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Aussie advancesAussie advances

Inventors and InnovatorsWi-Fi, the Betacheck Blood GlucoseMonitor, dual-flush toilets, spray-onskin for burns victims and baby safetycapsules are just a few of theinventions created by cleverAustralians trying to solve problems.With the help of the PowerhouseMuseum, you can read about them ina new inspiring book – Australia’sGreatest Inventions & Innovations –released by Random House Australialast week.Each invention is presented withfull-colour photos, anattention-grabbing problemdescription and a cheat’s guide to thekeywords.*To see some of the objects in thebook, visit the Powerhouse Museumin Sydney or search the collectiononline at powerhousemuseum.com.

Jelly turns 85Iconic Aussie brand Aeroplane Jellyturned 85 this year. It was firstmanufactured by a Sydney Tramdriver who made jelly crystals in hisbath tub and sold them on his route.The catchy “I like Aeroplane Jelly”jingle was apparently used as anunofficial password for Australiansoldiers during the Vietnam war.

WHAT’S NEWS

NEXTWEEK’STOPIC:MakingChoices

NEXTWEEK’STOPIC:MakingChoices

Go online by visiting yournewspaper’s website. You’ll find theaddress on the front page. Look forthe NiE logo at the top of the pageand click! This will link you to APN’sNiE webpage.

What a great ideaHave you ever wondered about thosewho came up with some of the greatideas out there? Do you know whysome inventions were invented? Canyou match the inventor with theinvention? Challenge yourself and

find out more in thisweek’s onlineactivities.

TASKTIMEONLINE

TASKTIMEONLINE

Which teamwon the Grand

final of the AFL?(Aussie Rules)

1

QUIZ TIMEEach week we willtest your knowledgeon what’s beenhappening in thenews. For theanswers visit NiE

online.

QUIZ TIMEEach week we willtest your knowledgeon what’s beenhappening in thenews. For theanswers visit NiE

online.

Which country won theT20 World Cup cricket in

Sri Lanka?

3

Which teamwon the Grand

Final of the NRL?(Rugby League)

2

“NECESSITY… is the mother of inven-tion.” – PlatoInventions arise in many ways and asPlato suggested, usually out of necessity.Inventions come about in response to aproblem or following the identification ofa need, want or opportunity. Inventive orinnovative processes involve creativethinking and problem-solving skills thatmay lead to the design and developmentof new products or modification of exist-ing products. Some are planned throughresearch and investigation while othershappen by chance.For a country with a relatively smallpopulation, Australians have generatedan amazing number of awesome inven-tions and innovations that have improvedlives and made jobs simpler and quickerall around the world.Before European settlement, Abori-gines, in order to survive and thrive,needed to be creative in coming up withsolutions to problems. They used whatwas available to them to develop toolssuch as boomerangs and woomeras tohelp them hunt more efficiently andeffectively. Since then many clever Aus-sies have come up with bright ideas andawe-inspiring advances.

Protect your inventionIn 1972 an electrician Frank Banniganbuilt himself a four outlet power board tohelp with his work. He decided that otherpeople would find a power board usefulso his company Kambrook was makingand selling thousands of them. Howeverbecause he didn’t protect his inventionthrough a patent others copied Banni-gan’s idea and he lost millions of dollars.A patent protects new technology for aperiod of time (20 years) by legally givingthe owner the exclusive right to “com-mercially exploit” their invention. It stopsothers from making, selling or importingthe patented invention without per-

mission from the owner. It is

recommended that if you have a new ideafor a product, to apply for a patentthrough the Australian Government’s IPDepartment.

Author in spotlightIt started in the basement of a museum –a chance to look and playwith hundreds of interest-ing artefacts. It grew into afascination to find out whypeople came up with ideasfor new creations. That’swhat inspired writer Chris-topher Cheng to co-writethe book Australia’s Great-est Inventions and Innovations. Theformer teacher, zoo educator, children’sauthor and ambassador for the 2012National Year of Reading, was amazed bythe objects collected by the PowerhouseMuseum in Sydney. Chris culled thenumber of inventions he wrote aboutfrom hundreds to 45.Q: Chris, what problem would you likesolved?A: An invention to solve theworld’s food shortage.

SMART COOKIESInventors are those ingenious peoplewho design gadgets and gizmos thatare useful, add quality to our lives andmake it easier, safer and more fun.They are individuals or teams whocome from all walks of life that have anew idea or improve an existing item.However, the process of advancing anidea from a notion, to a prototype, toan economically marketable item isdifficult, complex and often veryexpensive. Most inventions can only beachieved with help from others andmust pass through the manufacturing,packaging, advertising and marketingand sales steps before hitting theshelves.

Awesome breakthroughs have improved manylives and made our jobs much simpler

User: Paul.Stuart Time: 10-09-2012 13:32 Product: SSH PubDate: 09-10-2012 Zone: All Edition: Main Page: SHARED_14 Color: CMYK