Gallery: This Guy Turns Kids' Fanciful Inventions Into Real Products
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox01war
Dominic Wilcox is an inventor who's set out to show other kids how to become inventors. Through his program, named, yes, Inventors!, he's turned 60 kids' drawings into real products. This is the “Liftolater."
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox02whiteback
It's like a Jetsonian biodome that connects via a chute to an underground bunker. “If you want to get away from war simply get this,” reads the description.
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox03TennisBall-2
The "Super Fast Tennis Ball" is a tennis ball with controls in it that can crank up the power and speed of a ball in flight.
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox04ballexhibit
“Can we make a tennis ball you can adjust the speed of? Potentially yes, in the future,” Wilcox says. “I think it’s important to show ideas that are beyond the horizon of what we currently understand. We’ll get there eventually, and these children will be alive when we do.”
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The "Creak-less Slippers" are designed for "people who own homes with very creaky floorboards."
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox06shoecushions-1
The final model includes two tiny inflatable pillows on the soles of the slippers. Press a button in the pom-pom to activate the pillows.
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This is an umbrella for ladybugs.
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox08ladybirdumbrella2
The prototype is made from hand-blown glass.
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox09lamp
The "Shady Lamp" is like a lamp with its own set of blinds, meant to help users dim or brighten a room.
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox10shadylamp
As its 11-year-old inventor rightly realized, electric dimmers often break. This manual solution can also work on any lamp, regardless of the home's wiring.
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This "Talking Lunch Clock" is a clock, that looks like an owl, that sounds the alarm when it's time for lunch.
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox12owlclock
It uses an Arduino compatible microcontroller, a clock, and a sound sampler module that plays the “tweet tweet” sound.
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox13pringles
Not all the inventions are all so fantastical—the Pringles Hook that helps you fetch the potato chips from the bottom of the tall Pringles can seems downright useful.
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An industrial designer made the hooks, which are meant to be sold inside the Pringles can for extra value.
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The "Tooth-o-Matic" is a toothbrush with built-in toothpaste.
Courtesy of Dominic Wilcox16toothpasteout
The final product looks and works a bit like a syringe. The toothpaste tube is stashed inside the handle, and you push toothpaste out the other end.
