Exercising Ingenuity: Celebrating health and fitness trends throughout the years
In tribute to the importance the health, fitness and nutrition industries have played in American lives over the years, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum presents Exercising Ingenuity, its latest exhibit. The exhibit highlights inventions, patents, and trademarks that have emerged from past and current trends and breakthrough innovations, from fitness machines to fabric for sportswear to popular sports drinks.
Running through October 2012, Exercising Ingenuity looks at how modern society has been transformed through discoveries in nutrition, physical fitness, and healthy living made by inventors, including Inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
It was Inductee Robert Gore who created the material that came to be known by the GORE-TEX® brand name, widely recognized and used in outdoor wear, and Inductee John Kellogg who popularized his flaked breakfast cereal that became a morning staple for so many.
In terms of health, it was Inductee Benjamin Rubin who created the special vaccination needle that made the difference in administering the smallpox vaccine, leading to worldwide eradication of the disease.
Well-known trademarks in the exhibit include Gatorade and Tony Horton’s P90X workout. Iconic inventions such as the V-Bar, which led to the ThighMaster, and the Nike waffle-sole running shoe will also be on display. Visitors can view artifacts from the past like President Calvin Coolidge’s Electric Horse that he used for exercise while in office, penny scales that allowed the public to weigh themselves outside of a doctor’s office, and still-working vintage strength testers from arcades.
Other notable subjects will be displays on fitness gurus Charles Atlas and Jack 
LaLanne, along with a feature on the founder of the popular Pilates exercise program, Joseph Pilates. The latest in Nautilus fitness technology can be seen with its dial system for controlling weight and resistance. In addition, videos of current Patent Examiners will provide their comments on the current and future trends they see in the health and fitness industry.
The non-profit National Inventors Hall of Fame was founded in 1973 to honor individuals who have promoted the progress of science, technology, and the economy. Each year a new exhibit opens to the public that highlights the importance of innovation to modern life. Founded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the National Council of Intellectual Property Law Association, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the atrium of the Madison Building, 600 Dulany, on the campus of the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria. Admission is free, and museum hours are Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 12n to 5p (closed Sundays and Federal holidays).
For more information, visit www.invent.org.
