We at InventHelp love a good prank, especially when it comes wrapped up with a bow!

Maybe you have an older brother who played too many tricks on you as a kid, or an uncle who’s made you the butt of family jokes every Christmas. If so, GotchaBoxes just might be your ticket to payback.

GotchaBoxes, sold by online satire fake-news outlet The Onion, are decoy gift boxes made to look like strange and useless gadgets. The exterior of the boxes are splashed with flashy, tongue-in-cheek ad copy. When the gift recipient opens the box, she or he (if manners are intact) must awkwardly pretend to fawn over the gift. You, of course, smile sweetly and ask how they like it.

Consider the Peaceful Progression Smoke Alarm, featuring sounds of the rain forest. “Awake to your next fire calm and refreshed!,” boasts the cheerful box. Of course, this idea is not only illogical, it’s downright dangerous. Or the USB Toaster, which allows your computer to toast a single slice of bread. “Don’t be tethered to the kitchen! Take your toast…to go!”

Inventor Arik Nordby, a graphic designer from Minnesota, got the idea in 2004 after a birthday party for a friend’s young son. The boy was visibly dismayed when a toy came wrapped in a box for a coffee pot. Nordby saw huge prankster potential in the invention, and eventually The Onion came on board. The Onion sells the boxes for $7.99 apiece, or $19.99 for a set of four.

Since you don’t want to be a total Grinch, you can put a real present inside of the gag box. Unless, of course, your prank target has been a bad boy or girl this year!

If you’ve been brave enough to venture out into holiday shopping traffic this week, InventHelp’s Invention Girl is willing to bet you’ve heard a car horn or two. Aggressive drivers are just one of the reasons that I’m doing most of my holiday shopping online this year.

Henry Ford, a well-known inventor, decided to include a rudimentary horn on his revolutionary Model T. In Slate Magazine, writer Dave Johns describes this early horn as a “grapefruit-sized squeeze bulb affixed to a twice-looped brass trumpet.” Cars and their horns have come a long way since then, but have drivers evolved at the same pace?

Ever since first automotive horn rolled off the assembly line, drivers from New York to New Delhi have honked their way through the highways. The automotive horn’s origins are noble – it was invented as a “collision-avoidance device.” But, if you’ve ever lingered a second too long at a stop light, the chorus of horns that blare in protest demonstrates how the horn is more for scolding other drivers than avoiding accidents.

In developing countries like India and China, a new generation of drivers seems content to honk their way to Noise Pollution City. Some cities through the years have banned honking at night, or even all together. Memphis in the 1950s was called “the quietest city” thanks to a tough horn law.

We at InventHelp would like to remind you to be careful with your horn usage as you rush to shop for the latest gadgets this holiday season. It just goes to show you that what starts as a safety invention can quickly become a noise nuisance in the wrong driver’s hands!

We at InventHelp love this time of year not only for the holiday cheer, but also because football playoffs are just around the corner! I don’t know if there’s anything that could make us love our hometown Pittsburgh Steelers any more than we already do. Except, maybe, watching them in 3D.

Sound too futuristic? Think again. Testing is already underway for 3-D broadcasting. Invite-only test audiences in Los Angeles, New York and Boston have already seen the future of sports broadcasting – and it sounds pretty exciting.

3ality Digital – the company behind the “U2 3D” concert film – is overseeing production and transmission. Technicolor Digital Cinema is providing the satellite transponder time and digital downlink services.

James Cameron, director of the mega-epic Titanic, is helping these inventions along by renting out his cameras to Fox Sports. And if these innovations go well, you can leave your 3-D glasses at home. Many supporters of 3-D television believe that the awkward blue-and-red glasses audiences donned to view films in 3-D will become as passé as smoking in the theater.

InventHelp’s Invention  Girl can hardly wait to see my favorite team in black and gold fly across the field and into my living room (figuratively, of course). Plus, the broadcasts aren’t limited to just NFL games. If you’re a hockey buff, a boxing fan or a baseball nut, you too may have a 3-D sports experience to look forward to!

And if you’re not a sports fan, we at InventHelp think it’s never too late to become one!

With the development of instant communication mediums like email, text messaging and cell phones, any person that we ever want to talk to is just a click or dial away. That’s not always a good thing, especially after a night at the bar.

InventHelp’s Invention Girl certainly doesn’t participate in this behavior, but I’ve HEARD about folks who’ve had one too many at happy hour and – gasp! – decide that it would be a good time to send an email to that ex who dumped them, the boss who fired them or the friend who betrayed them.

And even though it feels good at the time, chances are they’ll regret it in the morning.

That’s why the ever-clever Google developed Mail Goggles, a new feature in Gmail that aims to prevent those “What was I thinking?” moments. The name is a clever play on “beer goggles,” which is the tendency to overestimate the attractiveness of a potential partner due to intoxication.

