On August 7, 1951, George Olson received U.S. Patent No. D164194 on a Restaurant Sign:

George was the proprietor of Olson’s Bar and Grill in his hometown of Toms River, New Jersey, where the sign he invented was displayed for many years at Olson’s Bar and Grill on Route 37. Back in 1869 a New Jersey mermaid was widely reported to have been found off the coast of Toms River by fishermen who were so frightened by their catch that they threw her back. Since then, mermaids have been a recurring theme at the Jersey shore, including at Olson’s Bar and Grill:

The sign is all gone now, and the final iteration of Olson’s Bar and Grill is now a Salvation Army Thrift Store. Any explanation of why the Chef appeared willing to turn the poor mermaid into sushi is lost. However, the sign lives on a few Facebook and Pinterest posts, and of course it is indelibly recorded in the records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

On August 6, 1968, Fred C. Sproul received U.S. Patent No. D211861 on a housing tract:

This was an interesting use of design patents, and may have been intended to protect parts of the Mesa Margarita neighborhood of Oceanside, California, which Sproul helped develop:

Sproul also received another design patent for a housing tract (U.S. Patent No. D220903):

and a utility patent (U.S. Patent No. 3,427,645) , which no doubt for double patenting reasons, disclaims the term beyond the expiration of his earlier ‘861 patent:

on July 31, 1962, Otho Edward McCrackin received U.S. Patent No. D193317 on a Guided Missile:

Don’t worry – it was only a design patent, they did not disclose how the missile worked.

Otho was born on September 14, 1914, in Overland, St. Louis County, Missouri. He served in World War II, attaining the rank of commander. He filed this patent application on May 4, 1949, but tragically died in a plane crash on July 7, 1952, at just 37 years old while traveling to Kirtland Air Force Base. He was survived by his wife, Mabel, and their two daughters. Although he did not live to see it, his patent was not issued until more than 13 years after it was filed, likely because of security-related delays.

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: