INPEX® Exhibitors "Pitch to America" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Each year, the INPEX® publicity staff works diligently to encourage coverage of the show by various media outlets. INPEX® 2005 (held June 8-11 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was no exception, as assorted newspapers, trade magazines, Internet media, and television and radio stations turned out to cover the event. Perhaps the biggest hit with exhibitors this year was The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, which gave inventors the chance to present their inventions on a national stage.

Read more about INPEX® exhibitors' Tonight Show cameos

InventHelp® Employee Takes Comic Books Seriously

While many InventHelp® employees have creative talents that they pursue outside of work, very few of them realize any kind of critical or public acclaim for their efforts. However, that's not the case for InventHelp® Technical Illustrator Tom Scioli, whose name has achieved recognition among comic book aficionados. Prior to this year, Scioli's resume already boasted work on titles like Freedom Force and The Fantastic Four, as well as his own creation, The Myth of 8-Opus. Now, this past June, the artist teamed up with celebrated writer Joe Casey to launch the first issue of their intergalactic epic, Godland. The Image Comics-released series recently hit the big-time – and thrust Tom Scioli's name into the mainstream – with an appearance in the September 23 issue of the popular national magazine Entertainment Weekly.

Read more about InventHelp® employee Tom Scioli's artwork

When did the dishwasher become the labor-saving machine that it is today?

Unfortunately, the first dishwasher, patented in 1850, was not very effective. The invention consisted of a hand-turned wheel that splashed water onto dishes. The first working automatic dishwasher was invented by Josephine Garis Cochran in 1889. Her machine featured a wooden tub that included a wire basket. Dishes were placed inside the basket, and rollers rotated the dishes. Hot, soapy water sprayed into the tub and cleaned the dishes as a handle on the tub was turned. Cochran first displayed her machine at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893 and sold dishwashers to restaurants and hotels. In the 1960s, her company’s affiliation with Kitchen Aid turned her invention into the time-saving, convenience-enhancing appliance it is today.

Read more invention trivia from InventHelp®