Funny Coincidence about the "Book ejection apparatus"

Today, Eleanor told me about the coincidence of the format between her design and other's. That's a normal one for me. Because these two designs are in the same age, the same outline of terms, and the same ideas.

However, it is funny that when I am reading the book "The book on the bookshelf" which is wroten by Henry Petroski. It mentions about how people take books out from bookshelves and how specialists suggest people to do it. And then he said there was an inventor who wants to solve this problem by mechanism. So he designed a device called "book ejection apparatus" which can eject books out from bookshelf.

Title: Book ejection apparatus
Document Type and Number: United States Patent 4050754
Link to this Page: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4050754.html
Abstract: A device for use in a conventional book case to eject a book upon demand.


The interesting thing is that when we have the class "product 3" with Igort Burt. Winston developed an idea which is the same function but different reason. It is for books not to be forgotten. So, shot book out of shelf.

This coincidence makes me laugh but more important thing is to understand the value of a history of behavior. We designers actually can come up with an idea which comes from nowhere. However, it still links to the society we live in and we don't know. Or we don't feel its existence.

Cheers