Doggles

Doggles. Sunglasses for dogs. Who would even think of such a crazy creation? Ken and Roni di Lullo of North Carolina came up with the idea. They were outside one day when they observed their dog squinting in the sunlight. The owners began making these dog sunglasses out of normal human sunglasses before they were tweaked and a strap was added to securely attach the goggles to a dog's face. The Doggles were then sold in 4,500 stores and in 16 different countries! Since then, Doggles have been fitted with prescription lenses for dogs who have difficulty seeing. Doggles have also been used by dogs with certain eye problems, as well as the military, to protect dogs from sandstorms and sunlight. 

To visit the site, click here

The Million Dollar Homepage

In 2005, Alex Tew changed his life. As a 21 year old college student, Tew created the website www.milliondollarhomepage.com. The idea was simple. The homepage contained 1 million pixels and he would sell each pixel for $1. When a company would buy the pixel space, a logo and link to their website would be provided on the homepage. Tew used sites like ebay to market his site and ended up making a whopping $1,037,100 from his simple idea. Since then, others have followed in Tew's path by marketing their very own pixel advertising sites.

To check out Tew's original site, click here

The Slinky

The Slinky. Possibly one of America's greatest toy inventions was accidentally created by  Richard T. James. James, a mechanical engineer, gave birth to the Slinky one day while at work. James worked with naval vessels and was handling some tension springs when suddenly he dropped one. After observing the spring bounce around on the ground, an idea was formed. James tweaked the Slinky spring and had them mass produced. Since the toy was created, nearly 300 million Slinkys have been purchased.  That is a lot of $$$!

To learn more about the Slinky, click here

The Perfect Pet

During the 1970s, One man was fed up with the complications of having a real pet. Looking for something that wouldn't make a mess and was even easier to take care of than a barrel of sea monkeys, Gary Dahl, of Los Gatos, California, turned to creating the first ever Pet Rock. Dahl began marketing the rocks by packaging them in cardboard containers complete with straw bedding and even an owner's manual on how to care for your new pet. The rocks were first sold for $3.95 USD apiece and started spreading like wildfire. This new pet eventually made Dahl into a millionaire and allowed him to open up a bar in his hometown. 

To learn more about Gary Dahl's pet rock, click here