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Franklin's Glass Armonica
CoffeePlease writes "At the time of his death in 1790, when more than 5,000 of his glass armonicas had been built, Ben Franklin had collected no money from his glass armonica. He refused to patent any of his inventions, saying: 'As we enjoy great Advantages from the Inventions of others we should be glad of an Opportunity to serve others by any Invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.' Read more here and here. A historical/sci-fi novel by Louise Marley has come out on the subject also. It would be interesting to find out if any other early inventors shared Franklin's generous views on patents." There's even a FAQ.
oh, wait, it isn't a harmonica.
(* as Doctor Emmet Brown did'nt hold any patents either did he? *)
He patented the "Flush Capacitor". It allowed one to go back in time by flushing their toilet. You had to use prune juice to regulate how far back you went, though. It did not sell well because traveling with the runs was not very pleasent. Besides, it was kind of embarassing to land in the middle of King Author's court on the john.
At least that is what my dog told me when we got drunk together. He otherwise does not reveal much.
Table-ized A.I.