Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Pen Invention

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Pen Invention

The Ventors were definitely different than a lot of other families. They loved museums more than they loved movies, tv, or even theme parks.

    When they took the clan to the museum, the kids always had a blast. They all loved learning about new things. Museums had the distinction from school in that museums had a lot of hands on learning.  Whereas, school was all about staying in your seats and learning from a book or a lecture.

    All of the Ventors had their very favorite parts of the museums. Ben's dad loved the Egyptian mummies. His mom loved the health portions where you learned about how the brain works. Fran liked the nature parts where you learn about animals and their natural habitats.

    "Dinosaurs!" Peter exclaimed at his very favorite part of the museum.

    But, Ben had a favorite part all his own. His favorite part by far was the space part of the museum.  Today, they had seen how astronomers had found planets in times past and how astronomers were using infrared light to understand what planets were made of. What caught Ben's attention more than anything on this particular day though was the weight things weighed on other planets.

    “Feel this?” asked the museum guide, handing Ben a little gray and white rock.  “This is how much your hand weighs on earth. Now feel this."

    Ben picked up a second rock which was significantly lighter.

    "That is how much your hand weighs on Pluto," explained the museum guide, getting as excited as Ben was. "Now feel this final rock."

    Ben picked up the last rock and was surprised he could barely lift it off of the table.

    "This is how much your hand weighs on Jupiter," he said taking the rock from Ben. "On Jupiter, the gravity is way stronger than on earth because Jupiter is way bigger than earth."

    This was absolutely fascinating to Ben, and it sent him on his path to his next great invention.

     The next day, Ben came down the stairs having pulled an all-nighter. He handed a paper to his sister.

    "Here, Fran," he said, putting it on top of her cereal.

    "If you just put some kind of gross scab dropping paper on my cereal I'm gonna ... "

     "Save it," Ben said, holding up his hand. He then wrote something on the paper and put it back on Fran's side of the table.

    "Holy cow," she said trying to lift the paper off of the table.  "What kind of lame-o paper did you make."

    "The paper is not the invention," Ben said showing Fran the marker he was holding.  "I invented a weight marker."

    "What does a weight marker do? Make people fat?" asked Fran, sarcastically.

    "Whatever number I write on something makes its weight whatever weight I wrote down."

    Fran still looked confused.

    "Say you’re out camping," Ben said, picking up a toothpick. "Then you need something very heavy to weigh down your tent because the wind is getting strong."  Ben paused for a moment to write a number on the toothpick.  "Now, pick up the toothpick."

     "It's too heavy," Fran said not able to lift it.

    "That is because I wrote 173 on it, so it weighs 173 pounds now."

     "Do a lot of people need things to get heavier?" asked Fran very skeptical.

     "Watch this," Ben said collaring Peter and bringing him into the room. Ben wrote a big “0” on Peter’s head. Ben then pushed up on Peter’s chin and Peter floated to the ceiling as he now only weighed one pound.

How the weight marker is used today: Astronauts use it to train in weightlessness. Police use it to make their prisoners weigh so much they can't move. Parents use it to move their kids, who are refusing to move, and to take heavy sleeping kids to bed easier.

How much did the weight marker sell for:  113 million dollars

What did Ben buy with the money:  He made it so that his room was turned into a jungle room where he traveled around by vines like Tarzan.




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's Dazzling Paper Airplane Invention

           Ben Ventor's Dazzling Paper Airplane Invention

     “Mine went the farthest,” said Fran, proud of her long and pointy paper airplane.

     “That’s because you made a fast plane,” explained Ben.  “I made a trick plane.  Mine isn’t meant to go far.”

     “So,” countered Fran, “mine still went farther.”

     Ben wasn’t real sure how to argue with this line of logic.  On the one hand, she was right.  Hers had flown farther.  On the other hand, there was no attempt on his part to fly his farther.

     “Ok Fran, but mine did more tricks,” answering Ben, thinking for sure the argument had been won in his favor.

     “Not if you count flying the farthest as a trick,” Ben’s dad said with Peter resting up on his shoulders.

     Ben was not a fan of his dad jumping over to the girl’s side.  Ben was still having a hard time understanding why his dad would often side with Fran or his mom.  In Ben’s book, his dad was a boy and should therefore always side with the boys.

     “That is a pretty good trick, Fran,” Ben said, finally giving in to letting her have this small victory in order to crush her dreams soon.  “I’ll have a plane that can do an even better trick tomorrow.”

