Over the years Halloween has inspired not just children, artists and merrymakers, but also American inventors. Three of the following Halloweenish innovations are actual patented inventions. Which one did we make up?
A) A device for detecting the psychic emanations of ghosts ü B) A Halloween costume with left and right inflatable heads C) A scary disembodied hand with a motor to make it wriggle D) Special pumpkin-carving tools for creating jack-o’lanterns
The disembodied hand (Moving Hand Amusement and Novelty Device) patent was awarded to Victor Provenzano Jr. in 1986. Mark D. Margolis’ Multiple Headed Costume — never be alone again! — dates from 1985; while 1989 saw John Bardeen’s Pumpkin Carving Kits, whose specialized cutting tools came out of a family tradition of bravura pumpkin carving. Ghost detection hardware remains in the realm of fiction, at least as far as the U.S. Patent Office is concerned.
