Sixth Grader Invents Toilet Paper Alarm

Sixth Grader Invents Toilet Paper Alarm SECURITY/SAFETY Alarms 28-3-30 Thanks to an 11-year-old in Montrose, Colorado, people who forget to install a new roll of toilet paper will soon be "busted". Sixth-grader Molly Helken invented what she calls the "T.P. Alarm." It uses a spring-loaded switch to measure how much paper is left on the roll. When it's all gone, a bell sounds to let everyone in the vicinity know that there is another job to do. "A wire on the alarm hooks to a metal screw in the toilet paper dispenser, and also to the battery, and then to the bell," Helken says. "The hinge and seven washers are held together with a screw and the other wire hooks from the bell to the battery to the screw on the metal hinge." When the paper roll is empty, the washers touch the metal roll holder, completing the electrical circuit, and the bell rings until a new roll is installed. She says she was inspired to create the device because she shares a bathroom with her brother and sister, and was tired of always being the one stuck replacing the roll. She entered the T.P. Alarm in the Invent America Student Invention Contest and, of 10,000 entries, the T.P. Alarm placed fourth in her grade level, earning her a $100 saving bond. She hasn't found a manufacturer yet but would consider proposals from any interested parties. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Molly Helken, 1321 Haystack Rd., Montrose, Colo. 81401 (ph 970 240-1828).

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