     Ben did not like getting beat at what he considered to be one of his greatest talents: paper airplane folding. 

     The next day, the family arrived at the park just after dinner.  It was a beautiful night, and everyone was feeling full from his mom’s dinner. They were all finally ready to relax.

     “Airplanes?” Peter asked, putting a paper airplane in his ear. 

     Ben could not have been more excited.  He did not want to brag, but he knew he had the best paper airplane of all, today.

     “Let’s do a contest for best paper airplane trick,” Ben said.

     Surprisingly, the family listened, and everyone besides Peter folded paper for the next five minutes.  Ben’s mom was first to her feet.  She let loose her plane and it did a complete loop back into her hands. 

     “Not bad, Carol,” said Ben’s dad, now at his feet ready to fly his own plane.  Ben’s dad threw his plane hard, and it did a long corkscrew for about 20 feet.

     Fran was next.  Before she flew her plane, she looked directly at Ben and gave him an evil eye.  Without even looking, she threw her plane sideways from her body.  The plane did a complete arc over her head, and landed directly in her outstretched left hand.

     “Yeah, Fran,” her mom said, proud of her daughter.

     “Holy cow, Fran!” her dad said, enthusiastic.

     Fran stuck her tongue out at Ben and said, “beat that,” as she sat back down.

     Because Peter was already burying his piece of paper in the sand, Ben would be the final contestant.  Ben, held back his arm and let his plane fly.  The plane flew about one foot and did a little flip.

     “That’s it,” Fran said, very happy she had clearly won this contest.

     Ben smiled and ran up to his plane.  Just before he arrived at his plane, he jumped into the air and grabbed the bottom of it. 

The plane held his weight. 

The plane began to move slowly at first, then quickly.  The plane flew in whatever direction Ben pointed his feet.  He went up high, down low, far away, and all the way back to his family where he landed.

     “Ta da!” Ben said, excitedly.

     His family just sat staring with their mouths open at Ben.

    

How the strong plane is used today:  as long as you have a license, you probably use this as your main mode of transportation.  Kids use a child version that only flies 5 feet high(Parents were worried about them flying to high).

How much did the strong plane sell for:  754 million dollars

What did Ben buy with the money: An airport to land his real planes on.




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New BB Gun Invention

A Story For Kids Presents: Ben Ventor's New BB Gun Invention

     “Mom, why do we need to knock down this old barn?”  Ben asked, annoyed that he was spending his summer vacation doing chores that he did not find necessary.

     “Yeah,” added Fran with a look of disgust all over her face. “It is full of cow poop.  We are gonna get some disease.”

     “You are not going to get a disease,” their mom said, becoming a little annoyed.  “We have to tear this down because it is an ugly scar on our lawn.”

     The old barn had been sitting on their property since they had bought the house several years ago.  The kids used to play “farm” in the barn but eventually stopped when they saw the mice running around in it.  Their dad had told them about diseases they could catch from mice, and the barn became more of a setting for a zombie horror movie than a fun hide out.

“Besides,” their dad added between swings of the sledge hammer.  “Don’t you want the room to put something else better back here?”

     “Yes, dad,” answered Ben. But then he asked what everyone had been thinking. “Dad, with all of the money we have now, why don’t we just hire someone to knock this down for us?”

     “Yeah, let them die from diseases,” added Fran, as she covered her mouth and nose from toxic smells.

     “Kids,” his dad explained, “if we let everyone do all of our work for us, your mom and I wouldn’t be doing our job as parents to teach you to work hard.”

     “But, we are never going to have to work hard,” said Fran, well aware of how much money they now had. “Ever,” she continued.  “Like never in our whole life.”

     “True,” said Ben’s mom, but hard work builds character, and character builds solid relationships.  You would be rich and very unhappy if you didn’t have any solid relationships.”

     Ben knew his mom was right, but that did not stop his mind from wondering about a better way to knock down a building. Then the idea hit him.

     Overnight was all the time Ben needed to be able to come down to the barn the next morning ready to demolish.

     “Did you bring that hammer I asked you to bring,” his dad asked, already seeing that Ben did not have the hammer.

     “No,” answered Ben, holding up what looked like a bb gun. 

     “We don’t need a bb gun, Ben.  We are demolishing today,” answered his mom.

     “But, these are special bb’s,” Ben said, holding up what appeared to be red, yellow, blue, and white bb’s.  “They are called elemental bb’s.”

