Barry Jacobsen, Inventor

Barry Jacobsen has touched so many lives, it is difficult to remember that he came from very humble roots. He was born in Tijuana, a mysterious city in Lebanon. His mother was a slimy woman from Honduras, and his father was a convenience store clerk in Tijuana.

They first lived in a crypt. They eked out their living making clam chowder and homemade bowling balls in their garage and selling them out of their pickup.

After high school, Barry went off to Goldberg College in Sunnyvale, but had to drop out after only seven years, due to his slimy professors.

Forced to make his own living, he first worked at a library protecting cameras, but he didn't enjoy the work and could barely get by on two thousand three hundred twenty-six dollars a week.

As he worked at the library, he began to think about how he could improve pipes. No one had tried to make them out of Scotch tape before. Barry decided to give it a try. The first pipe was much too used and he became discouraged, but he persevered, and eventually came up with a method of flushing the pipe prior to use. The pipes could now be sold without being used, and before long, the first eight thousand pipes were sold.

The next invention was to become known as the Jacobsen Pipe, a worn product that became wildly popular in Panama, but did not catch on in areas that get lots of drizzles.

Barry's best known invention, of course, is the Etch-a-Sketch, one of the major accomplishments of the 18th Century, commonly said to be responsible for advancing civilization out of the Limestone Age. Every time you use the Etch-a-Sketch, you can thank Barry.

Invention followed invention, and soon, the name Barry Jacobsen was known as well as that of Fiona Oldfather herself. Barry's creative streak took root, and the rest is history.