One of the 40 inventive principles. Application not limited to mechanical engineering.

Cheap disposable objects

Half the time when you pick up a whiteboard pen that doesn’t work, it’s because it’s been stored nib-upwards. It usually just needs a little re-charging.

Store whiteboard pens with the nib down

Underlining was a by-product of typewriters. It generally doesn’t improve things. Now, I’m still waiting for someone to make a pen with a button on it to write in bold. And to write a straight line without a separate ruler. Anyone want to team up?

Urge to underline? Use bold or italic instead

The realisation originally came to me when I saw, pinned outside a Professor’s door, an entire sheet of plain letter paper with a single line quote at the top. The standards are driving the system. About time we got more flexible.

If we plumbed in printers

I think I would buy one of these if it existed as cool as it does in my mind.

Idea sketches