• About InventHelp
• Invention Services
• Invention Resources
• Marketers & Manufacturers
• Media Outlets
• Contact Us

Prisoner Inventions: "Thinking Inside the Box"

Whoever said "only the stupid criminals get caught" never read Prisoners' Inventions, a book about the indomitable inventive spirit that was written and illustrated by an inmate named Angelo and put together by Temporary Services, a Chicago art company. Noah Shachtman writes in Wired Magazine that the book illustrates and explains the designs behind "80 improvised items" developed to make living in a jail cell a little more bearable. "Angelo's objects show a more banal, more human side of locked-down living," Shachtman observes.

Angelo contacted Mark Fisher in 1991 about a fan-zine Fisher published that was free to inmates. The two became pen pals and began talking about compiling Angelo's inventions into a pamphlet. But Angelo provided so many diagrams that the project evolved into a book and traveling exhibition, both produced by Fisher's company Temporary Services.

Indeed, Angelo and his cell mate, Jerry, have invented and diagrammed a host of items that we on the outside take for granted. Lighting a cigarette, for example, requires a little resourcefulness in Angelo and Jerry's jail cell because of California's strict anti-smoking laws. Angelo diagrams several inventive methods of building jerry-rigged lighters. One design calls for an old disposable razor, two paperclips, tape, and a bowl of salt water. Another requires tape, a battery and wire.

But matches and lighters aren't the only "contraband" withheld from Angelo and Jerry in the big-house. Based on one of their designs, something as simple as a drinking cup they can keep in their 9'x6' cell would apparently need to be hidden. So Jerry and Angelo invented one made out of plastic wrap and paper mache and disguised it as a roll of toilet tissue they can leave in plain sight. Other inventions include immersion heaters, salt and pepper shakers, an indoor grill, a hot glue dispenser, picture frames, shelves and a chess board.

Temporary Services, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, held an exhibition of Angelo's drawings and text. The exhibit even included a replica of Angelo's jail cell so visitors could walk in and find out just how difficult thinking (and inventing) inside the box would be.

In addition to its run at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the exhibit has appeared in Leipzig, Germany (July-October 2003); Munich, Germany (December 2003-March 2004); Hamilton, NY (March 2004); Sunderland, UK (April 2004); and Philadelphia , PA (April 2004). To read and view more about the exhibit, visit Temporary Services.

Buy Prisoners' Inventions from the University of Chicago Press

Back to Articles for Inventors  |  Back to June 2004 Newsletter

Depiction of any trademarks and/or logos does not represent endorsement of InventHelp or its services by the owners.