美国国家公共电台 NPR Brush Yourself Off And Try Again: An Invention Story

Brush Yourself Off And Try Again: An Invention Story

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Two inventors wanted to change the world of dental hygiene¹ with a new kind of toothbrush. Everything was going great up until the moment their dream was about to become a reality. NPR science correspondent Joe Palca brings us this story as part of his summer series on inventing.

JOE PALCA, BYLINE²: Dental hygienist and toothbrush inventor Mike Davidson says when you brush your teeth properly, you know it.

MIKE DAVIDSON: And that's what this brush is designed to do. It's designed to show you what good brushing feels like.

PALCA: This brush is the MD Brush. The brush has a clever handle. When you pick it up, the handle positions the bristles³ at a 45 degree angle to the gumline, an angle many experts say is ideal for effective brushing. It took seven years to go from the idea for a new toothbrush to an actual product - seven years of designs, redesigns, re-redesigns, manufacturing obstacles.

But finally, in late 2014, Davidson was ready. A hundred thousand MD Brushes arrived at the Port of Long Beach in California. Then the problems started. There was a strike at the port and the brushes were trapped. Then, Davidson says, the credit card processing system went haywire.

DAVIDSON: This really is not the way you want to start a business.

PALCA: And then they ran smack⁴ into the dental industrial complex. Davidson's partner, Mike Smith, says one of the big toothbrush manufacturers filed suit against them, accusing them of patent infringement⁵.

MIKE SMITH: When that came in, when we were served, I don't know if we were overwhelmed by it. But, I mean, it was definitely a - you know, a gut⁶ check for both of us.

DAVIDSON: We could have fought them. And we were confident we would have won. But to get it in front of a judge to make a ruling on it would have cost us upwards⁷ of half a million dollars to do it.

PALCA: Davidson says they agreed to a settlement and threw away 65,000 unsold toothbrushes. He says it hurt. And the experience completed his transition from idealistic inventor to hardened businessman.

DAVIDSON: I'll put it to you this way, is that any time - if you've got an innovative⁸ product that's going to impinge upon a larger company's market share, get ready because they're going to come after you. And that's what happened with us.

PALCA: Davidson says he and Smith have now regrouped. They've redesigned the brush again to avoid the patent problem, and the first manufacturing run is complete.

DAVIDSON: We're ordering 10,000 this time instead of the 100,000.

PALCA: When I spoke⁹ with Davidson and Smith three years ago, I asked them whether they'd take the money if a big toothbrush manufacturer offered to buy them out as a way of eliminating them as a competitor.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

SMITH: I think we've already talked about it. No. No. I mean, we've taken it this far. We're going to - we're going to continue to take it all the way.

DAVIDSON: It's not about money. It's about winning. And it's about beating these guys at their own game and showing them we can do something better.

PALCA: That was three years ago. I asked if they'd take the money now.

SMITH: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

SMITH: I didn't even have to blink at that question. If it was an eye-popping amount of money then yes, most definitely. Yes.

DAVIDSON: If it was a huge, eye-popping number, absolutely. Yeah.

PALCA: But then Davidson qualified¹⁰ that answer.

DAVIDSON: It would have to be a pretty substantial amount.

PALCA: Clearly he's still got some fight in him. The toothbrush wars aren't over yet. Joe Palca, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF STEPHANE WREMBEL'S "BIG BROTHER")

1 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 bristles   

短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the bristles on his chin 他下巴上的胡楂子
• This job bristles with difficulties. 这项工作困难重重。

4 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

5 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

6 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

7 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

8 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。