Q2e Listening & Speaking 5: Unit 6 Video Transcript

Inventionland Transcript

Reporter: This is Inventionland, a Pittsburgh-based development firm that turns unique

ideas into affordable, everyday products and churns out 1over 200 new
prototypes2 each month. This one-of-a-kind workspace is an invention in its
own right straight from the mind of creator George Davison.

Davison: We have a pirate ship because where else would you want to invent a toy than
on a pirate ship? And then you have the robot, and that robot is all for
electronics inventions. So they have symbols kind of attached to them and to
the imagination of the mind.

Reporter: This is amazing. This 61,000 square foot wonderland3 is comprised of 16

original departments ranging from a shack for pet wares to a cave for
outdoorsy items, and even a speedway for automotive gadgets4.

Davison: Inventionland is really a psychological playground for creative people. It's here
to say, you know, you have an idea? All right, great.

Reporter: For a fee, his company of 250 people helps other hopeful inventors bring their
concepts5 to life.

Davison: Sometimes there's an inspiration that just pops into somebody's mind. Other
times people are looking at something and they see a challenge and they start,
hey I think I could do that.

Reporter: The path from start to store shelf is a nine step process at Inventionland
including engineering, graphic design and prototype building.

Davison: All sorts of things. I mean some of them are fun, some are—

Reporter: This assembly line6 approach to trial and error has led products to find success
at over 1,000 retailers7. There's the Hydro Bone, the Bike Board, the Bread It,
even doggy shoes.

1
churn out: produce something quickly and in large amounts
2
prototype: the first design of something from which other forms are copied or developed
3
wonderland: an imaginary or exciting place filled with interesting things
4
gadget: a small tool or device that does something useful
5
concept: idea
6
assembly line: a system for making things in a factory
7
retailer: a person or business that sells goods to the public

©Oxford University Press. Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use.