TVCH FORUMS HOME . JOIN . FAN CLUBS . ABOUT US . CONTACT . CHAT  
Bomis   Quick Links   TOPICS . TREE-VIEW . SEARCH . HELP! . NEWS . PROFILE
Archive through April 15, 2006

The TVClubHouse: Other Reality Shows ARCHIVES: Archives for 2006 - 1: American Inventor: Archive through April 15, 2006 users admin

Author Message
Jan
Moderator

08-01-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 9:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jan a private message Print Post    
I like the toner belt best also.

While I was at the site I noticed that the next show is 2 hours again. BUT the first hour is more recaps of auditions:

Thursday, April 20 at 8/7c
"Best of Auditions - Part 1"
Two hours of American Inventor first kick off with audition highlights of the inspired and not so inspired, as thousands of hopefuls vie to compete for the million dollar prize.


while the second hour works with 3 of the inventors - and two will be eliminated! (so it sounds like a reduction down to 12/3 = 4 finalists??)

Thursday, April 20 at 9/8c
"Episode 106"
Ed Evangelista, one of the expert judges, will mentor three inventors and guide them through the process of working with product designers, packaging companies, marketing executives and product testing. In an ultimate challenge, the inventors will have their new and improved product tested to see if it delivers, and Ed will face the difficult decision of choosing one of his three to move on to the final round.


Fruitbat
Member

08-07-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 9:58 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Fruitbat a private message Print Post    
Ah, now this sounds more interesting.

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 10:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
I like the toner belt, too. I can see it used in many ways by lots of people. I'd buy one.

I was so glad to see the cookie "snow globe" lady gone! THat thing looks so silly to me and she. . .well, let's just say I'm glad she's gone.

I think the child safety seat looks like a great idea, but I do wonder about the engineering. In an accident, what keeps the mechanism that swivels the child from breaking?

Jimmer
Moderator

08-30-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 10:17 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
I like the concept of the show but the sappy music, the sob stories, the weeping judge and weeping conntestants all reduce the appeal. It's too much.

Ironically (considering that it is Simon's show) I wish they would take Simon's approach with the AI contestants. Sure they may have traveled thousands of miles on their last dollar, they may have stood in the snow and rain for hours and so on but if they can't sing, they can't sing.

Same thing with this show. Their stories may be sad, but if they don't have a good invention, that should be the end of it.

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 10:23 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
Oh, and the one I truly don't see being a big seller is the toilet seat thing. Sorry, but most people flush BEFORE closing the lid and I don't see it as such a big problem anyway.

But then, I'm about as far from a germophobic as you can get. :-)

Fruitbat
Member

08-07-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 11:01 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Fruitbat a private message Print Post    
Cleaning products and over the counter medicine are the biggest selling products in the US. Put something on the market that speaks to the clean freaks and it flys off the shelves. Clorox has half the country wiping their homes with those wipes. There is no need to do that!

There are probably people out there that are instructing their families to close the lid before flushing just watching that demo.

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 12:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
I like the baby car-seat best. :-)

But I am also rooting for the emotional, idealistic kid who almost had a stroke yesterday, when they awarded him the money, for his bike. I don't understand what's the big deal about his oddlooking bike. I've only seen two eps and I missed it when he introduced it.

The bathroom door thing is sensible but stupid, if ya know what I mean. I just don't see as its better than so many that didn't make the cut. Once could just as easily write occupied on a sticky note and post it on the door. LOL.

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 12:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
WEll, I've been in situations where the bathroom door holder thingy would have really been handy, but I don't find it particularly wonderful. It's a gimmick kind of item that, priced correctly (that is, in the $5 range, maybe) could sell a LOT, especially since it could hold a pack of tissues as well, but I don't think it's the next great American invention.

OTOH, the toner belt could be really useful for lots of folks -- travelers, walkers, folks with limited mobility, etc. -- and the car seat, if it worked structurally, could be a true life-saver.

Everything else seems somewhere in between, to me. :-)

Whoami
Member

08-03-2001

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 2:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Whoami a private message Print Post    
I kinda like the bathroom door thing too. For me, its not so much a matter of security, or if someone is going to walk in on me. A lot of those bathroom doors swing open and won't stay shut long enough for you to do your business. I don't like the idea of sitting there doing something that's private to me in front of any strange woman that might walk into the restroom, especially during certain times of the month. That's why the doors are on there in the first place, for privacy.

Sure, one could just hold the door shut from inside, but its not all that easy when you're short, with short arms. Once you lean forward far enough to hold the door closed, doing the rest of what needs to be done becomes rather challenging.

Is it the next great American invention? Probably not. And probably not even the best of this program. But I think it would be a good product for one of those mail order catalogues.

Mameblanche
Member

08-24-2002

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 2:45 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mameblanche a private message Print Post    
Good point. I overlooked the fact that some of those doors won't even close, never mind lock. She could probably make a mint from cheap mass production, and dollar store sales - K-mart/Walmart sales. I love your idea of it holding spare tissues.

As for the baby car-seat's safety. I figure that is what the fifty-grand is for... to tweak their inventions and work the kinks out.

