"Invent Help" Invention Newsletter - November 2008

Time Magazine's Best Inventions of the Year for 2008

When Time Magazine releases its annual list of the best inventions of the year, it's a high note for the invention community. The extra attention highlights the innovative progress made by those who "think outside of the box." We at InventHelp always enjoy the release of the list. This year's version had all of the excitement, controversy and surprises that we've all come to expect from Time.

More about Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2008

Festive Inventions You'll Be Thankful For

It's that time of the year where diets and exercise fall to the wayside in favor of feast, friends and family. In celebration of Thanksgiving, our InventHelp family recommends these holiday-inspired inventions to make your meal one to remember.

Read more about fun Thanksgiving inventions

How did one resourceful inventor find use for 270 tons of leftover Thanksgiving turkey?

Gerald Thomas, an executive with the C.A. Swanson & Sons company, was presented with a challenge. Swanson had 10 refrigerated railroad cars, each holding more than 500,000 pounds of unsold turkey, traveling back and forth across the country because warehouse storage space was scarce. Thomas, inspired by the trays used for airline foods, had a revolutionary invention idea. In 1954, the first TV dinner, featuring turkey, corn bread dressing and gravy, buttered peas and sweet potatoes, was created. Coasting off the growing public fascination with television, Swanson sold an estimated 10 million dinners at a price of 98 cents each.

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