With over 1,000 patents and iconic inventions such as the record player, video camera and electric light bulb to his credit, Thomas Edison is widely considered the greatest innovator of all time. But if there is one person who has the right to be unimpressed by such accomplishments, it’s Dr. Yoshiro Nakamatsu.
In fact, with over over 4,000 patents to his name, the 84-year-old invention wizard of Japan makes Edison look somewhat like a slacker. While the exact figure hasn’t been verified, an article in The New York Times does credit the man better known as Dr. Nakamats with the all-time world record for holding the most patents.
Some of the most notable inventions claimed to be have originated from his mind include the floppy disk, digital watches and the Karaoke machine. Though IBM is credited for introducing floppies, Nakamat says he had licensed several his patents to the company in 1979 under a confidential agreement. While the tech giant declined to verify his claim, a spokesman told the New York Times that the company maintains an ongoing relationship with NakaMats.
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But beside the innovations that have become household names, the vast majority of his inventions are far-from-mainstream byproducts of his quirky and, some would say, eccentric personality. For instance, there’s the a toilet seat lifter, a magnetized condom that improves sensitivity, a wig that can be used for self-defense and eyeglasses designed to mimic the appearance of real eyes so it doesn’t appear as if the wearer had glasses on.
But perhaps his most provocative (for lack of a better word) invention is the Love Gel. A concoction designed to boost a woman’s level of the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone when applied to her private parts. Basically, it makes that desirable part of a woman’s body even more desirable to men.
Vice Media’s Motherboard site recently conducted an interview with the legendary idea man in which he talks about his goal of patenting over 6,000 inventions before his passes away at the modest age of 144.
“Edison stopped invention at the age of 45,” Nakamatsu said. “I am going to be 82 and also, for 60 years more, I can make more inventions.”
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