Fruitbat
Member

08-07-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 4:35 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Fruitbat a private message Print Post    
Yes! Whoami, Lillian Vernon or Vermont Country Store. The door clip would sell furiously if released just before xmas and then tank just like the garlic roller did. You can't find one anywhere now because you really don't need one.

I doubt that car seat would work as intended. Great thought but impossible to execute is my guess.

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 4:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
The door clip should be in TravelSmith and Magellan, too. :-)

Jimmer
Moderator

08-30-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 4:54 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
I don't get the door clip thing. Are there that many broken bathroom stall doors? I haven't seen many?

Jan
Moderator

08-01-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 4:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jan a private message Print Post    
just how many women's washrooms have you been in Jimmer . Believe me there are a lot!

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 5:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
he doesn't know cause men rarely have doors!

Max
Moderator

08-12-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 5:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Max a private message Print Post    
Jimmer, it only takes one broken door at a time when you REALLY could use some privacy to ruin your day. And unfortunately, yes, there tend to be a lot of broken ones. :-)

Glenrie
Member

03-24-2006

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 6:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Glenrie a private message Print Post    
The men judges didn't realize how many broken doors there were either until the woman judge told them and told them to think of their wives and sisters.

Fruitbat
Member

08-07-2000

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 6:33 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Fruitbat a private message Print Post    
I am with you Jimmer. I don't run into enough broken stall locks to want to carry one of those around. I rarely carry a purse anyway. One reason I wear jeans all the time is for the pockets. All I need is a wallet, cell phone and lip gloss. I will just wait for a working stall to open.

Curlyq
Member

07-10-2002

Friday, April 14, 2006 - 6:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Curlyq a private message Print Post    
I think that door clip is something that you'd put right next to the register with all those little last minute impulse items. It's not the kind of thing you'd make a special effort to go out and get, and not the kind of thing you'd make a big deal about in the store like you would those Christmas gadgets. It's just a simple handy thing to have on hand, but not something that does a special trick or anything. A clever idea that someone should've thought up long ago.

I like Francisco (is that his name?), too. His invention may not be something everyone will need, but he's just so grateful for everything that he makes you want to see wonderful things happen to him.

The toilet seat thing actually looks like something that would sell. This is coming from someone who now keeps her toothbrush in a "Germ Terminator" in my bedroom for that very reason. For years I'd been admonished that toothbrushes kept in the bathroom collect airborne germs every time the toilet flushes. Even if you put the lid down, it doesn't seal shut. There's a space between the bowl and the seat. I'm just wondering if this invention can really catch all those germs.

I didn't like the last round because it really did feel like they were starting to get too exploitative. It was like they just wanted to see them bring their rawest emotions, or they wouldn't let their inventions pass. The cake and cookie lady didn't stand a chance on that criteria. I did notice that they no longer called them candy globes.

The inside-out umbrella was an interesting idea, too. I don't know if it is really practical since it looks like it actually got longer after she collapsed it, but I was just impressed that she was able to create the prototype when she originally had nothing.

Jimmer
Moderator

08-30-2000

Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 6:25 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
just how many women's washrooms have you been in Jimmer

OOPS! Well now that you mention it, not many (though I did rather nobly go in to fix one at one point – considering it is not my area of expertise!).

I've only seen one or two broken doors in men's washrooms which leads me to two hypotheses. Either women use their doors more or women are rougher on their doors. I think the first hypothesis is correct.

I still find it hard to believe that there are that many broken ones though.

Naja
Member

06-28-2003

Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 2:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Naja a private message Print Post    
Arg, did anybody else feel like all they did was watch the other week's shows again for two hours, but with music and checks handed out at the very end?

Yellek
Member

08-22-2001

Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 3:12 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Yellek a private message Print Post    
I was at the Farmers Market today, selling my crafts, and discovered that both stalls in the womens restroom there are now broken. I'm usually there every Saturday, and all last year only one was broken. The worst part, is that one of them is the handicapped stall and the door opens outward. I could've used that clip today! Instead I asked a woman who was waiting to hold it closed for me.

Oh, and I bet that the men's stalls don't break as often because they don't get as much use.

Karuuna
Board Administrator

08-31-2000

Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 3:30 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Karuuna a private message Print Post    
You know I was at a big expensive bank the other day for a meeting and went down the hall to use the restroom. Four stalls. Tried the first one, couldn't get the door to latch. Tried the second, and the third, and the fourth. Not a one would latch. There's a real trick to removing clothing, using the toidy, and replacing the clothing, all with a knee or foot pressed against the door to keep it closed.

They oughta just drill holes in these little gadgets and chain them to the inside of their restroom doors if they won't fix 'em!

Jimmer
Moderator

08-30-2000

Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 3:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
That's amazing. They don't need a gadget to hold the doors closed. They need someone to invent a better lock for stall doors!

Or K's idea would work great too - a permanent attachment.

Aussiedeb
Member

07-05-2004

Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 3:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Aussiedeb a private message Print Post    
I haven't seen the car seat thingy, but it sounds like something that has been in Australia for years. I used it for my son who is now 15 and it was out before then. It is shaped like an egg and in the event of an accident it somehow protects the baby.

I missed this weeks show.. guess I was lucky then..lol I could use that door clip in a lot of bathrooms around here, especially at our K-Mart stores and the nearest mall.