Incredible Products Invented By Kids

Year Invented: 1996
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: Unknown
Available to Buy: Yes

While on a Hawaiian family getaway in 1996, an 11-year-old kid named Richie Stachowski came to realize that he had much to say to his father about their surroundings but, being underwater at the time, had no way of verbalizing the dialogue in a way that would be even remotely comprehensible.

Water Talkie @boredpanda/Pinteres

Upon getting home, Richie got to work on creating the Water Talkie. A cone-shaped device that allows users to communicate clearly with one another at a distance of up to 15 feet while underwater. Two years and a lucrative deal with Toys “R” Us later, Stachowski sold his company to Wild Planet Toys and became a 13-year-old millionaire.

Year Invented: 2015
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $5-$10* 
Available to Buy: No

Very few of the inventions that we’ll be looking at are as completely impractical as what two 10-year-olds, Shawn and Morgan, came up with as their solution for what parents should do with their sleeping children. The Paint Splatter Baby Sleeper is quite a unique concept.  

Paint Splatter Baby Sleeper @boredpanda/Pinterest

This wall-mounted device blends into the modern abstract decor of art lovers everywhere, but it also has a baby seat built-in for when parents need a safe place to put their baby. It might make for some Instagrammable pics, but it probably won’t be the next invention new parents fawn over for obvious reasons.

Year Invented: 2015 
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $13*
Available to Buy: Yes 

Over the years, there have been some pretty bad disease outbreaks that have wreaked havoc on society. King Pong Li (18) and Sun Ming Wong (17) came up with an invention that would help slow the spread of viruses like SARS. The teenagers knew that microbes are often spread through contact with skin, and door handles were some of the biggest culprits for disease-spreading.

Self-Sanitizing Door Handle @JonnyWebby_/Twitter

Wong and Li created a door handle from titanium oxide, a metal that can kill bacteria in SITU. The handles are also equipped with LED lights that activate the oxide’s bacteria-killing compound. These $13 door handles can obliterate 99.8% of bacteria with which they come in contact. 

Year Invented: 2015
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $3* 
Available to Buy: Yes

Thanks to their unique shape, eating Pringles is both an enjoyable and creative process. However, getting the chips out of the bottom of their comes with its challenges. Namely, broken chips and hands getting stuck in the tube while attempting to retrieve the delightfully crunchy and flavorful snack.

Pringles Hook @boredpanda/Pinterest

In 2015, 11-year-old Georgia Dinsley seemingly solved the problem that has been plaguing Pringles eaters for years – the Pringles Hook. By lifting its handle, the chips are raised out of their dwelling with little to no breakage. There’s just one problem – getting the device into the tube. Now that Kellogg’s owns Pringles, perhaps it will sell a limited edition tube with a Pringle Hook inside.

Year Invented: 1917
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $20*
Available to Buy: Yes

Christmas lights are so much a part of holiday tradition these days that it’s difficult to imagine the festive season without them. However, just over 100 years ago, things were very different. People used candles to decorate their trees in the olden days, which was neither safe nor reliable. 

Christmas Lights @popmech/Pinterest

As electricity started to become more widely used, 15-year-old Albert Sadacca created the first set of electric Christmas lights that were affordable. His family owned a novelty lighting store, so he already had the right background. So, next time you go to Target and buy a fresh set of lights, give a little thanks to Albert. 

Year Invented: 1930
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $50-$100 (varies depending on trampoline size* 
Available to Buy: Yes

Let’s be honest, if it was the 1930s and a traveling circus came to town, it would probably have been the highlight of most peoples’ years. For George Nissen, however, it was more like the highlight of his life. Nissen thought up the trampoline while imagining ways in which the acrobats could perform more incredible flips and tricks.

Trampoline @iloriesther1997/Pinterest

George Nissen’s new invention, the “trampoline”, was perfected with the help of his gymnastics coach a few years later. It has since become a versatile device that’s not just for acrobats and gymnasts. They can bring countless hours of backyard fun or that tough home workout that so many people are after as well. These days, you can buy trampolines almost anywhere, from Target to Home Depot.

Year Invented: 1877
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $5* 
Available to Buy: Yes

Like most people who live in colder climates, Chester Greenwood enjoyed having himself a bit of an ice skate during the winter months. Unlike everyone who had skated before him, however, Chester decided to do something about his ears getting cold while partaking in the activity.

