Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-04-12
CURiOSlTlES IN PATENTS.
Small Inventions which Have Built Up Fortunes
The Retura Ball, the Dancing Negro, Drive
Wells, Rubber Pencil Head, Copper Shoe Tips

The Retura Ball, the Dancing Negro, Drive
Wells, Rubber Pencil Head, Copper Shoe Tips.
IFrom the N. Y. Times.l
Of the patent articles which have
made their owners independent, some of
the most valuable are those which any
schoolboy might presumably have in
vented, only no schoolboy did so, and
the man who did is now reaping the re-
ward of his foresight. During the sum-
mel months a favorite toy is what is
known as the "return ball." It con-
slsts simply of an ordinary rubber ball,
TO which is attached a long piece of elias
tic. 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 adj
vance IN the fashionable toy stores. It
is found in the hands of thousands of
boys and girls throughout the country,
and yields to the holder of the patent an
income equal to that on a capital of
$500, 600. The rubber tip on the end of
lead pencils, which is used for erasing
false marks, is also secured by patent,
and for every tip used the II uufactur-
ers pay a royalty to the i~nveLt.r, which
gives him an independent income. The
consumption of these pencil is verv
great, and the simple idea of tipping them
with rubber has placed the man who orr
ginated it beyond the reach of need in
the future, SO long as he clings to his
patent. Another very simple but very
valuable invention is the gummed
paper wrappers, which obviate the ne
cesslty OF using mucilage or paste to Sc
curepapers for the mails. The patent is
on the application of the gum to the
wrappers, and a royalty is paid to the in
ventor on every wrapper thus prepared.
As the number of wrappers used daily
III the forwarding OF mails amounts to
hundreds of thousands, the income de-
rived by the inventor from his royalty
will be seen to be a magnificent one.
The gimlet-pointed screw was patented
In 1916. It is familiar to everybody.
and millions have been realized from its
manufacture, yet SO simple is the prin-
ciple that the wonder is that it was not
thought out and applied almost as far
back as the age of iron. One of the
most valuable of the small and simple In
10 Uhhb III Lax pdGCuG SlOG-ClG.
Every parent who has to provide shoes
for his children knows to his cost that
some great popularity of the youth of
the present fast age is a tendency to
wear off the toes of shoes. In the case
of the average boy, and OF the average
girl, too, the toe is the first part of the
shoe to disappear. To provide against
this, and equal1ze, as is were, the wear
ona foor Of 1aofbor ON +ha foot Of ,ro,
lies, an ingenious father, who had suf-
fered much In pocket at the hands of
boot and shoe dealers, invented the shoe
tip and patented the article. It consists
simply OF a small cap of copper or other
metal attached to the toe of the boot or
shoe. 1t isnow in use In every town and
city of the land which is inhabited by
the small boy, and the value of the pat
ent to the holder is fully So, 600, 900.
Probably the most valuable patent In
the toy line ever taken out IL this or any
other country is that which secures the
Plympton roller-skates to its holder.
The choleric gentleman who gets knocked
down by a score of urchins on rollers
when walking up Fifth Avenue on a
summer day has but a faint idea of the
number of these articles in use through
out the world. The streets are full of
them, but these represent but a small
quota of the vast number manufactured
and sold. The idea upon which the
patent is issued is simply the attachment
of rollers upon skate plates, and on this
patents have been secured in England
and IN many of the South American
countries. Skating on rollers bears but
a faint resemblance to skating on ice,
but it is exhilarating sport nevertheless,
and sprang at once INTO popularity with
the young of both sexes. In Brazil and
other tropical countries where ice is un
known and skating impossible except
upon artifcially frozen ponds, the rollers
were greeted as a veritable godsend, and
Kinks with smooth earthen floors sprang
up like magic. The value of the patent
on the roller skates to its holder is esti-
mated at over 81, 600, 600, and he ex-
pended over $125, 900 in legal expenses
alonet to prevent the patent from infringe
ment In England. The dancing negro,
which can be seen in any toy shop, and
which is simply a figure of a Dinah or a
Jumbo balanced by a wire, which is
moved rapidly up and down bv a system
of clock-wOrk In the box upc- which it
dances, provides an income for its in
ventor OF $500 a year. The common
needle-threader, to be found on sale at
nearly every street corner, is worth $10,-
QUO a year to the to the man who thought
out the problem which might easily have
been solved by a boy of 10 years, only it
was not.
Green's drive well is now very extern
sively used throughout the country
wherever water is to be drawn out of the
ground. The thought suggested itself
to Col. Green while engaged in the army
during the war. Thetroops were suffer
ing for want of water, and it occurred to
him to relieve their wants by simply
driving a two-inch tube into the ground
with o heavy hammer. The water was
reached and drawn to the surface by
means of a pump attached to the upper