I don't have a pet; however, PetSafe is sponsoring the My Pet Idea contest.

Have you ever wished you had a product for your pet that you just couldn't find? Now you not only get the chance to have that product created, you could win $25,000.

The contest allows you to vote on other people's ideas, as well as, submit you own ideas.  The website says they are choosing one winner a week.  Good Luck!

The Staples has a website setup for this year's Invention Quest, which they say will be coming this Fall.

The Invention Quest contest is coming soon and Staples is looking for the next big thing! It can be the hottest office essential or a new, innovative organizational product, just as long as it makes work easier. This could be your year to win the $25,000 cash prize and have your inventions sold at Staples.

I've tried to resist the temptation to blog about this, but as you can read I have given in.  Forbes.com has a slide show of 10 Best-Selling Popeil Inventions.  If you want to see more another slide show Businessweek.com also has a few.  Who is Popeil?  Let go to the Wikipeida!

Ronald M. Popeil (born May 3, 1935 in New York City) is a multi-millionaire inventor, well-known for his company Ronco.

He is known for saying, "But wait, there's more!" and "Now how much would you pay?" Each phrase followed the addition of another item or feature to the catalog of a product's advantages or attachments. The advertisements frequently answered the "how much?" question with potential prices, followed by the dramatically lower actual price.

Below is a 1970 Popeil advertisement, the Popeil Kitchen Magician can be yours for only $9.95!

This contest is for children ages 5-12.  To enter they must design a board game (with all its pieces, rules, and a board), decide what the board and pieces look like, figure out the rules and how to play and design a sample of the board and pieces (entries will not be judged on artwork).  Contestants will earn the chance to win prizes (a trip, a $10,000 savings bond, a game library, and more!).  The winning game may be produced by University Games for their lineup in 2007.

The contest is sponsored by University Games Corporation.

August 3 to August 6 the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center is leading "Invention on the Mall - A Family Invention Festival".  It will take place in various Smithsonian Museums (National Museum of American History, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, and National Museum of Natural History) on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

The weekend-long event will help the Lemelson Center kick off its second decade as a nationally recognized organization which documents, interprets, and disseminates information about invention and innovation.