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Blog Category: Museum

USPTO: New Exhibit on Food Opens at National Inventors Hall of Fame

Mr. Peanut® character costumeUnder Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) David Kappos and Alexandria, Va.,  Mayor Bill Euille presided at the opening ceremony of this unique, new exhibit today at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria. This is the first major exhibit installation to come to the National Inventors Hall of Fame since it was relocated to Alexandria from Akron, Ohio, in March 2009.

Inventive Eats: Incredible Food Innovations highlights how our breakfast cereals, sandwiches, dinner entrees and more have been transformed by significant events, discoveries and inventions. It features the important role many of the National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees have played in the array of appetizing innovations that have made the food we eat safer, healthier and more economical.

Image of walk-in kitchen from 1950sVisuals include:

  • A full-size Mr. Peanut® character costume from the 1960s, used for Planters marketing, and additional Mr. Peanut artifacts
  • A 1950s fully stocked walk-in kitchen
  • 19th century patent models, including models of a refrigerator, an egg beater, a flour sifter and the original Mason jar
  • Displays of other well-known trademark food characters, such as the Pillsbury Doughboy® and the Green Giant®
  • A Tappan vintage microwave from 1955, the first for home use 
  • A 19th century patented beehive