31 May, 2006 TV2 Young Inventors Get Patents Three young inventors have been granted patents for the inventions they created for TV2s Lets Get Inventin show. The inventions are an in-car coffee machine, a gadget that stops kids being scared of that horrible noise the bath makes when you let the water out, and a crayfish pot designed to stop people pinching your catch.  And, there may be more patents to come – the New Zealand Patents Office says another seven inventors may also qualify. The shows inventions will be on display from this weekend at the Museum of Transport and Technology… Read more

After decades of roaming the globe and seeking the wisdom of elders, I have discovered the secret of happiness: Hot water. If you can start the day with a cup of tea and end it by cleaning up, almost anything in between is bearable. It weighs three pounds, so it’s not for backpacking when weight and bulk are critical. But when you’re camping by canoe, sled, horse, car, or airplane, this wood-burning gizmo is the best way to get hot water. It out-performs the similar but better-known Kelly Kettle. A double-handful of pine cones, twigs, trash or dried horse manure (no, it doesn’t smell) will… Read more

A nine-year-old New Zealand boy has won a major patent prize by inventing an eco-friendly unit that turns food scraps into fertiliser without anyone having to leave the kitchen. Ryan Nicholls of Glenfield, Auckland, came up with his ‘Waste-Away’ invention because he hated the chore of taking the family food scraps out to the composting bin. So he invented an automatic system to save him the job and is now NZ$10,000 richer. He is also thought to have become New Zealand’s youngest patent applicant. Down the drain Ryan’s system takes scraps that are chopped in the waste disposal grinder attached… Read more