     “Here we go,” said Fran, rolling her eyes.  “What do we do, eat one, and then we can burp down the walls?”

    “Gross,” said Ben.  “No, I’ll show you what they do.”

     Ben put a yellow bb into the gun, took aim at a can on the far end of the barn.  He pulled the trigger.  The bb connected with the can making a “ping” sound as it usually did.  Except this time, the can turned into sand and crumbled to the ground.

     “You turned that can into sand,” his dad said, looking at Ben like he was a modern day magician.

     “Well, the bb did,” corrected Ben.  “The yellow ones are sand bb’s.”

    “What are the red ones?” asked his mom.

     “Whatever you shoot with those catches on fire,” answered Ben, a little sheepishly, knowing his mom did not like him playing with fire.

     “I’ll take those,” his mom said, holding her hand out to Ben.  “Don’t need you accidentally catching the house or Peter on fire.”

    “What are the blue ones for?” asked his dad, becoming fascinated with the new invention.

     “Come here and I’ll show you,” Ben said, loading his gun and walking to the center of the Barn.

     The family all lined up in the middle of the Barn.  It used to be that the Ventor’s might wonder if standing in a dark dusty barn was worth it to see their child’s latest invention, but with Ben they had found that waiting was well worth it.

     “Just watch the ceiling,” Ben said, raising the bb gun up to shoot the ceiling of the barn.  He then pulled the trigger.  Again, the barn made the usual sound of a bb hitting a wooden barn.  And, that is when the crazy event happened.  All at once, the Barn turned into a barn completely made of water.  It held for a moment in the air before gravity took hold.  The Barn then collapsed into a puddle on the ground, completely soaking the Ventors in the process.

     “Not Cool, Ben,” said Fran, scowling at Ben.

     “Rain?” said Peter, looking to the sky above to see if the clouds would drop any more.

How are the elemental bb’s used today:  The army uses the bb’s to turn enemy tanks, planes, and boats into sand.  Demolition experts drop buildings into a puddle with one shot.  Sisters turn their brother’s baseball mitts into ice so their brothers can watch it slowly melt in the hot sun.

Elemental bb’s sale price:  247 million dollars

What did Ben buy with the Money?  Ben made a fantastical soft playground for the elderly next to the local nursing home.




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Straw Invention

A Story For Kids Presents: Ben Ventor's New Straw Invention

Ben's family loved going on picnics. They loved them so much they would even go on snow picnics in the winter time.  During the snow picnics, the kids would get all bundled up and head out into the cold.

     "Ben, can you grab the drinks from the kitchen?" asked Ben's dad, as he was loading up all of the sandwiches into the trunk of the van.

     "Oh, really, Dad," answered Ben, kind of annoyed by this request. "Can't we get Fran to do it?"

    Ben's dad looked up from the trunk at Ben like he had lost his mind.

    "How is Fran going to carry the drinks?"

    Ben knew exactly what his dad was talking about. In fact, this was why Ben did not want to carry the drinks. They were way too heavy. In Ben's mind, no one short of the Incredible Hulk would be able to lift the two ton juice boxes.

     As Ben moved inside, he began thinking of a new way to solve the "heavy drink" problem.  Actually, it wasn't until two picnics later that Ben was able to reveal is new invention.

     "Ben, grab the drinks," his dad said again, getting into the van.

     "I already did, Dad," answered Ben.

    "I did not see them back there," answered Fran.

    "Are you sure you got them, Buddy?" His dad asked looking into his rearview mirror at Ben who had already jumped into the back of the van and closed the door.

    "Trust me," Ben said, winking at his dad.

    Something about the wink let Ben's dad know that he was up to something, and the family would surly get some kind of invention treat at today's picnic.

    When the family was getting all of their food out of the car, everyone had their own job. Ben's mom carried the fruit, Ben's dad brought the sandwiches, Fran grabbed the paper plates, and Peter held the napkins. Of course, by the time the Ventors had arrived at their picnic site 20 feet away, Peter had lost half of the napkins in the wind and eaten another two.

     "So, Ben," said Fran, hoping to get Ben in trouble, "where are the drinks. Those straws you have aren't going to do us much good without something to drink."

     "These straws are the drink," answered Ben, handing one to each of his family members.  "I call them sippy straws."

     "How do they work?" asked Ben's mom, looking for where the drink would come from.

