On July 30, 1963, U.S. Patent No. 195,756 issued to Joseph O. Tally on a Sign:
The sign was actually constructed, in Mr. Tally’s home town, and marked the location of Tallywood shopping center:
The sign, a tribute to mid-century modern design, stands today at 235 Tallywood Shopping Center, Fayetteville, NC (GPS coordinates: (35.046429, -78.931925). Sources indicate that William Baron was the designer of the sign, so it may be that Mr. Tally’s only contribution to the sign was his name.
On July 29, 1975, Paul D. Snyder received U.S. Patent No. D236069 on an Activity Toy:
This was the Fischer-Price Busy Box – another fixture of a 1970’s childhood.
On July 28, 1914, Henry Weil received U.S. Patent No. 46192 on a Pillow Top. Nothing special other than a nice image for a warm summer day:
On July 27, 1999, Jean-Yves Blondeau received U.S. Patent NO. 5,926,857 on Armor with Rollers:
Blondeau aka Rollerman was born in Aix-les-Bains, Savoy, France. He built the roller suit as part of his graduation project at the industrial design school École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d’art. The wearer can ride downhill on 32 wheels in a variety of positions at speeds of up to 78 mph (126 km/h). Since then, six generations of buggy-rollins have been created.
On July 26, 1977. James A. Cosentino received U.S. Patent No. D245174 on a Discotheque Building:
James Cosentino, was a Buffalo-based business who created Club 747 a unique discotheque that was a nightlife destination in 1970’s Buffalo and Rochester. He opened the Buffalo club first, with the goal of making the most spectacular discotheque in the world. The jet liner theme was carried through the decor, and the safe wore pilot and flight attendant uniforms, He purchased three 747 interiors and worked with his father and brother to build out the interiors.
The interiors were painted in deep blue, grey, and chrome, with a 70-foot bar, airline-style seating, and a cockpit area where a DJ could “fly” records from a sound booth. Screens displayed jets taking off and landing, complete with engine sounds,Cosentino’s Buffalo success in Burralo inspired a Rochester version at 2525 West Henrietta Road. While the second club was smaller, it carried on the jetliner theme.
On July 25. 2-24, Ty Atkins of Jacksonville, Florida, received U.S. Patent No.11,707650 on a Beverage Dispensing Ring Toss Headwear:
But Ty was no one-hit wonder, he previously patented (U.S. Patent No. 10,952,487) on a Beverage Dispensing Umbrella Headwear:
On July 24, 1990, Thomas Manix received U.S. Patent No. 4,943,252 on an Avalanche Flotation Ball:
It not clear what kind of Freedom to Practice studies that Q Branch conducts, but just nine years later they provisioned Jame Bond 9 years later in The World is Not Enough, James an (Pierce Brosnan) and Elektra (Sophie Marceau) used a very similar device provided by Q to survive an avalanche:
On July 23, 1996, John J, Norton, received U.S. Patent No. D372,056 on a Toy Castle:
This patent was assigned to The Little Tikes Company, and was a poplar toy:
On July 22, 1969, Daon Parry and Thomas J. Walters received U.S. Patent No. D214725 on a building:
This building was actually built by Architect/Inventor Walters in Scarsdale, New York, in 1969, the year the patent issued, and was for many years the European Health Spa. It was abandoned for several years and apparently was demolished in 2001. Walters work, however, survives in the patent collection:
On July 21, 2026, Chad P. Budreau received U.S. Patent No. 5,131,832 on a Heated Ice Cream Scoop Apparatus:
The scoop employs a disposable butane lighter as the heat source to heat the scoop to facilitate dispensing the ice cream.
Chad was not the only inventor to repurpose a butane cigarette lighter. Jerald and Joseph Bovino used a butane lighter as the heat source for their Fly Tackle Steamer (U.S. Patent No. 4,401,102):
James Rose repurposed a lighter to provide the heat for his hot air tool for Heat-Shrink Tubuing (U.S. Patent No. 5,476,089:
