Patent Models Reveal History of 19th Century Innovation and Beyond

Any entrepreneur can tell you that the key to making money off your ideas is to get a patent. In the earliest days of the American patent system, inventors were required to submit not only a sketch and description of their concept, but also a toy-like model that was kept on file.

As Todd Bookman of Here & Now contributor WHYY and The Pulse reports, many of those patent models survive today, providing a glimpse at the past and future of new ideas.

Read more via The Pulse. 

Todd Bookman, contributor WHYY. He tweets @toddbookman.