50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 840 is about patents, but not the kind he was thinking of.
This is actually easy to understand. Although technology is advanced, it also represents risk. Only nobles have the spare money to gamble and invest without caring about the return.

Therefore, many of the world's most famous top technology companies were originally owned by various Western nobles.

However, nobles preferred to invest in traditional industries such as land, minerals, machinery, and shipbuilding.

When they discover that various emerging industries require continuous investment in technological research and development, and cannot generate quick profits, they generally choose to liquidate these original shares as soon as possible.

The documents he held contained many of the original shares of these technology companies, including 15% of Microsoft's original shares and Apple's original shares.

The Microsoft of today is not the $5 trillion tech giant that later dominated the computer operating system field.

Last year, Microsoft released Windows 1.0, which introduced a graphical user interface to PCs for the first time, but the initial market response was lukewarm.

Therefore, at this time, most investors were not optimistic about Microsoft's prospects, and Microsoft's shares were disliked, which is not unacceptable now.

The origin of another set of Apple's original shares is quite interesting; the names of both Wozniak and Jobs are listed as owners.

These are the founders of Apple, though they were ousted from the company last year. It's not surprising that they're releasing their original Apple shares now.

These two original shares are the two shares in this folder that will appreciate the fastest in value in the future. He must finalize the deal before the other party regrets it.

As for the other company stocks, they were a mixed bag. Some were stocks he had heard of in his later life, while others were completely unknown. He only selected some technology stocks and ignored the rest.

The last document contained a variety of patent descriptions; it's unclear where those wealthy individuals obtained these bizarre inventions and patents.

For example, one of the patents is called "Safety Shovel Pedestrian Catcher," which is hailed as the ultimate solution to jaywalking fatalities.

This invention involves installing a soft cloth bag, resembling a bulldozer shovel, on the front bumper of a car. When a pedestrian is crossing the road and there is no time to avoid them, the bag can safely scoop the pedestrian in front of the car into the bag.

You might say this thing is useless, but it's actually quite useful. Although it can still cause pedestrian injuries when cars are traveling at high speeds, it's still an attempt at modification for the sake of road safety.

There is also a patent called "Portable Radio Cap".

Sun Zhiwei believes that this should be considered the earliest portable music player before the invention of Bluetooth headphones.

It is said that when it was first invented thirty years ago, it was featured in the Life magazine's recommended section and became a hit among fashionistas.

It was originally called the "Martian Radio Hat" and came in eight vibrant colors, including flamingo, lipstick red, and yellow-green.

Unfortunately, it was born at the wrong time. Radios at that time used huge and heavy vacuum tubes, and the batteries didn't last long. Due to too many malfunctions, it ultimately failed.

There is also an invention patent called "Escape Alarm Clock", which is a small electronic alarm clock with two wheels on both sides.

When the alarm clock rings, the two wheels that come with it start spinning wildly, and then it jumps off the bedside table with the ringing alarm clock, running around the room until you have no choice but to get out of bed and catch it.

This little gadget forces users to get out of bed to turn it off, making it the nemesis of oversleepers around the world.

Although it may annoy people who like to sleep in, its "wake-up" function is excellent. It should be said that there is no owner it cannot wake up.

And its biggest advantage is that it's not sturdy; if an angry owner breaks it, it might become a second purchase. Isn't that the logic of fast-moving consumer goods? Sun Zhiwei thinks parents would love to buy a dozen for their kids who love to sleep in.

There's also an invention called the "Suction Cup Hat," which is for commuters to nap on the subway.

This hat has a suction cup on the back that can hold your head in place when you sit down, preventing your head from tilting around when you fall asleep.

There's a cardboard sign on the front of the hat where you can write the name of the station you want to get off at. If you're still half asleep when you arrive at your stop, a kind person nearby can remind you to get off.

The most profitable one was probably the patent for "Stone Pet".

In 1975, American advertising professional Gary Dahl joked with a friend that if the advertising was done well, even an ordinary stone would be sought after and bought.

He then put this joke into practice.

He carefully selected some stones, named them "pet stones," then washed them clean and packed them into exquisite little boxes.

To ensure the "pet stone's" comfort, straw is placed inside the cardboard box, and the outer wall of the box also has ventilation holes.

Finally, he also included a pet training guide and user manual with the box.

At the beginning of the manual, Dahl says: This is a very sensitive pet stone. After you bring it home, it will take 3 days for it to adapt to its environment.

Three days later, you can start training your pet. The training commands are mainly "Come here," "Stay," and "Sit."

Although pet stones may not understand, owners must be patient.

In addition, the pet stone can "play dead" and "roll over", and it can also be used as a ranged weapon.

At the end of the instruction manual, Dahl also kindly reminded readers that wild pet stones are very fierce and difficult to tame. Only pet stones with pedigrees can be considered good pets.

Dahl made the "Pet Stone" for about $3, and then sold it for $4. Subsequently, the "Pet Stone" became a hit in America, and almost every child in America had one.

In just a few months, Dahl sold millions of "pet stones," earning $1500 million.

However, this trend was only temporary, and it disappeared after a year.

The shrewd Dahl sold the patent for "Pet Stone" for a good price before the trend faded, and now the patent is in the hands of Sun Zhiwei.

People who see this patent now would probably treat it as a joke, but Sun Zhiwei knew that decades later, the trend of pet stones would quietly rise again around the world.

Open your shopping app and search; you're sure to find it there.

If we say that among this thick stack of invention patents, the patents mentioned above can bring some benefits to some extent, then they can be considered somewhat useful.

There are some other patents that left Sun Zhiwei both amused and exasperated.

(End of this chapter)