Blowgun
The blowgun - the device to check whether you are driving under the influence - was invented in the country where the need was greatest, in the United States. Robert Borkenstein, its inventor, launched it in 1958. He was able to protect the patent well worldwide and the bag, cursed by many, turned him into a wealthy man.
Borkenstein was born in 1912 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His parents were not wealthy and the young Robert started working in a photo shop during his school years. He came up with a new process for printing color photos, an idea he could sell for good money. In 1936 he got a job as a photographer with the police. Almost every day he had to photograph fatal accidents involving alcohol. The fact that prohibition had only just been lifted undoubtedly played a role.