Browse Category: Success Stories

Success Stories: The Weave Scratcher

STOP THE PAT! From hairpiece to sew-ins, The Weave Scratcher offers a simple solution to the most common predicament: itching. Source Direct helped create this product in 2011 and we are excited to announce it is taking off. ESSENCE magazine featured The Weave Scratcher as their top tool for “soothing an itchy sew-in weave”. We have been picked as “Amazon’s Choice” for weave scratching products online. Sometimes a good product requires time, attention, and patience while carefully building a following.

The Weave Scratcher was created to help ease discomfort without disrupting your style. To better understand The Weave Scratcher, it helps to understand why people experience itching in the first place.  

During the braiding and weaving process the hair is pulled very tightly. When hair is pulled too tightly, the scalp becomes irritated and can develop an inflammation of the hair follicles. This inflammation reaction can account for that furious itching sensation. Even when done properly,  an excess or lack of moisture to the scalp can turn quickly turn the scale. Seborrheic Dermatitis, commonly known as dandruff, is the other common perpetrator for this problem. An overgrowth of yeast on the scalp triggers an inflammation of the roots. This causes an array effects including a buildup of dry layers, flaking, and itching.

Anything from getting the hair wet to sweating without carefully drying the scalp can cause these itching sensations, and what a list! There’s too much to worry about with maintaining and caring for weave, so Source Direct spent a lot of time developing the right tool to properly assist.

Its firm but flexible design is meant to fit in between any hair weft or braided base with ease. The soothing bobby pin ends massage your head comfortably and carefully. It’s light and compact size allows clients to use the Weave Scratcher when at home or out and about. This tool can fit perfectly in your wallet, purse, clutch, or pocket. Our design is embodied to best suit the needs of our clients and their scalp. This handy tool is perfect for anyone who wears wigs, braids, or extensions.

We look forward to announcing the exciting collaborations we are currently working on, as well as more news to come. For anyone interested in joining the Source Direct Inventors Club, call 888-373-3876. 

Krissy Pizzo is the social media expert and writer for Source Direct, an Invention Company based in Palm Harbor, Fl. If you have any additional invention tips or comments, feel free to email her at kpizzo@thesourcedirect.net. If you absolutely dread using email, you can comment below! 

Colorado girl, troubled by Flint water crisis more than 1,000 miles away, invents lead detector

Image may contain: 1 person, smilingOutside Denver, a talented 12-year-old is getting national attention. It’s not for her music, it’s for Gitanjali Rao’s contribution to science.

“If my mom asked me what do you want for Christmas, I’d be like, lead,” Gitanjali said.

That’s right, lead, which Gitanjali needed for an invention.

“Imaging living day in and day out drinking contaminated water with dangerous substances like lead. Introducing tethys, the easy to use, fast, accurate, a portable and inexpensive device to detect lead in water,” Gitanjali said in her presentation for the Young Scientist Challenge. She won the national competition for her invention.

It was inspired by a real-world problem. “I’ve been following the Flint water crisis for about two years,” Gitanjali said.

In Flint, Michigan, nearly 100,000 residents drank lead-contaminated water for more than a year.

“Lead is mostly harmful to younger children, about my age — giving them growth defects and potentially damaging their brain,” Gitanjali said.

Gitanjali said that despite living in thousands of miles away from Flint, “that’s not something I want to go through, what the Flint residents went through .. our water quality’s just as important as doctor’s appointments or dentist’s appointments.”

If you’ve never tested your water, Gitanjali said “that’s a big problem!”

No automatic alt text available.With Gitanjali’s device, instead of taking days to send water samples to a lab, her device detects lead in seconds using carbon molecules — and a mobile app.

She’s one of many who love science at school, but one of the few who turned an idea into an invention, said teacher Simi Basu.

“I am so confident that she will be able to take it to the market if we keep providing her help,” Basu said. She said what makes Gitanjali different is that she is a “risk taker — she’s not afraid to fail.”

She said her next project is to create a “happiness meter which measures the amount of serotonin in your body or the amount of gamma rays and I still have to figure out how this works.”

When she does, the science world will be waiting.

Image may contain: one or more people and indoor

12-year-old Colorado girl, troubled by Flint water crisis more than 1,000 miles away, invents lead detector

Outside Denver, a talented 12-year-old is getting national attention. It’s not for her music, it’s for Gitanjali Rao’s contribution to science.
 
“If my mom asked me what do you want for Christmas, I’d be like, lead,” Gitanjali said.
 
That’s right, lead, which Gitanjali needed for an invention.
 
“Imaging living day in and day out drinking contaminated water with dangerous substances like lead. Introducing tethys, the easy to use, fast, accurate, portable and inexpensive device to detect lead in water,” Gitanjali said in her presentation for the Young Scientist Challenge. She won the national competition for her invention.
 
It was inspired by a real-world problem. “I’ve been following the Flint water crisis for about two years,” Gitanjali said.
 
