It’s always difficult to keep an upbeat view during hard times, and to remember that there are always opportunities for those who look close enough. Still, without those doggedly incurable optimists, we would still be plodding along without the benefits of some iconic inventions.

A list of Recession Inventions: Success Stories in Bad Times, was posted last Monday on mainstreet.com.

Chocolate Chip Cookies — 1930
Fortune magazine — 1930
Basketball — 1891
Miracle Whip — premiered nationally 1933
Monopoly board game — the early 1930s
Transparent adhesive tape — 1930
Coors Brewery — opened 1873
iPod — 2001
Ketchup — 1876
Compact fluorescent light bulbs — 1970s
Twinkies — 1930
Photocopiers — 1937
Diet Coke — 1982

The LA Times posted a similarly-themed list in their Some inventions born amid recession recently. So did ABC News Eureka! Recession Sparks Inventive Spirit while this BusinessWeek article, 20 Most Import Inventions of the Next 10 Years looks at Innovation from Recession.

So even in a bear market, grab the bull by the horns and pursue your dreams of innovation.

Steve Lange
Palo Alto Software