Category: Life

The hard part is not coming up with a new invention — it’s the development and marketing that’s hard. One needs to get adequate financial backing.

A few years ago I invented a device for helping me do laundry. See, I’m not very tall and I can’t reach into the washing machine to pull out the clothes. I used to get a stool but this was awkward. So I had the brilliant idea of using barbeque tongs to grab the clothes. This works very well and it makes laundry day a delight. I even put a special hook in the laundry closet (not room, sadly) to hold my tongs for easy access.

Today when I was washing my jeans I had brief fantasy about becoming rich from my invention. I’m not the only one who could use this, right? There is potentially a huge market.

The first step is market research — and I just discovered I’m about 150 years too late.

And you can still buy them today…

I hardly ever talk on the phone — except at work — and never answer the phone at home unless I recognize the phone number, so I don’t have to deal with telemarketers.

But for the last week the same number has been calling and calling and calling — up to four or five times a day. No message is ever left. And I was convinced it was some crazy person so I looked it up. Or tried to anyway.

Google advised me that 416.224.1061 used to be the fax number for the North York Department of Public Health — before amalgamation, I guess. But a bit more looking and I found my answer…and a very interesting web site called Who Called Us.

Great little site!

It turns out that 416.224.1061 is VOX DATA/Solutions and Who Called Us gave me the number for their head office. I called them and a very professional and helpful man helped me out. Vox represents several financial service companies and one of the numbers they use is my mystery number. I asked them not to call anymore. Easy as pie.

If only I could stop them all.