It’s the Month of Giving and the epic game show “Jeopardy!” will gift Hagley Museum in Wilmington some new fans when it airs on an episode on Thursday, Dec. 8.
All eyes will be on Hagley on Thursday because the museum has a collection of patent models that will be featured on “Jeopardy!” in a category called “The World of Patent Models,” Hagley marketing manager Laura Jury said.
Yet most people aren’t familiar with patent models, she added.
Over, 5,000 patent models at Hagley
While those miniature models didn’t have to be fully functional, inventors had to demonstrate the utility of how that invention (or innovation of an existing idea they wanted to prove upon) would operate, Jury said. When American inventors in the early 19th century wanted to patent an invention, they were required to submit a small physical version of that model to the United States Patent Office.
Hagley has nearly 5,000 patent models in its collection, making it the second-largest collection in a museum in the United States, according to press materials.
Jury hopes Hagley getting featured on “Jeopardy!” will create a boost in people visiting the museum to check their new exhibit “Nation of Inventors,” which launched in October as part of its permanent collection.
“Nation of Inventors” highlights well-known and obscure inventors. This includes Black inventors, along with both women and immigrant inventors.
According to press materials, there’s Elijah McCoy, a Black inventor who patented a lubrication device that allows locomotives to oil themselves.
Patent models from popular inventors and companies in “Nation of Inventors” include Ball (mason jars), Jim Beam, Bissell, Corliss, Steinway and Westinghouse.
Then again, Jury wants people to know that most inventors aren’t rock stars like Thomas Edison or Alexander Graham Bell.
“The mission is to inspire people to be innovative in their own lives,” she said. “Anyone can be an inventor and the vast majority of people who invent the United States are everyday people.”
A huge ‘Jeopardy!’ fan
It’s taken nearly three years for Hagley to work with “Jeopardy!”
In 2020, the self-proclaimed “big ‘Jeopardy!’ fan” Jury sent an email to the show for Hagley to be considered for a visit from the show’s Clue Crew to feature its unique collection of patent models.
She eventually got in touch with a producer and someone from the show was supposed to visit Hagley in March 2020. But the pandemic had other plans.
Despite that setback, Jury said she was persistent and kept in touch with the producer. When Thursday’s episode airs, all of her commitment over the last three years will be worth it.
“Finally, Hagley is getting their second chance to appear on the program,” Jury said with relief in her voice. For more info about Hagley Museum (200 Hagley Creek Road, Wilmington), visit hagley.org or (302) 658-2400. The Jeopardy!’ episode airs at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 8 on NBC. For more info, visit abc.com.
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Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.
