Recently I saw something no owner of a two-year-old home expects to see: a mouse in the house. I wanted to capture it and toss it out. But how?

I looked in stores for mouse-capture devices. Many inventors have heard the saying, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.”

The device I bought is diabolically simple. It is a tube with incredibly delicious mouse food at the far end. The mouse smells the food and walks up a ramp. At the fulcrum, the ramp tips up behind the mouse and locks into position. The critter is then trapped.

The trap worked like a charm. Within a day, Mickey was my prisoner. I took the contraption for a walk outside, tilted it, and out slid Mickey into a field of grass and bushes.

I then returned to my home and its other amazing devices that I take for granted: a hot water heater, a clothes washing machine – I could go on and on. These devices save me an enormous amount of time every week. Then there are the devices that make me think that I am living in the future: cell phones and instant video communication halfway round the world.

Many, many people have helped invent and improve these devices. Others are slaving away to invent even more amazing products, such as a new method of altering fatally defective genes. The method involves a version of CRISPR, which is a piece of DNA used as a defense by some bacteria.

So I ask myself:  What have I invented that has value? My initial answer is nothing.

I have had a few good ideas. Years ago I explored the possibility of creating a device that allows a TV to run only if someone is pedaling a stationary bicycle. I thought that device might help promote teamwork and fitness in institutional settings and in homes. The development of portable viewing devices such as iPads and cell phones undercut my idea. Plus, isn’t watching TV an inalienable right for every child and adult?

A few years ago I developed an online method of helping people increase their empathy. A student of mine is testing whether the method helps couples have a good relationship. I hope that the method works as well as that mouse trap.

What possible inventions are dancing round in your mind?

[Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash]