Lloyd B. Root
The Root Wind Turbine is named in honor of my grandfather, a little known Chemist/inventor named Lloyd Root. During the 70's his research into wave power produced several model boats that ran on wave power. He also made a top rotate from the up and down motion of the water. Seeing the top spin when I was 16, inspired me many years later to design The Root Wind Turbine. If you can make something rotate, you can produce electricity. During the 40's Root experimented with the theory of a water bed, laying a strong sheet of plastic over a large tank full of water in his basement. All the neighbors tried it, until one of them broke the plastic and fell in the water. He thought it was just an amusing novelty with no commercial value. Another invention he made during the early 60's was the Easy Bowl, (pictured below) which grasped the ball like a pair of ice tongs. It allowed you to bowl without bending over. My elderly Grandmother was able to enjoy bowling with the Easy Bowl even though she had trouble just walking. It got some local publicity in Western New York but never caught on. He also designed the 3 pontoon boat shown below, that could carry up to 5 people in very shallow water. The pontoons were attached by hinges, which allowed the boat to roll over the waves, dissipating their effect. Because most of the boat was above the water, it had less drag and could operate with a very small engine. One of the more amusing inventions, (shown below) was the sea monster that opened and shut his mouth from wave power. Although inventing was his lives passion, his family always came first.