To activate the Goggles, Gmail users should click the “Settings” link at the top of a Gmail page, then go to the “Labs” section. Users should preemptively pick times and days – so, if you hit the pub on Friday nights like clockwork, schedule the Goggle to kick in around then. Then, if you arrive home and you’re feeling…well, chatty, Google will require you to solve some basic math problems to see if your cognitive skills are intact.

Gmail engineer Jon Perlow was inspired (like so many inventors) by personal experiences. “Sometimes I send messages I shouldn’t send. Like the time I told that girl I had a crush on her over text message,” he said on the company blog. “Or the time I sent that late night email to my ex-girlfriend that we should get back together.”

If he could come up with a way to prevent “drunk dialing” or “drunk texting,” the overenthusiastic communicators of the world might wake up with less of a hangover. And truth be told, even InventHelp’s Invention Girl has sent out an email that was best left in the draft folder!

Colonel Harland Sanders invented one of the most famous recipes in American history: the blend of 11 herbs and spices in his Kentucky Fried Chicken. And as this handwritten, 68-year-old recipe is prepared to be transferred for the first time in decades, company executives are wringing their hands with anxiety.

InventHelp knows just how important the fine details of any invention can be. So, we can certainly understand why this legendary recipe is being monitored under extremely high security as it is moved to from corporate headquarters to an undisclosed location.

Just to give you an idea of how protected this recipe is, only two company executives at any time have access to it. The company refuses to release the names or titles of the execs. Its multiple suppliers produce only a portion of the entire blend and have no idea what the other suppliers are producing.

KFC, part of the fast-food company Yum Brands Inc., hired off-duty police officers and security guards to help with the transfer. The recipe invention will be contained in a suitcase that is handcuffed to the security lead and driven away in an armored car.

The yellowing sheet of notebook paper includes the exact portions of each herb and spice, and is signed by Colonel Sanders himself. Although others have tried to copy the recipe, company executives say the real recipe is so surprising that no one else has come close.

InventHelp’s Invention Girl isn’t a fan of fast food, but after writing this blog I have to admit that I have a hankering for some good old fried chicken!

Ten years ago, no one could have guessed that a little search engine start-up that began as a college research project would become a multibillion dollar company. Google is so ubiquitous that it’s even become a verb! InventHelp’s Invention Girl fully admits to “googling” herself on more than one occasion.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both 35 and worth nearly $19 billion each, originally envisioned a business plan as stripped-down as Google’s famous homepage. They planned on employing about 80 people.

Ten years on, the company occupies a 1.5 million-square-foot headquarters called the “Googleplex” plus dozens of other U.S. offices and hubs in more than 30 countries. They process a mind-boggling 1.5 billion searches per day.

Google’s sky-high ambitions and lofty goals show no signs of slowing. Just this month, it released a new web browser to vamp up its search engine and other services. Google Chrome aims to understand consumers’ search habits and deliver those results to particular advertisers. While Google already collects heaps of information about your interests, Chrome aims to earn higher ad response rates by targeting ads even more effectively.

Google’s acquisition of YouTube and maybe even Yahoo is likely to draw the attention of the government and consumer-interest advocates. The company’s motto of “Do No Evil” could prove to be a challenge to uphold as its lucrative investments continue to unfold.

Now, Invention Girl has to get back to googling for gadgets here at InventHelp!

InventHelp’s Invention Girl was glued to the TV this past week, unable to turn away from the amazing lure of U.S. Olympic swimming team and star Michael Phelps. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, Phelps is the fastest swimmer in the world and the most decorated Olympic athlete in history. And I feel like patting myself on the back when I work out on the Wii for a half hour!

If you’re a fan of Olympic swimming, then this year’s competition couldn’t have been more exciting. More than 20 Olympic swimming records have been shattered this year. While incredible determination, supreme coaching and refined techniques on the part of the athletes deserve most of the credit, a few inventions helped along the way.

Rumor has it that Beijing has invented the perfect pool. The Water Cube at the Beijing Olympics is being called a “swimmer’s temple,” boasting a unique combination of temperature and chemicals levels designed to help swimmers propel through the water. (We like to think we have our own “inventor’s temple” here at InventHelp headquarters!)

Super high-tech swim suits certainly don’t hurt, either. Speedo’s much-hyped, full-body LZR Racer has taken sleekness to a new level. Since its introduction in February, swimmers wearing the LZR Racer have claimed close to 50 world records. “When I hit the water [in the LZR Racer], I feel like a rocket,” claims Michael Phelps.

“Like a rocket” is putting it mildly. By his last race on Saturday, Phelps destroyed world records and took home a nearly unbelievable eight gold medals. InventHelp and Invention Girl say “congratulations” to Michael Phelps, the grandest of champions, and all athletes completing in the Olympics. Go U.S.A.!

