Product Development

Creating a Bad Barbecue Tool

Cook’s Country Tests Barbecue Gadgets Why would a company produce a barbecue grill spatula that was so overheated during use that it was described as  “screaming hot”? Last year, once again, a gadget evaluation segment on Cook’s Country illustrated the consequences of overlooking critical thinking when creating a product. Tester’s on the popular PBS program […]

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Gadget Trouble

Pitfalls of Product Invention A  meat probe allows a home chef to moniter cooking temperature to avoid serving undercooked or dried, tough, overcooked food. However, when the PBS program America’s Test Kitchen reviewed different brands of thermometers on the market, many had serious design flaws. For instance, one model had a cord which was too […]

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Turkey Soda & Spanx

Strange New Product Ideas When Peter van Stolk decided that he wanted to develop a line of sodas that tasted like holiday meals, the idea didn’t meet with a lot of enthusiasm from friends who thought the idea was nuts. Stolk proved skeptics wrong as he has expanded his specialty soda company into other amusing […]

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TechShop San Francisco

Invention Workshop for Do-It-Yourselfers TechShop states that their program is for everyone, regardless of their skill level. I’m not so sure about that. If you’ve ever watched Tim Allen’s Home Improvement, or Bill Cosby’s character, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, happily strap on a tool belt and create utter chaos, then you’ll know that some people should […]

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Hail Caesar

Cocktails Anyone? Whether you drink or not, there are useful take-away lessons illustrated by a Canadian product manufactured in Manitoba. It’s Caesar’s cocktail drink packets. Transplanted Canadians know that ordering their favorite cocktail outside of their mother country is a frustrating experience. The drink can’t be created authentically outside the Canadian border due to the […]

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