Friday, May 3, 2013

Blog #28: How to grow a Unicorn Patent

How to grow a Unicorn Patent 

http://www.google.com/patents/US4429685
dq=4429685&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UkiEUfXhKsTQiwKbg4B4&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA




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This is the weirdest patent I have probably ever seen. This specific patent is meant to help grow a real unicorn from a goat's head by merging their two horns into one.

To make this even weirder here is the background on the official patent page:

The unicorn, both in mythology and history, possesses a unique reputation as being a fearless, courageous and beautiful animal and protector of other beasts. One theory explains the origination of the unicorn as being developed by herds-keepers for protecting the herd. The single center position horn is a lethal weapon for warding off predatory animals. It is thought that the herdsmen did not wish to employ dogs or other animals as guards since they are meat eaters and expensive to keep.

This is a very strange thing to patent but it goes to show how important patents. Clearly the person who patented this didn't pay all the money to file it for it to be a novelty item. They probably viewed this as a great business opportunity. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2MixnmbaRI

3 comments:

  1. business opportunity? maybe back in the days people think differently but definitely not in today's society

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  2. It seems like the patent pertains to surgery rather than genetic engineering. Anyway, truly weird concept especially since it was only issued 80 years ago. Maybe through good breeding, we will one day see a unicorn.

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  3. I actually laughed out loud while reading this. This is absurd. It does however give an insight in to the thinking style of the inventor. Thanks for this post!

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