Downeast Genius

The genius Thomas Edison once said all anyone needed in order to invent something was a good imagination and a pile of junk. Imagination and creativity have always been essential qualities for survival in Maine and the ingrained habits of "e;saving up"e; and "e;making do"e; inevitably led to heaps of junk. As a result Maine has produced some extraordinary inventors and inventions with many aimed at a simply making daily life, easier and more comfortable: from Joseph Peavey's self-named tool that dramatically improved log driving to Chester Greenwood's ear muffs to Charles Forster's toothpicks to Hiram Maxim's machine gun to the L.L. Bean Duck Boot.