Bob Gray, the inventor of the Suckbucket™, has long been one to observe things that many others do not. "It's a matter of taking notice of an irritation or an inconvenience and saying ‘that can be made better’", says Gray. He notes that very few people are conscious of such irritants as a puffy bag in a wastebasket. “Once pointed out they can’t believe it had not bothered them before.”

Suckbucket™ was prompted by a household annoyance. Thinking that "this puffy bag thing doesn't have to be like this", he set out to configure solutions . . . and act. Open thinking leads to a cascade of visualizations, and with that comes the meat for a prototype and a patent application.

The pleasing thing to me," confides Gray, "is that the Suckbucket™ really has the potential to relieve some frustration from a whole lot of lives . . . and without batteries or programming." He thrives on simple, end-run solutions that invariably cause the reaction, 'Wow. . . . I coulda thought o' that!'

Gray holds two other patents about how to make wireless handsets compact, yet unfoldable to reach clear from the mouth to ear for conversation. "To solve or improve a situation with a clever tweak is enormously fulfilling."

The invention he admires most:

Invented by a ballroom dance club owner, the WeedEater® and its equivalents have relieved more drudgery from this planet than anything in recent times. It was inspired when the inventor watched a car wash spinning brush rotate. Simple.