InventHelp’s Invention Girl read recently that many Americans believe blogging and texting are creating a grammatically-challenged generation. As a blogger for InventHelp myself, I think that someone who takes the time to write must at least like English a little bit. But as far as texting goes…I can’t say I always follow the rules (lol).

The wordsmiths at Miriam-Webster, Inc., a premier name in dictionaries (yes, dictionaries – they still make paper ones, you know), have add some modern touches the latest edition of the Collegiate Dictionary. It’s no easy feat to get into this dictionary; nominees are monitored for years before they’re put to the presses.

If you know what a webinar is, you’re ahead of the game. If you’ve ever been a part of a netroots organization, you’re light years ahead!

Webinars, or online meetings, are a great way for companies in different offices, cities or countries to participate in a live conference. Usually, the moderator can “share” his or her desktop with the group so that everyone is, literally and figuratively, on the same page. Webinars are extremely useful, but InventHelp’s Invention Girl thinks it’s strange to watch someone else “control” your screen – I feel like it’s been possessed!

Netroots organizations are politically minded clubs that discuss topics online, particularly on blogs. Like webinar, netroots is a catchy web-oriented term that’s easy to remember – giving it staying power.

About 100 new words made the cut this year. Other examples of newly bona fide words include edamame (an immature soy bean), dirty bomb (a radioactive weapon) and my personal favorite, air quotes (a gesture made with the index and forefingers that, to sarcasm-lovers, will need no further explanation).

Welcome to the English language, newbies! InventHelp’s Invention Girl will try to use you in another blog as soon as possible.

If I didn’t love my job at InventHelp so much, I’d probably be “Foodie Girl”. I’m addicted to watching cooking shows, trying new delicacies, and reading the latest reviews on the hot restaurants in town. Food is a fascinating and complicated subject, but one thing is for sure – it’s not immune to scientific change.

Recent advances in technology have affected our plates with little notice from our palates. Even something as simple as ice cream is not untouched by these changes (check out the InventHelp blog article on Ice Cream Antifreeze for more info).

New breakthroughs include hypoallergenic soybeans. Soy is a common additive in food, but it’s one of the top allergens. Thanks to a fermentation process devised by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, soy allergen proteins can be reduced by as much as 99 percent. Protein- and nutrient-enhanced “super” rice are also in the works.

Environmental organizations and public interest groups protest the use of genetically modified (GM) foods, which are defined as crop plants created using molecular biology techniques. Critics argue that since genetic modification is a relatively new phenomenon, its overall effects on human health are unknown. Some brands, like butter substitute Earth Balance, advertise the fact that their product contains no genetically modified ingredients.

Proponents of GM food argue that the benefits outweigh the perceived risks. Some advantages of GM foods are pest and herbicide resistance, increased nutrition and greater crop yield.

As GM foods make their way into the headlines, InventHelp’s Invention Girl is sure that the “harmful” or “helpful” debate will continue.

Now that Earth Day is behind us, there’s no reason to stop the green efforts you’ve been making the past week! This year’s Earth Day was the biggest ever, with an estimated 1 billion people worldwide participating in various Earth Day events and efforts. The 2008 theme, Call for Climate, focuses on a global warming action theme.

Even if you’re not necessarily an eco-activist (InventHelp’s Invention Girl makes an effort, but I admit that I’m addicted to long, hot showers), here are a few ways that you can make an everyday effort to reduce global warming:

1. Change Your Light Bulbs (Difficultly Level: Easy) – The invention of compact fluorescent light bulbs makes it easier than ever to give your home the “green” light. Replacing just three frequently used bulbs in your home can save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide and $60 a year.
2. Buy Local and Organic (Difficulty Level: Medium) – By shopping for local products, you eliminate carbon emissions resulting from extensive transports across state and country lines. Plus, you support the local economy. Also, be sure to check out the latest organic clothing inventions in your favorite department store. InventHelp’s Invention Girl is addicted to soft, organic cotton T-shirts!
3. Go Hybrid (Difficultly Level: Challenging) – One of the most exciting automotive inventions of the last 10 years is the hybrid. If you’re in the market for a new car, try test-driving a hybrid. There are plenty of styles, from compact sedans to SUVs, from a variety of automotive companies. Although hybrids are a little more costly, most drivers find that saving an average of 16,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year (in addition to thousands of dollars in gas) offsets the higher sticker price. Even if you don’t go hybrid, make MPG a factor in your buying decisions.

Just because Earth Day is over doesn’t mean you should give up the effort. Even the smallest changes add up over time. InventHelp and Invention Girl say “Thanks!” for choosing Earth-friendly inventions!