     "You just say out loud whatever you want to drink and suck through the straw,” said Ben proudly.  “It will do the rest."

     "It turns the air into drink?" asked Ben's dad.

     "Yep," give it a try, invited Ben.

    One after the other, each of Ben's family members spoke out loud what they wanted to drink.

    "Grape juice," said Fran, and received a mouth full of grape juice.

    "Root beer," said Ben's mom and was pleasantly surprised by the drink immediately sucked into her mouth.

    "Give me two pina coladas," sang Ben's dad as the chilled pina colada ran into his mouth.

    "Slushie," said Peter and received his first head freeze.

How much the sippy straw sold for:  He gave this one away

What Ben bought with the money:  He just felt good for doing something good.

How the sippy straw is used today:  He eliminated thirst in the world.




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Vacation Invention

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Vacation Invention

"Mom," Fran began whining from the backseat of the Ventor minivan. "Peter's gonna puke."

    "Why do you always say, Mom?" answered Ben's mom. "Your father is sitting right next to me."

    Ben's mom always used the word "father" when she was annoyed with Ben's dad. Even though this was not necessarily his dad's fault, the frustration from Ben's mom came from years of the kids going directly to mom for their problems. Because Ben's dad was generally positive, he would always assume the kids' problems were not a big deal and that they should just forget their problem. This meant automatic turning to mom when problems arose.

    "Should we pull over?" Ben's dad asked knowing Peter's tendency to get car sick and ruin entire family vacations.

    "Unless you want to be cleaning throw up,” Ben’s Mom said annoyed, “for the next half hour, I would ..."

    Ben's mom did not need to finish her sentence. Ben's dad had already jerked the entire car over to the side of the road, nearly causing a problem bigger than cleaning up throw up.

    This ended up being a particularly good day for the Ventors, as it was the first day that Peter had actually made it outside of the car before losing his lunch.

    "Seriously, Mom," began Fran again. "Isn't there a faster way to travel to grandmas?"

    "We could walk," answered Ben's dad.

    This was meant to be sarcastic, but for Ben, it was the beginning of a new invention idea.  Immediately, Ben began to wonder if there was a better way to travel.

    Ben did not have most of the materials he needed in order to make his latest invention while he was on his vacation. However, by the time he got home, he already had the exact blueprints for how to make his new design.

Within just a few days of being home, Ben was at the breakfast table holding a clear screen with blinking red dots on it.

    "Watcha got there, Bud?" asked Ben's dad, more than a little curious to know if Ben had been tinkering with a new world changing invention.

    "If you come to your bedroom with me," Ben said, "I'll show you."

     It took no more than about 1/8th of a second for Ben's dad to be up from the table and moving toward his bedroom.

     "You coming, Fran?" Ben's dad called back to where he and she had been sitting together.

     "No thanks," she answered, not even looking up from her cereal.  "He completely soaked me the last time in the barn.  He's just gonna turn your head purple or grow your ears big or something."

     Ben and his dad arrived in the bedroom, and Ben walked over to the large mirror Ben's mom used to get dressed every day.

    "So what do we have?" asked Ben's dad, growing wide-eyed like he was ready to open a Christmas present.

    Ben pulled out his screen and pressed two of the red dots.

     "Follow me," Ben said.

    Ben's dad watched him confused. What came next really threw Ben's dad for a loop.  Ben lifted his leg and took a step directly into the mirror before them. By the time Ben had taken his second step, he completely vanished into the mirror. Ben's dad shrugged his shoulders as if to say "why not" and stepped into the mirror as well.

     As Ben and his dad had stepped into the mirror in Ben's house, they found themselves immediately, stepping out of the mirror in the bathroom of their ski slope in their back yard.

     "Whoa," said Ben's dad, looking over his body to see if he was all there. "What just happened, Ben?"

    "Look," Ben said, holding up his small computer screen with the blinking red dots.  "All of the red dots represent mirrors found in our area.  All you have to do is touch a red dot. The first dot you touch is the mirror you are going in at, and the second dot is the mirror you will come out at."

    "So touching the red dot on your screen makes the mirror ready to walk through?"

    "Yeah, the red dots on the screen turn mirrors into doors," answered Ben.

    "What if the mirror was in the middle of Washington DC or Africa, could you still go?" asked Ben's dad genuinely impressed.

    "If there is a mirror anywhere else in the world, you can travel to it instantly as long as you have a starting mirror yourself."

