Ah, Monday! A break from the relentless, seemingly interminable joy of having days to do whatever you please. The dawn of heartbreak, the mother of toil!
As a palate cleanser, to prepare you for a week of joyful productivity, here is a lighthearted patent for your delectation: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6193578B1/
Does exactly
what it says on the tin
Sometimes this blog is going to be a peek behind the curtain, showing my frustrations with the high crimes and misdemeanors of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Other times, we’re just going to revel in the absurdity of the human intellect, the joy of creation, and the intersection of artistic vision with the grinding machinery of law. This is one of the latter!
A transparent vessel containing a fluid and a life-like full scale human brain inserted into the fluid is used for novelty purposes. The vessel is open on its top and sealed on its bottom, and is mounted on a base portion of the device. Air bubbles are produced from an air pump attached to the side of the base portion. A tube connected to the air pump and an outlet port is positioned inside of the vessel, immersed in the liquid to supply air. The transparent, water-tight brain vessel is lit from underneath by a lamp. To enhance an effect of a scientific fiction experiment, the novelty is placed on a stand and has one or more decorative perforated tubes attached for visual effect. The tank is preferably covered with a dome-shaped lid.
USP 6,193,578, Abstract
The entire U.S. patent system is founded in the following words of Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution: To promote the progress of science and useful arts. Can you imagine a more perfect fulfillment of this lofty aim than a brain in a bubbling jar?
Patenting the odd, the impossible, and the unnerving 