God the Father may also be the mother of invention. In recent years, the US Patent and Trademark Office has given its blessing to at least a half-dozen technologies owned by churches and religious orders - everything from a body mike (Scientologists) to wireless headphones (Mormons). Maybe the geeks shall inherit the earth.
Patent NO. 4,959,828: Cableless communication system
The Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - aka the Mormons - owns this multichannel, infrared audio broadcasting system. The device can transmit multiple translations of a meeting to the headphones of various audience members, United Nations-style.
Patent No. 5,455,869: Lavalier microphone assembly
The Church of Scientology has patented this body mike, which cuts down on such ambient noise as rustling clothes. Fittingly, it's intended for use by actors, like marquee Scientologists Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
Patent No. 5,560,573: Meditation armrest
The Self-Realization Fellowship Church, the Los Angeles-based yoga center founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, holds the rights to this cushioned armrest. The portable meditation aid is designed to "adjust easily and silently to provide the correct height for supporting one's arms during meditation."
Patent No. 5,054,310: Ultrasonic beam tester
The California Province of the Society of Jesus, a Jesuit organization, holds the patent on this curious contraption, used to calibrate and test ultrasonic medical equipment such as the pulse-echo body scanner.
Patent No. 4,403,916: Wind turbine
Another Jesuit group, the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus, holds the patent on this electricity-generating windmill. The device powers farm well pumps and air compressors and boasts of a "novel oscillating tail structure."
Patent No. 5,474,029: Animal watering apparatus
The rural Hutterian Brethren Church of White Lake, Alberta, patented this plumbing, which seeks to solve the age-old problem of water troughs freezing in winter. How? Insulated underground pipes circulate water constantly.
- Kerrie Mitchell
credit uspto.gov
Patent No. 4,959,828: Cableless communication system
credit uspto.gov
Patent No. 5,455,869: Lavalier microphone assembly
credit uspto.gov
Patent No. 5,560,573: Meditation armrest
credit uspto.gov
Patent No. 5,054,310: Ultrasonic beam tester
credit uspto.gov
Patent No. 4,403,916: Wind turbine
credit uspto.gov
Patent No. 5,474,029: Animal watering apparatus
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