     "I've got to get babysitters," said Ben's dad, thinking ahead. "I'm taking Mom to Paris tonight."

How are the mirror doors used today:  People travel to see their family members all over the world as if they are simply walking into another room.

How much did the mirror doors sell for:  4 billion dollars

What Ben bought with the money:  He bought an iPad for everyone in his family and extended family.  Then, he bought one for every school child in America.




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Swing Set Invention

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Swing Set Invention

"All of these great things," Fran said, looking out over the back yard, "and we don't have a swing set."

     "That's because your father would have to put it together," Ben's mom said, again using the term "your father" because she was annoyed with her husband’s inability to do anything mechanical.

     "They didn't have any classes on swing set construction in therapy school," Ben's dad said in his own defense.

     "How hard is it to put together a swing set?" asked Ben, never having had any trouble putting together anything in his life.

     "You'd be surprised," answered Ben's mom, still giving her husband a hard time.

    "Do most people have a hard time putting together swing sets?" asked Ben, becoming very interested.

     "You'd be surprised," said Ben's dad, knowing there were more people like him in the world.

     "I can fix that," Ben said, allowing his mind to begin wondering about a solution to this seemingly common problem.

     "I'd buy it today," said Ben's dad, already convinced of the possibility of a swing set builder invention.

     About a week and a half later, Ben approached Fran.

     "You want to come outside with me and see my new invention?”

    "Does it involve me being scarred, burned, bruised or hurt in any way?" She asked seriously wondering if these were possibilities.

     "Come on, Fran," Ben pleaded," of course not.

     "OK, I'm in," Fran said.

    "Me too," said Ben's dad, popping up from behind his computer.

     "I come?" asked Peter, having no idea what was to come, but loving anything that involved leaving the house.

    

Outside, Ben found a part of the back yard that was bare.

    "I am going to plant these right here," Ben said, holding up what appeared to be seeds made of metal. "Fran, if you water them every day, I promise you will be happy with what you grow."

     Fran shrugged her shoulders and agreed.

    

Over the next two weeks Fran watered the seeds every day. At first, the only thing that came out of the ground was a metal triangle. After a few days, the metal triangle grew higher and higher until it formed the top of a swing set. After two full weeks, the seeds had fully grown and had become a perfect working swing set.

     "This is cool, Ben," said Fran, genuinely grateful for the new swing set but also confused. "But, I am trying to understand. You invented seeds that can grow swing sets?"

     "No, I invented seeds that can grow anything you want that is made of metal."

     Ben then led Fran over to the other side of the house, where two other metal objects were beginning to come up for the ground.

     "What are they?" asked Fran.

     "The red one is a new Ferrari for Dad. He would never buy one for himself."

     "What is the blue and grey one?" Fran asked.

     "It's a real Thomas the Train engine for Peter."

     "And what is that white one way out there," Fran asked, motioning to the white wedge shaped piece of metal sprouting from the ground.

     "That one is an X-wing from Star Wars for me."

How the metal seeds are used today:  People use them to build metal houses, cars, and planes. The Smithsonian used them to make new models for their museums like a space shuttle model for their air and space museum.

How much the metal sprouts sold for:  280 million dollars

What Ben bought with the money:  The biggest airplane hangar in the world to house his new history of airplanes museum.




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Pancake Invention

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Pancake Invention

"So, first you poor out the pancake sauce into the pan," Ben's dad said, beginning his instruction on pancake creation.  "There is a lot of food instruction you could get from your mother.  But, when it comes to chocolate chip pancakes, I am the master."

     "Why do we need to learn how to make pancakes?" asked Fran.  "Don't we have enough money to have someone make pancakes for us the rest of our lives?"

     "We absolutely have enough money for that," explained Ben's dad.  I am not worried about you guys anymore.  I am worried about three generations from now.  If I do not teach my own kids to make the secret Ventor family recipe for chocolate chip pancakes, who will teach their children, or their children's children?"

     "They could just read the back of the pancake box," added Ben's mom who was somewhat busy reading on her iPhone.

"I kind of like learning how to cook," said Ben.  He meant it to.  Some things came easy to Ben; like inventing.  But, other things like cooking food or landscaping, he knew next to nothing about.  He had really grown to love learning about anything.  So, to him, cooking was just another subject about which he craved knowledge.

    "Thanks, Chief," Ben's dad said, roughing up the top of Ben's head. "Well, now we have come to the hardest part of making pancakes: the flip."

