We are accustomed to so many inventions nowadays that we take them for granted, ignoring the fact that these innovations started out as a drawing on a piece of paper.Here’s a fun fact, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office received 520,277 applications from inventors so far! What follows is the list of top 10 inventions that are mind blowing when it comes to creativity, but are unlikely to gain significant market share for one reason or another.

10. Mind Control

Military helmet in use by the U.S. military has undergone some improvements over time but nothing compared to what the future has in store for it. U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding an Arizona State University researcher who’s attempting to come up with a helmet that can help in regulating soldier’s brain. Transcranial pulsed ultrasound targets certain parts of brain to activate specific functions and emotions. Results of such targeted sound waves is control over particular actions; being alert even if you haven’t slept for days or to stop feeling pain. Of course there are debates about the ethical values of such a helmet but still this could prove very helpful in modern warfare!

9. P&P office Waste Paper Processor

 Chinese inventors have come up with an idea to utilize used paper. The idea is creative, however it falls short when looked at with a more practical approach. The P&P office Waste Paper Processor turns paper into pencils. Surprised? Don’t be. The machine made it to the finals in the 2010 Lite-On Awards. Simply put, all that you need to do is to feed waste paper to the machine. It compresses and rolls it followed by insertion of lead, a bit of glue and there you go! A pencil comes out of the machine. The drawback is that pencils are no longer used in offices, and such a machine wont find its market in offices. Also the lead and glue might only just add to your cost rather than minimizing it so chances of this innovation making it to the market are quite less!

8. PrePeat rewritable printer

  Did your printer just stop printing because your toner is dead?! Or did you just run out of paper? Wouldn’t it be much easier if they made toner less and paperless printers? Sanwa Newtec, a Japanese company, in fact does make them. PrePeat rewritable printer is your solution. It requires plastic paper and using dyes with temperature changes, the printer works quite effortlessly! Leuco dyes are used that are sensitive to temperature. The company claims that their paper can be used a thousand times before it needs to be replaced! The only problem is the cost, it is highly unlikely for an average PC user to go for this type of printer.