Although
I don’t have any inventions to my name – no patents nor trademarks, I do
consider myself the catalyst for many inventions made by others. For example,
take the keyed light switch so often seen in commercial buildings.

Figure 1: Keyed Light Switch.
Up until 1971, commercial buildings had toggle light switches, similar to those found in homes.

Figure 2: Toggle Light Switch.
All this changed because of the ingenuity of two young men, my best friend Chris, and myself. The catalyst for this invention came from the rebel ways of the two men. The story goes like this.
One afternoon, the two friends walked home from the Del Amo Mall, located in Torrance, California. On the way back to their apartment building, they stopped at the Lincoln Federal Savings and Loan Building, now the California Bank and Trust Building.

Figure 3: The Bank.
Because the distance from the mall to their homes was quite far, and because they had both consumed a large Cherry Slurpee™, they both needed to use the bathroom. They entered the bank and proceeded to the first floor men’s bathroom, which was located not too far from the front doors.
They both relieved themselves using the proper receptacles (urinals) and then, because they learned good hygiene at an early age, proceeded to the sinks to wash their hands. They washed and dried their hands and headed to the door. One of the young men, whose identity remains lost to time, noticed a light switch by the door. He pointed it out to Chris. Chris noticed the sinister gleam in the perpetrator’s eye. No words were needed.
As they opened the door to exit the men’s bathroom, the young rebel flipped the switch (see Figure 1: Keyed Light Switch). As they hurriedly made their way to the front doors, they heard the screaming voices of those in the dark who occupied the bathroom stalls located in the rear of the bathroom.
History tells us of those throughout time who have contributed to humanity through their inventions. We know that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, that Thomas Alva Edison invented the light bulb, that Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the heavier-than-air plane, and that Jose Cuervo invented the tequila-induced headache. What history often fails to tell us is the stories of those who are the impetus for great inventions.
Now you know of one of those stories.