Comments on: 7 Brilliant Ideas Scribbled On Cocktail Napkins and Toilet Papers

By: Make money

Make money — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:19:15 +0000

This is interesting, this are stories of people that produce their best work when they are not serious.

Steve

By: DonS

DonS — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:29:44 +0000

As a former employee of Compaq Computer Corp. This was a company whose first portable computer idea was launched on the back of a place mat from the House of Pies in Houston Texas.

By: Amyamyamy

Amyamyamy — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:10:26 +0000

The automatic fire nozzle was first drawn on a napkin by my grandfather... You can read the story and see a picture of the actual napkin here:

http://tft.com/newsite/company/default.asp

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:05:24 +0000

1) The AMC Gremlin was initially designed on an airplane, in flight, on the side of an airsick bag.

2) The point system for the (then) NASCAR Winston Cup Series was first scrawled out on a napkin by the late motorsports journalist Bob Latford at the Boot Hill Saloon in Daytona Beach, Florida.

By: Kristin Currier

Kristin Currier — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:05:07 +0000

Great collection of stories. I wonder how many artists grab a bar napkin or likewise and lay down some sketches? I do this all the time. I also travel quite a bit and visit local pubs, and usually do sketches of the bar patrons and leave the sketches behind. I have come to find out some of the bars tape them up and keep them there. It has also earned me a free beer or two!

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:02:47 +0000

@Craig - I do see your point, but the (false) story was propagated as facts by the founders of the company ... how could a writer research against that? Put 'em on polygraph?

Only until he recanted a decade later did we find out that it was just a myth (hence the disclaimer).

By: konfetka

konfetka — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:10:29 +0000

I'm rather disappointed that the "Percentages Agreement" between Churchill and Stalin that split up Europe into "spheres of influence." Churchill purportedly scribbled the proposal on a napkin and passed it to Stalin. Although I guess it doesn't qualify as "brilliant idea." Still interesting, though.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:25:58 +0000

Alex, I think you missed our point. The fact that the first item on the list is false casts doubt on the whole list. It also suggest that the authors of those books don't do any research before they publish their collections of urban legends. You even describe the book on this site as "...a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating FACTS." Facts is facts, and these ain't facts.

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:47:57 +0000

@seefish and Craig - the Southwest napkin story was the accepted version until Rollin King recanted a decade later after the book (and the article) was published.

By: Todd

Todd — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:31:47 +0000

Roald Dahl was driving out in the country when he had an idea about a child and a chocolate factory. He had no paper in the car, and so he simply wrote the word "Elevator" in the dust that had settled on the car. He had forgotten the story entirely until he looked at the car a few days letter and saw his message to himself.

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:31:12 +0000

I guess it's another myth, but I was taught in school that Lincoln pretty much jotted down the Gettysburg speech while he was seated, waiting to be called to the makeshift podium.

By: Taylor

Taylor — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:41:06 +0000

Let's not forget that the original idea for the VW bus was sketched out on a napkin by Ben Pon, who I believe was a Belgian importer of VWs, in 1948. Two years later, the VW bus was born!

By: rai

rai — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:49:22 +0000

How about JK Rowling when she started to write the plot of Harry Potter? It should have been included in the list.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:22:30 +0000

The first story is a great illustration of why I don't believe ANYTHING in the Bathroom Reader. Uncle John's Bathroom Reader is like the Joker to Snopes.com's Batman. Why would I believe any of the other stories in the list? I wish Neatorama would end their relationship with Uncle John's Big Book of Urban Legends.

By: Daniel Kim

Daniel Kim — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:10:46 +0000

I once read that the size of the 5.25" floppy disk was determined by using a napkin. It wasn't actually written on, but the conjunction of napkin and idea are there.

By: sara

sara — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:39:18 +0000

Oh, is that why Louie Louie's lyrics are so hard to make out?

By: DBinNYC

DBinNYC — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:42:53 +0000

What about Ian Faith's diagram of "Stonhenge"?

By: Auguste

Auguste — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:06:07 +0000

The graph, known as the "Laffer Curve," later became the basis for President Reagan's "trickle-down" economics.

I thought this was a list of "Brilliant" ideas on scrap paper. This belongs on a list of "Elaborate practical jokes on the American people."

By: seefish3

seefish3 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:57:06 +0000

Too bad this article starts out with another fake story. Does "Bathroom Reader" do any research ?