The best inventions to come out of Colorado

DENVER (KDVR) — With the virality of the 21st century, it feels like anyone or anything can become a sensation overnight. There are things, however, that are already so popular, integral or intertwined in our lives that we never think of them as having a starting point. It feels like they were always there.

All of the things we use so frequently in our lives have to come from somewhere. Sometimes, that somewhere is Colorado.

Here are some of the best inventions that have come from Colorful Colorado:

Denver Boot

Sorry car parkers of the world… gettin’ the boot started in Denver. The wheel clamp or “Denver Boot” was invented in 1944 by Frank Marugg and patented in 1958. Marugg’s invention is locked onto the wheels of cars rendering them immovable. Parking enforcement adopted the tool to use against outstanding parking violators.

Jolly Rancher

Originating as a candy company founded by Bill and Dorothy Harmsen in Golden in 1949, the Jolly Rancher was created by the couple after they made the transition from ice cream to candy as they felt they could not sell ice cream during cold months. They chose the name to sound like a friendly Western company and eventually sold the company to Hershey who produces the Jolly Rancher people know and love today.

Crocs

Love them or hate them, there is no denying the popularity of the Croc. Crocs was founded in Boulder in 2002 by the trio of Coloradans, Scott Seamans, Lyndon Hanson and George Boedecker Jr. Derived from a clog, the foam shoe has been purchased by hundreds of millions of people across the globe.

The modern tampon

While probably not as refined or comfortable as the modern-day tampon, the design was derived from the product of physician, Earle Haas. There has been a variety of designs of a tampon over centuries of development but none have caught on quite like the one Haas invented in Colorado in 1931. He created a cardboard applicator with cotton inside that was attached to a string.

Outdoor Christmas lights

The creation of Christmas lights dates back to the 1800s when people would decorate the inside of their homes with Christmas lights. What’s the fun in bright lights if they can’t be shared with the world? The craze for decorating the exterior of homes with Christmas lights started in Denver in 1914 when electrician, David Sturgeon, dipped lightbulbs in red and green paint, connected them to an electrical wire and put them on a tree outside his son’s window. Sturgeon created what became a tradition to bring Christmas cheer to his son who was sick in bed.

Possible honorable mention, the Teddy Bear

The origin of this childhood favorite is shrouded in controversy. Colorado’s claim is that President Teddy Roosevelt went on a hunting trip in the Glenwood Springs area where hotel maids presented him with the first Teddy Bear. A more evidence-backed claim stems from Brooklyn, where a couple was inspired by a 1902 Teddy Roosevelt hunting trip in Mississippi that got adapted into a cartoon. The wife, Rose Michtom, made two stuffed bears that were put on display in their shop’s window. The toy became so popular that the husband, Morris Michtom, founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.