In Flint, Michigan, nearly 100,000 residents drank lead-contaminated water for more than a year.
 
“Lead is mostly harmful to younger children, about my age — giving them growth defects and potentially damaging their brain,” Gitanjali said.
 
Gitanjali said that despite living in thousands of miles away from Flint, “that’s not something I want to go through, what the Flint residents went through .. our water quality’s just as important as doctor’s appointments or dentist’s appointments.”
 
If you’ve never tested your water, Gitanjali said “that’s a big problem!”
 
With Gitanjali’s device, instead of taking days to send water samples to a lab, her device detects lead in seconds using carbon molecules — and a mobile app.
 
She’s one of many who loves science at school, but one of the few who turned an idea into an invention, said teacher Simi Basu.
 
“I am so confident that she will be able to take it to the market if we keep providing her help,” Basu said. She said what makes Gitanjali different is that she is a “risk taker — she’s not afraid to fail.”
 
She said her next project is to create a “happiness meter which measures the amount of serotonin in your body or the number of gamma rays and I still have to figure out how this works.”
 
When she does, the science world will be waiting.
Via https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gitanjali-rao-12-year-old-girl-troubled-by-flint-water-crisis-invents-lead-detector/

Forbes’ ’30 Under 30′ salutes 15-year-old Munster inventor, scientist, Annie Ostojic

Annie Ostojic

Annie Ostojic began winning state and national recognition for her scientific projects and inventions as a 9-year-old student at Frank Hammond Elementary School.

Recently, Forbes Magazine named the 15-year-old Munster High School sophomore to its “30 Under 30” list joining more than 4,000 past game-changers such as basketball’s LeBron James and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The youngest named in this year’s energy category, Ostojic is the third-youngest selected for 2018.

Nominations span the world with 15,000 to 20,000 applicants vying for a spot in 20 different categories including art, education, finance, games, healthcare, manufacturing and industry, and science.

According to Forbes Magazine, one “30 under 30” alum serves as a judge in each of the 20 categories, with 30 honorees named in each category. The honorees are vetted by a panel of blue-ribbon judges in their respective fields.

“I don’t know who nominated me,” Ostojic said. “In October, I received an email from Forbes to send in more information.”

On Nov. 14, Forbes notified Ostojic she had been selected, recognizing her as an innovator and student researcher for two inventions — her development of a novel microwave design, and her reflective device using indoor lighting to collect solar power and charge hearing aid batteries.

Ostojic’s invention of a better microwave involves a cavity design that uses cylindrical parabolic reflectors to cook food thoroughly while also saving energy. In 2015, the then-13-year-old Wilbur Wright Middle School student was named the top middle school science student in the nation for that microwave design and winner of the $25,000 Samueli Foundation Prize.

For that Broadcom Masters science competition in Silicon Valley, California, Ostojic was selected from a field more than 2,200 students in the nation by a panel of scientists.

Ostojic said her newest invention honored by Forbes was inspired by a friend whose hearing aids require changing 200 batteries a year.

Her reflective device uses indoor lighting from LED bulbs to generate solar energy that recharges batteries in a process known as photovoltaics.

“One hearing aid battery can recharge in aAnnie Ostojic, Munster High School half hour,” Ostojic said about her invention that could prevent these batteries from being disposed of in landfills. “This is a huge problem. More than 3 billion of these batteries are discarded every year.”

Currently, Ostojic has two provisional patents and met former President Barack Obama twice at the White House after winning national science competitions with her microwave design.

“We went to the EPA and the patent office,” she said about her trips to Washington, D.C. “I also met Bill Nye the Science Guy and was interviewed on NPR.”

As a freshman at Munster High School, Ostojic qualified for the INTEL International Science Fair as one of 14 delegates from Indiana.

“The first time you can compete internationally is when you’re in high school. You have to be picked from your state,” she said of the May 2017 experience in which she was one of four girls in the state delegation.

Some 2,700 delegates from the U.S. and around the world gathered at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the INTEL science fair, she said. “The purpose is to network with other kids. Each of us was given pins and a lanyard,” she said.

As the students networked, they exchanged pins that were attached to the lanyards.

Wearing her lanyard festooned with pins from various states and nations around the world, Ostojic said, “I’m still in contact with people from India, Singapore, and China.”

Networking also is at the heart of Ostojic’s Forbes recognition.

As a member of Forbes’ “30 Under 30″ list, Ostojic will be able to network with all those previous, current and future innovators and industry leaders.

“For the past seven years, the Forbes ’30 Under 30′ list has emerged as the way that the world discovers the next generation of entrepreneurs and game-changers,” said Randall Lane, editor of Forbes Magazine and creator of the Forbes Under 30 franchise.

“This is the ultimate club: the people that will reinvent every field over the next century.”

Ostojic said she wants to concentrate on helping younger students achieve their dreams through science.

For her own future, she said, “I’m very interested in engineering and the medical field. And working with computers.”

