Never mind air conditioning, Teflon, television and computers. Last year at an international inventors' convention in Geneva, one of the more improbable devices came from Germany. He wasn't sure. Except I know it played music. Most inventors labor in obscurity.
Invisibility seems to come with the territory.
We all know band leader Fred Waring invented the Waring Blender and Thomas Crapper came up with the first . . . But for every Crapper there are dozens of Luther Simijians. But it's not for fame or fortune that most inventors invent. In fact, most innovators spend years working on an idea, spend thousands of dollars in legal fees and on research, and process pounds of paperwork with the patent office. Often with no salable result.