Earmuffs @mkrivich/Pinterest

Although he was a grammar school dropout, Chester still had the know about to fashion himself the world’s first earmuffs. If the winter chill is nipping at your ears, then pop into the closest GAP or Old Navy store for their latest lines of earmuffs, that have been designed in all sizes and colors for everyone from babies to adults.

Year Invented: 1993
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $3-$5* 
Available to Buy: Yes

Bacon doesn’t just have one of the more appealing aromas around but, for those who enjoy it, it’s also one of the more scrumptious foods around. In 1993, a young lady by the name of Abbey Fleck and her father came up with a cooking device that helps make the tasty snack a little bit less unhealthy…

Makin Bacon @TheRichest/Youtube

Makin Bakin is essentially a coat hook for bacon that is microwave safe and allows excess grease to drip off while cooking into a specially designed drip tray. After the Fleck’s patented their creation, they promptly signed an agreement with Walmart to have the retail corporation sell their product.

Year Invented: 2015 
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: N/A
Available to Buy: No

Hannah Herbst, at age fifteen, had a nine-year-old pen pal who lived in Ethiopia. Herbst, a student in Florida, found out that the young friend’s family often didn’t have access to electricity and lights. There are 1.3 billion people who don’t have electricity, and Herbst invented “BEACON,” her attempt to reduce that number.

Beacon @InVenters/Facebook

BEACON stands for “Bringing Electricity Access to Countries Through Ocean Energy.” BEACON captures energy from waves, so populations who live near bodies of water will be able to use this hollow plastic tube. On the BEACON tube, there is a propeller and hydroelectric generator. When the tidal energy moves through the propeller, the generator converts it to usable energy. Herbst first designed the prototype using a computer model, and she then 3D-printed another to test it along an intercoastal waterway.  

Year Invented: 2015 
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $199*
Available to Buy: Yes 

Fifteen-year-old Kenneth Shinozuka won a $50,000 prize for his invention, which can help dementia patients who wander from their beds. Shinozuka was inspired to create his invention because his grandfather has Alzheimer’s Disease. Sadly, the young inventor’s grandfather would often get up in the night, wander around, and hurt himself accidentally.

Safe Wander @Kenneth Shinozuka/Youtube

Shinozuka developed coin-sized, wireless-equipped sensors that attach to the patient’s feet via straps. When the patient stands, the sensors detect the pressure and trigger an alert for caregivers’ and family members’ smartphones using an app. The ingenious invention is currently saving a lot of dementia patients from injury (if not worse).

Year Invented: 1921
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $35-$50* (2021) 
Available to Buy: Yes

Growing up on a ranch in Idaho doesn’t seem like it would have the means to provide someone with a great deal of inspiration, but if it weren’t for a 14-year-old kid drawing inspiration from the back and forth movement of the plows on his family’s farm, we might still be listening to our favorite shows on the radio instead of watching them on TV.

Television @olgarost2007/Pinterest

That’s right, at not even 15 years of age, Philo Farnsworth drew up the plans for an “image director”, but Farnsworth’s first working prototype wasn’t ready until 6 years later, in 1927. Others were able to draw on Farnsworth’s inventions. Without him, we wouldn’t have huge sets by Sony and other manufacturers.

Year Invented: 1933
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $2.99 per comic book*
Available to Buy: Yes 

The Man of Steel is one of the most famous comic book heroes of all time. In a way, Superman is synonymous with America. Believe it or not, two seventeen-year-olds, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, came up with Superman in 1933. Five years later, the famed superhero appeared in comic books.

Superman ©Dan Jamieson/Shutterstock.com

Though the exact story behind Superman’s development is unknown, some comic book historians believe that Jerry Siegel was inspired to create the invincible, bad-guy-defeating superhero after his father, Mitchell, died in an armed robbery while at his store. Comics are just $2.99 now, but Superman has been featured in so much more media.  

Year Invented: 2015
Est. Production Cost Per Unit: $20+* 
Available to Buy: Np

For the most part, eating a meal while it’s still hot is significantly more enjoyable than the alternative – eating a cold meal. However, if the meal is too hot, it won’t be enjoyed either. If only there were a way to cool one’s food off a bit, but only in the moments before they’re ready to eat.

Food Cooler @boredpanda/Pinterest

At only 6-years-old, Amelia Liddle came up with the idea to attach a cooling chamber with a fan at its rear to a fork. That way, when in a hurry to heat and run, the fan will cool each bite of food as it’s being eaten.