     "Flip?" asked Peter, and then began rolling around on the kitchen floor. 

"I taught Peter the flip already," added Fran, motioning to Peter flopping back in forth in front of them.

     "Yeah, this time we are going to be flipping pancakes," corrected Ben's dad.  "Watch."

    Ben's dad held the frying pan down low and slid his spatula under the cooking pancake.  With a quick flip of the wrist, the pancake turned over revealing a perfectly golden brown underside.

     "Now who would like to try it?" asked Ben's dad.

     The kids took their turns flipping pancakes.  Ben's dad had been right.  Flipping was the hardest part.  When Ben had tried, he landed one on the floor, and one on the stove top.  Fran, on the other hand, landed one in the sink, and the other across the room on her mom's iPhone after a particularly vigorous flip.  After some scolding about getting "too crazy" by their parents, the kids were asked to leave the kitchen and leave the cooking to dad.  But, this did get Ben thinking.

     The next morning Ben woke up his dad ready to demonstrate his new invention. 

     "Dad, let's cook pancakes," said Ben excitedly.

     "Not on your life," said Ben's mom groggily from her side of the bed.  "I had to spend half an hour cleaning up the kitchen by the time you three were done in there yesterday."

     "Mom, I invented something that will help with the cooking this time.  I think you like it."

     It didn't take much more than that to convince Ben's mom to get in the kitchen.  She had been hoping for the day that Ben would somehow come up with an invention that would cook their food for them, as this was her least favorite parenting job. 

Within a few moments, Ben's dad had come to the part of pancake preparation where it was time for the flipping.  This is when Ben stepped in.  He extended a little metal tool with a small ball the size of a bb on the end of it.

    "I call it a flipper," said Ben, as he held it up to show his parents.  He then reached over and touched the pancake.  As soon as he touched it, the pancake completely flipped upside down on its own. 

     "Nice, Ben," his dad said.  "Can I try?"

     His dad took the flipper and touched the pancake and marveled at how easily the pancake flipped over and over again every time he touched it.

     "Will it work on anything you are cooking?" asked Ben's mom.

     "It will work on anything in the world," explained Ben, reaching over and tapping Peter, who was sipping his "milky" from his sippy straw.  In an instant, Peter was balancing on his head and laughing hysterically.  Milk was already coming out his nose.

   

How the flipper is used today: Police men don't shoot out the tires of bad guys in a dangerous car chase anymore.  They just flip the car upside down, and the bad guy’s car stops. 

How much the flipper sold for: 12 million dollars

What Ben bought with the money: He donated it to the Humane Society to help find homes for animals without families.  




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New TV Invention

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New TV Invention

"No Peter," Ben's mom said nicely, "that is Ben's screwdriver."

     "Mine," Peter said turning his body away from his mom as if to protect the screwdriver from her prying hands.

    "Peter," Ben's dad entered the conversation, "Ben needs that screwdriver to make us another cool invention."

    "Mine," Peter insisted as he got up and ran into the other room.

    This used to be a frustrating part of parenting for the Ventors, but after three kids they had begun to accept that this was a normal part of growing up.  Peter had yet to understand that everything was not his.  It was a tough lesson to learn, and Ben's parents knew there were many adults that were yet to learn that lesson. 

    "Where's Peter?" asked Ben, entering the room and searching for his screwdriver.

     "Burying your screwdriver in the living room like a pirate’s treasure," answered Fran from the couch as she watched her favorite TV show.  "It's pretty much as good as gone.  Years from now someone will discover it as a great archeological find."

"Not Funny, Fran," Ben said, getting a little annoyed.  "Mom,” he said, hoping his mom would be more useful than Fran, “can you help? I need that screwdriver for a project I am ..."

     Ben did not finish his sentence.  Yet again, an idea for an invention had struck in the middle of problem he was having.  A long time ago, Ben had asked his grandfather the secret to becoming rich.  His grandfather had said, "It's easy.  Just find a need and fill it."  This had pretty much been at the core for the reason Ben built everything he built.  Whenever Ben saw a need, he filled it.

     Three days later, Ben came into the room where Fran was sitting.  She was again watching an episode of iCarley and was laughing hysterically. 

     "Fran, can I watch Mythbusters?" Ben asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

     "No, but you can go stick your head in a nearby toilet," she said, munching on the popcorn she had prepared for her "perfect afternoon."  "And hopefully it will be one that has been recently used."

