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8 brilliant, everyday things invented by kids

Earmuffs, kid inventors

Photo: Pixabay

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It's a wonder that earmuffs took so long to be invented, but it wasn’t until the late 19th century that 15-year-old Chester Greenwood did just that. Tired of cold ears while ice skating in his home state of Maine, Greenwood made a wire loop and asked his grandmother to sew fur onto the ends. He improved the model, and in the early 1870s he obtained a patent for Greenwood's Champion Ear Protectors. He made a fortune keeping U.S. soldiers’ ears warm during during World War I, and he went on to create more than 100 other inventions, including the steel-tooth rake.