Provided that getting a patent is not really a simple – or cheap – process, how is it possible that certain individuals will nonetheless waste their time and resources in registering inventions that clearly will never get anywhere? Just take this one for example (U.S. patent issued in 2004):

Sometimes, people will go out of their way to come with with something that’s genuinely useful and innovative; and many many times, they will failed miserably – hence the terms “mad scientist” and “loony inventor”. I just came across an hilarious archive of real, yet unbelievable U.S. patents that provides a nice example of what I’m talking about. Within this website, you’ll find hundreds of actual patents that shine for their uniqueness as well as their looming sense of awkwardness. Granted, there are some great inventions in history that may have looked ridicule when they were introduced, but I dare you to find a single example within America’s Goofiest Patents that you honestly regard as a sleeper hit.

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