Henry Clayton, a thirteen year old boy from New Canaan, had a problem – his drum set made a lot of noise while he was practising. Certainly not a new problem, but something which bothered him. So, when a school project came up, asking him to come up with some useful product using Bubble Wrap, he tackled his existing problem. And the result was Bubble Muffler, which reduces the sound of the drum set when he is practising.
What Henry did was to tape the Bubble Wrap under the skin of a drum, so that the volume of sound produced is reduced. According to those who have seen it in action, it does not reduce the quality of sound – it just reduces the volume. And any other “obvious” solution does not retain the quality/tone of sound – according to Henry, he tried using other solutions, like a pillow case.

He is a semifinalist in the first national Bubble Wrap Competition. The competition is being organized by Sealed Air Corporation, whose scientists invented Bubble Wrap back in late 50’s.

An interesting original idea from a 13 year old boy – well-wishes to Henry Clayton from the Intellectual Village team!

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A biophysicist from University of Pennsylvania has invented a backpack that reduces the impact on your joints and bones.
Larry Rome is the same person who invented a backpack which generates electricity. Now, he has invented another backpack, with bungee cords, which will soften the impact of the backpack on the body. The bungee cords will smooth out the highs and lows, according to him.
It is calculated that when a person runs hard with a 50 pound backpack on his body, the impact on his body may be as much as 150 pounds, caused by the sudden deceleration. This is the reason why soldiers sometimes hurt (or even break) their ankles while jumping out of the military vehicles.
This new backpack is designed so that the impact is limited to around 64 pounds, even when the person is running. At normal walking speed, the impact is limited to around 56 pounds, according to Larry Rome.
Rome has a patent pending for this, and the device can be viewed here.

It maybe a good idea for parents of children who carry those heavy schoolbags to take a close look at this backpack!

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