     "Thanks, Fran," Ben said, and meant this time.  He needed Fran to be completely unwilling to do something in order to test out his new invention.  Ben walked over to the tv and pulled out of his pocket a little black cube.

     "What are you doing, twit?" asked Fran, not so lovingly.

     Ben placed the cube on top of the tv.

     "Just changing the channel of my tv to mythbusters," Ben answered, like Fran would not care.

     "Oh," said Fran, not really caring.  "Ok, I think I'll go read my Ivy and Bean book."

     Ben's invention had worked perfectly.  So well in fact, that Fran had left the room and her popcorn behind.  Ben sat on the couch, propped his feet up, and began to enjoy his own "perfect afternoon."  Unfortunately, his mom had seen the whole exchange between Fran and Ben.

    "What just happened Ben," his mom asked.

    "Oh, hey Mom," Ben said, surprised.  "I did not see you back there.  I was trying out my new invention, and it worked perfectly."

     "Did you invent a brainwasher, and now Fran is your servant?"

     "No," said Ben a little outraged. "That would be terrible, Mom.  I don't brainwash people," he explained moving to the tv and picking up the little black cube for his mom to see.  "It’s called a miner."

     Ben's mom put her hands on her hips to show Ben she was concerned.  "What does a miner do, Ben?"

     "Well, first it sticks to anything I want it to," Ben said, sticking it to various objects around the room like the lamp, the wall, and his own forehead.  Ben's mom didn't say anything.  She was still waiting for what the cube actually did.

     "It's called a miner because anything I stick it to becomes mine."

     Again, Ben's Mom did not look very happy with this invention. 

     "Peter was my inspiration," said Ben, hoping this might sway his mom.

     "Ben, people could use that to steal stuff.  You could go into any store and take out whatever you want without paying for it."

     "I know,” said Ben with his eyes getting wide with excitement. “Isn't it great?  And, it does not just work in stores.  Like you saw with Fran, it works anywhere and on anything.  I could stick it on a car, an island, or Fran and they would all be mine."

     "So Fran would then be your brainwashed servant," said Ben's mom knowing he had proven her concerns valid.

   

How the miner is used today:  It is not.  Ben's mom made Ben destroy the invention.

How much it sold for:  0 dollars

What Ben bought with the destruction of the miner?  People able to think for themselves.






Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Pajamas Invention

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Pajamas Invention

“Dad, you are looking rough,” said Fran, looking at her dad who was clearly working on just a few hours of sleep.

“I’m feeling rough,” agreed Ben’s dad.  “Peter decided to pay us a little visit in the middle of the night.  It’s kind of tough to sleep when someone insists on keeping their feet on your face.”

“Feet,” Peter said, looking at his toes like they were a science experiment.

“Whoa, Dad,” Ben said, entering the room.  “You look terrible.”

     “Wow, you guys really know how to make a guy feel good about himself.”

     “Dad, was up all night getting a face massage from Peter’s feet,” explained Fran.

“Try getting the other end,” said Ben’s mom in the kitchen while she poured her own cereal.  “He can’t sleep unless he is face to face with me, breathing my air.”

Ben’s mind began to turn over some ideas in his head. 

“So, how would you stop him from keeping you up all night?”

“Knock him out,” Ben’s dad said, jokingly as he held up his fist.

“Knock him out and chain him down,” added Ben’s mom.

Peter laughed out loud at his mom’s joke, not fully understanding that she was implying they should do him bodily harm. 

“That gives me an idea,” Ben said, excusing himself from the table.

“We can’t actually hurt your brother, Ben,” Ben’s dad said, stopping Ben with an out-held hand.

     “Though it is sometimes tempting,” Ben’s mom said, half heartedly.

     “No worries,” Ben said, cheerfully.  “I won’t hurt him.”

     By the time bedtime rolled around that night, Ben walked into the living room where Peter was currently getting dressed for the evening in his usual Thomas the Train pajamas.

     “Why don’t you try these instead,” Ben said, throwing a blue pair of pajama pants to his mom on the far side of the room.

“What are they,” his mom asked looking at them closely for spikes or flame throwing buttons.

“They are sleepy pants,” said Ben in a matter of fact tone, like sleepy pants had been around for ages.

“Are they …,” his mom started, almost giddy with excitement, “going to make Peter fall asleep right now?”

