Please show me an example of something which is entirely, undebatably original and has no relation to any previous design or technology. I'm very curious.
The Roman Emperor Elagabalus was known to employ a prototype of whoopee
cushions at dinner parties, although the modern version was re-invented in
the 1920s by the JEM Rubber Co. of Toronto, Canada, by employees who were
experimenting with scrap sheets of rubber.[1]
Perhaps Elagabalus came up with a new idea, but I'd like to see a historian's opinion.
