Three Things I (Kinda Sorta) Invented

Every so often, I discover an invention that -- coincidentally -- I dreamed up ten years ago. Following are three examples of this phenomenon.

1. McDonald's Big Kids Meal. As a fourth grader, I realized that Happy Meal portions were much too smaller for the big kids in the PlayPlace. But lettuce is gross, so a Big Mac is out of the question. My solution? The Big Kids Meal. A medium-sized drink, medium-sized fries and a double cheeseburger will do the trick.

I wrote a letter to McDonald's corporate as a class assignment and suggested the super sized mini meal. To my surprise, the meal showed up on the menu about two years later! I haven't received royalties yet, but maybe they just got lost in the mail.

2. Amazon's Kindle. In about fifth grade, I noticed the impracticality of toting sheet music to beginning band class. Without fail, one band member totally forgot his music and had to sit out. Other times, there were inconvenient page turns. My solution was a portable, flat screen device with the look of paper. Band members could download the music instantly, and a touch screen could turn the page (or a microphone that detected when the musician hit the last not on the page).

About three years ago, Amazon showed up on the market with the Kindle! Granted, it's for books, not for sheet music, but the concept is almost identical. Hopefully the Amazon big wigs will stumble across Memorandum d'Michelle and realize the endless utility of a musical Kindle.

3. Electronic license plates. About two years ago, I expressed interest in a device that would send textual messages to other motorists -- a lighted sign on the car that said, "Excuse me, could you let me pass?" or the like. Today, I stumbled across an article about digital license plates, which would simultaneously broadcast messages, including Amber Alerts and road conditions, to other drivers. Brilliant!

Moral of the story - get a patent. People will take your ideas and leave you in the dust. :)