“Well, not right now,” corrected Ben. “They have two timers on them; like an alarm clock. The first timer tells you when the person wearing the pajamas will fall asleep, and the second timer tells you when the person wearing the pajamas will wake up.”

Ben’s mom became wide with pure joy.  She immediately put the pants on Peter.  He fell to the ground completely out cold.

“You forgot to set the timer, Mom,” Ben said.

     “No I didn’t,” she said, still smiling.

How the sleepy pants are used today:  Every baby in the world wears these to sleep every night.  Mothers and Fathers are finally sleeping through the night.

How much the Sleepy pants sold for: 300 million dollars

What Ben bought with the money: He bought the Tampa Bay Lighting hockey team.




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Puddle Invention

Short Bedtime Stories Presents: Ben Ventor's New Puddle Invention

Ben did not like to admit it, but he liked girls. Well, it would not be fair to say he liked girls because he didn't. It's not that he hated them per say. It was more like they just did not make any sense to him. For example, scientifically he liked learning about flowers, but he had never had a desire to paint them on his walls or wear them in his hair.  Girls did, and that was bizarre.

     The color purple was also fascinating to Ben. It was a color for royalty for ages, and so its historical value made sense to him. But, wearing clothes or (heaven forbid) having a bicycle painted purple was the definition of crazy.  Girls did both.

     So, even though Ben did not really understand girls, there was one that for some weird reason he always thought about. Her name was "Elizabeth Danter."  But, everyone called her Liz. Well, everyone that was friends with her did anyway. Ever since Ben had become the most popular kid on the planet, girls had begun to notice him, and Liz was no different.

     "Hi Ben," Liz said from underneath her curly locks of hair. Ben liked to think it was more accurate to describe her hair as hair heaven.

    Ben waved back, entirely too shy to say anything out loud to her.      

"What are you working on next?" She asked, leaning in so close that Ben could smell her 7Up lip gloss.

     "I'm working on a tan?" Ben said, motioning to the open window in their classroom that was beating sunshine down on his arm.

     "I meant," she said, "what invention are you working on next."

     "Oh, well, it's something I've been working on for a while, but it’s not quite ready yet."

     "When will it be ready?" Liz asked, feeling like she was getting secret information on the most talked about boy in the world.

     "You'll be the first to know," said Ben, hoping to make her feel special, but also knowing the invention was all about her.

     About a week later, Ben was standing out on the playground holding a soft drink can in his hand. The rest of his class knew he had invented the sippy straw so they thought he might be up to something again.

     Ben was busy looking over the playground when he saw her. Liz was walking with her friends when she saw Ben standing on the playground with his can in hand.   She walked over to get a closer look.

     Ben opened the can and began to poor it all over the ground underneath him.

     "What are you doing, Ben?" Liz asked, confused as to why Ben was pouring out what appeared to be a perfectly nice can of water.

“This is a love puddle in a can,” Ben said, pointing at the can in his hand.  “When you pour it on the ground, it activates.”

“What does it activate into doing?” asked Liz, still very curious.

     “Well,” continued Ben slowly realizing that this was not going to sound too good.  “It makes the two people standing it the puddle fall in love with each other for two weeks.”

     Liz stood staring at the puddle in disbelief.  “Could it make a cat and a dog fall in love with each other?” she asked.

     “I suppose so,” answered Ben hesitantly.  “I hadn’t really thought of that though.”

     Liz got a little spark in her eye and an undeniable smile on her face before she asked, “Ben, did you pour that puddle on the ground for you and I?”

     Ben just looked down, way too embarrassed to answer.

     “That’s sweet, Ben,” Liz said, touching Ben on the arm.  “I’m flattered.”

     With that, Liz walked away.  Ben looked down, and saw that she did not touch his arm because she had to.  She had never stood in the love puddle.

How the love puddle is used today:  It is used in therapy to help couples fall in love again.  It is always used in hostage negotiations, and it peace talks between two countries at war.  

How much the love puddle sold for: 684 million dollars

What Ben bought with the money:  He became the sole owner of Cheetos.  He loved Cheetos.




Don't forget to check out part 1 of Dr. Shaw's children's book series of inventions and craziness called Best. Theme Park. Ever. for just $.99 on Amazon. Please leave a positive review on Amazon if you will!  It helps get Dr. Shaw's work discovered by others.  Also, when you buy it on Amazon, you can choose which iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device to send it to, as long as you have the free kindle app installed on that device.