Annie Ostojic of Munster

 

via http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/forbes-under-salutes–year-old-munster-inventor-scientist-annie/article_3b0caab0-2050-5cd8-a1ec-d589cb59f226.html

Freshman wins national award for robot invention

Meghna Behari is only 15, but she already has a pending patent and a national prize for an invention that will make water testing easier.

The North Allegheny freshman won the $10,000 Marconi/ Samueli Award for Innovation for her Aquabot, an automated testing device that wirelessly collects and transmits data on water quality.

She also is one of 30 finalists in the Broadcom MASTERS — Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars — a prestigious competition for middle school students.

Meghna, the daughter of Vanitha and Jaideep Behari of Franklin Park, developed the Aquabot last year when she was an eighth-grader at Marshall Middle School for the Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair, presented by Carnegie Science Center.

Students who place first, second or third in their category qualify for the Broadcom MASTERS, Meghna said.

She said she developed the Aquabot after “hearing about all the contamination that was happening in waterways really close to my home.”

Learning that water was being tested near her home, Meghna contacted a water quality inspector and watched him do his job. “He had this jar on the end of a large pole and he had to bring it back to the lab. And he had to do this on a weekly basis,” she said. “I thought that there had to be a better way.”

At the time, Meghna was taking a robotics class, and she created a robot to help test water quality.

“Essentially, it can detect contamination in surface water,” she said. “It can be used by anyone … and is sturdy enough to withstand field conditions if you are testing it in your local waterways.”

Meghna was one of 30 finalists who competed in October in Washington, D.C.

“I am so excited about Meghna’s success in the Broadcom MASTERS competition,” said Lisa Kosick, regional science fair director and education coordinator for Carnegie Science Center. “She is a wonderful example of the caliber of student who participates in the Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair. Her effort to improve water testing impressed people locally, and it is great to see her work recognized nationally, too.”

Meghna said she wasn’t expecting to win. She plans to use part of her prize money to continue to develop the Aquabot.

“I definitely want to continue working on this project,” she said. “My goal is to keep it on the relatively inexpensive side. I hope it can be used in Third World countries eventually.”

Sandy Trozzo, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.

via http://www.post-gazette.com/local/north/2017/12/08/North-Allegheny-freshman-robot-invention-wins-national-award-Meghna-Behari/stories/201712070008

Video of Metro Detroitrer’s ‘Michigan Beer/Pop Chair’ Invention Goes Viral

Image may contain: 1 person, sitting, tree, shoes and outdoorMatt Thompson, 48, of Garden City spent more than 100 hours creating what he calls the “Michigan beer/pop chair.”

He was inspired by a similar Labatt Blue chair, but he says he came up with his own dispensing mechanism that slides pre-chilled cans to a seated drinker’s elbow, reports Elisha Anderson of the Detroit Free Press.

The skilled woodworker build it from Cedar.

“It was a lot of fun,” he tells the reporter. “And I thought people would be entertained.”

His Facebook video below has nearly 10 million views in four months.

 

Rigby man’s toy invention being considered for national award

 

 

A Rigby man’s toy invention is being considered for a Toy of the Year award.

Jeff Larson grew up playing watermelon ball, a water game similar to football or rugby, at the Ammon swimming pool with his friends. When he went to college, he would play the game at the pool in his apartment complex.

“The games got really intense. We went through a lot of watermelons,” Larson told EastIdahoNews.com.

The reason they played with the fruit is because watermelons would sink to the bottom and slowly float to the surface, making for easy handling in the water.

The watermelons would often break and make a big mess.

That’s when Larson started thinking of a way to play with a ball that looked, felt and floated like a watermelon, yet was durable enough to withstand intense use.

“After college, I kept getting the feeling I needed to do something about this idea,” Larson said.

He put his mechanical engineering degree to work on designing a ball that lets players dribble, kick, bounce, pass and intercept under water. In 2009, Larson began working with a manufacturer.

“I got started selling this on Amazon, and it just took off. Then I decided to license it out to a bigger toy company to reach more people,” says Larson.

Today, the watermelon ball is

 

 

 

distributed by PlaSmart Inc. , and is a finalist for a Toy of the Year award.

“Each and every one of the TOTY finalists have brought joy, laughter, and learning to children around the world. From classic board games to innovative tech toys, these playthings represent the ‘best of the best’ in the world of toys and games,” said Steve Pasierb, The Toy Association’s president & CEO in a news release.

From now until January 5, people can vote for their favorite picks in each of the 17 categories. Industry professionals will determine the finalists that will move on to the Gala award ceremony held in New York City Feb. 16.

Larson is encouraging you to click here and vote for the watermelon ball.

“This is my first product, and to be a finalist for the first product I’ve come up with is pretty cool,” says Larson. “This is equivalent to being an Oscar nominee in the toy industry. That’s how big it is.”

 

 

 

 

via https://www.eastidahonews.com/2017/12/rigby-mans-toy-invention-considered-national-award/