park (1993)

11:27 Television Game Changers

• All in the Family (1971-1979)
• Married with Children (1987-1997)
• Seinfeld (1989-1998)

13:27 Comedy Game Changers

• George Carlin
• Richard Pryor

16:29 Game-Changing Inventions

• Improvement in propelling machinery by magnetism and electro-magnetism, US132A
  • Thomas Davenport
• Electric Lamp, US223898A
  • Thomas Edison
• Improvement in telegraphy, US174465A
  • Alexander Graham Bell
• Improvement in India-rubber fabrics, US3462A
  • Charles Goodyear
• Improvement in hoisting apparatus, US31128A
  • Elisha Graves Otis

34:09 Final Thoughts on Game-Changing IP

• Elimination of boredom and invention slow down, “Tinker-ers” vs. TikTokers?
• Working from home and innovation