The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1882-06-17


u must not give il, though your wrOth
/ But, may be, you can take it."
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Curiosities Of Patents.
Of the patent articles which have
made their owners Independent, some
of the most valuable are those which
any sehoolboy might presumably have
invented, only no schoolboy did so,
and the man who did is reaping the
reward Of bis foresight. During the
summer months a favorite toy is what
Is known as the "return ball" 1t con-
sists simply Of an ordinary rubber ball
to which is attached a long piece Of
elastic. The end Of the elastic is held
/ in the hand, or tied around the finger,
and when the ball Is thrown it goes
far enough to stretch the elastic to its
utmost tension, and then returns to
/ the hand as the effect Of the recoil.
This little device Is patented, and sells
for the small sum Of 10 cents on the
/ street, and at a slight advance in the
fashionable toy stores. 1t is found in
the hands Of thousands Of boys and
girle. throughout the country, and
yields to the holder Of the patent an
! income equal to that on q capital Of
. 100000.
The rubber tip on the end Of lead
pencils, which is used for erasing false
marks, Is also secured by patent, and
I for every tip used the manufacturers
/ pay royalty to the inventor which
gives him an independent income.
The consumption of these pencils Is
/ very great, and the simple idea of tip
ping them with rubber has placed the
man who originated it beyond the
reach Of need in future, SO long as he
clings to his patent.
+ Another very simple, but very val
liable invention Is the gummed paper
wrappers, which obyiate the necessity
of using mucilage or paste to secure
4 papers for the mails The patent IS
on the application Of the gum to the
/ wrappers, and a royalty is paid to the
inventor on every wrapper thus pre-
pared. As the number Of wrappers
used daily in the forwarding Of mails
amounts to hundreds Of thousands, the
! income derived by the inventor from
his royalty viii be seen to be a mag
T nifcent one.
/ The gimlet-pointed screw was pat
I ented in 1916. It is familiar to every
+ BODY, ana millions have been realized
/ from its manufacture, yet 50 simple Is
1 the principal that the wonder is that
I it was not thought out and applied al
( most as far back as the age Of iron.
One Of the most valuable Of small
and simple inventions IS that of the
patent shoe-tip. Every parent who
( has to provide shoes for his children
+ knows, to his cost, that one great pc
culiarity Of the youth Of the present
/ fast age IS q tendency to wear off the
toes Of the shoes. Ia the case Of the
+ average boy, and Of the average girl,
1 too the toe Is the first part Of the shoe
to disappear. To provide against this
and equalize, as it were, and tear Of
/ leather on the feet ofjuveniles, an in
genious father, who had suffered much
/ in pocket at the hands Of boot and
shoe dealers. invented the shoe-tip and
patented the article. 1t consists sim
ply Of small cap Of copper or other
metal attached to the toe Of the boot
or shoe. Ii IS now III use in every
town and city in the land which Is in
habited by the small boy, and the
value Of the patent to the holder IS
/ fully S2.00o,000
Probably the most valuable patent
in the toy line ever taken out in this
or any other country is that which
/ secures the Plympton roller skates to
its holder. The idea upon which the
T patent Is Issued IS simply the attach
ment Of rollers upon skate plates, and
on this patents have been secured in
England and in many of the South
i American countries. In Brazil and
other tropical countries, where ice Is
unknown and skating impossible, ex-
i cept upon artieially frozen ponds, the
rollers were greeted as veritable
godsend, and rinks with smooth earth