Teenage is the phase in which curiosity about anything at all stays at its peak. And if the curiosity is channeled in the right direction, geniuses are born, like the following young inventors. While one of these came up with an invention by accident (point 3), others were self-motivated to either make lives easier, or in some cases, to make lives possible.
1. Braille
Inventor- Louis Braille
Age- Probably 16, definitely a teen
This ingenious invention was conceived when Louis Braille was just a teen. Blinded in both eyes as a result of an accident when he was a kid, Louis Braille grew up an intelligent man who disliked people reminding the blind of their vulnerability.
Once, a man named Charles Barbier was invited to speak to a class of blind students, which also included Louis. Barbeir was the man responsible to create a system with raised dots that could help soldiers read in the dark. His creation, as they say, wasn’t exactly fit-for-function, but was enough to stir the thought process in Louis, who took inspiration from it and got down to business. With a piece of paper, a stylus, and a slate, he started to punch holes and eventually developed the revolutionary Braille system.
2. Earmuffs
Inventor-Â Chester Greenwood
Age-Â 15-year-old
Ice skating outdoors always got his ears cold. In the year 1873, he made a two-loop wire and asked his grandmother to sew some tufts of fur between the loops in such a way, that when he puts it on, his ears remain covered and protected by the cold weather of Maine. Soon after, Chester Greenwood made a better version of the first experiment and today, the world wears it.
3. Sign Language Translator
Inventor-Ryan Patterson
Age- 17-year-old
Once in 2002, seeing a translator order food for a group of deaf people, Ryan Patterson also saw an opportunity. He invented a glove with an ability to convert the hand motions of American sign language into easy-to-read letters on a digital display. Patterson’s this invention was undoubtedly brilliant and became the “Grand Award Winner” in the year 2001.
4. The Hot Seat
Inventor-Alissa Chavez
Age- 17-year-old
Alissa Chavez’s mother ran a home childcare business and she has been around children since she herself was a 2-year-old. Alissa feels immensely strongly for kids and so, when reports of kids dying due to being left unattended in cars became rampant, she knew something had to be done about it.
Hearing about the deaths of 3 kids one summer in her own state of New Mexico, she came up with the idea of a device called ‘Hot Seat’. This boon of an invention is basically an alarm system for car seats. The device sets off three alarms. One on the security key lock, the other on the phone app, and the last one is the car alarm. The motive is to alert the parents in case the unfortunate arises and they forget their kid in the car.
E-Z Baby Saver- Another super invention on the same subject
In 2014, an 11-year-old, Andrew Pelham invented another device that could help alert parents in times as such. He invented an ‘E-Z Baby Saver’, which stops the parents from stepping out of the car without carrying their baby. The device is an extremely simple combination of duct tape and rubber bands.
5. A Wearable Sensor To Keep Alzheimer’s Patients Safe
Inventor-Kenneth Shinozuka
Age- Fifteen-year-old
Once, Shinozuka found his grandfather in pajamas accompanied by a police officer, who spotted him wandering on a freeway in the middle of the night. His grandfather was an Alzheimer’s patient. That scene left a deep impact on Shinozuka and the impact led to the invention of a device that can help his grandfather, and other patients of Alzheimer’s stay safe.
Shinozuka invented a small sensor that can be attached to the foot or the sock of an Alzheimer’s victim. The sensor alerts the care-taker through a phone app in case the ill who is supposed to be sleeping, gets up from the bed.
6. A Device To Charge Cell-phones In Less Than 20 Seconds
Inventor-Eesha Khare
Age- 18-year-old
Esha Khare is an Indian-American girl who is the inventor of the very much-needed, speed charger. She has developed a super-capacitor device that carries the potential to charge a cell-phone in less than 20 seconds!
Thanks to this brilliant invention, Eesha Khare was presented the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award on the occassion of Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, held in Phoenix probably in the May of 2013.
7. Chemotherapy Bag
Inventor-Kylie Simonds
Age- 11-year-old
In 2011, Kylie was 8 when she was struck by the rare kind of childhood cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. Undergoing the course of chemotherapy at such a young age was an intense ordeal for her. A couple of the major issues being the I-V pole wires that made her trip frequently, and the fact that she always needed someone to carry around the pole since it was too heavy an object for her. And realizing that, she felt strongly for the many other kids who have to go through such intense medication at such a young age.
This concern led to the invention of pediatric ‘IV Backpack’. The backpack is nothing but a portable chemotherapy carrying object. With help of this smart backpack, the cancer battling kids can receive their medication whilst they do other activities, conveniently and without needing any foreign aid.
There’s no right age to do the right thing, hence proved!