History's 'Invention USA' Premieres Friday, December 9

For centuries, America has been an engine of invention and innovation, creating the technology that has shaped world history. From Ben Franklin to the Wright Brothers; Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, this country has been a consistent generator of revolutionary ideas. Today many Americans, in basements and backyards around the country, are trying to turn their dreams into the next big thing.

INVENTION USA, a new HISTORY series that premieres Friday, December 9, 10pm ET/9C follows Reichart Von Wolfshield and Dr. Garrett Lisi, innovators and scientists with ties to investors, as they go in search of the next breakthrough invention. Whether they're traveling the country to visit backyard inventors at home, or meeting inventors at their Los Angeles testing lab, Reichart and Garrett will put prototypes to the test and give a tough, no-nonsense evaluation of the invention's potential. If they like what they see, it can mean the Inventor will get the investment they'll need to help bring the product to market. In every case, the stakes are high: a dream is on the line, and the next idea they see could change someone's life...and even the world.

Their adventures are chronicled in INVENTION USA which celebrates not only America's knack for invention but also its entrepreneurial spirit. As Garrett and Reichart see it, one is meaningless without the other - and these two know quite a lot about bringing pioneering new products to the marketplace. As Garrett and Reichart travel the country meeting with inventors, if they agree that there's revenue potential in an invention, they will use their considerable collective experience - in consumer products, marketing, science and design - and make that invention come to life, and ultimately to the marketplace.

INVENTION USA doesn't focus solely on the inventions. The 6-episode series also takes a fascinating look at the inventors themselves, some of whom have sacrificed it all, including money and marriages, to make their creations a reality. Some inventions are brilliant, some batty; and some simply both! There's "The Fireball," a non-lethal weapon that uses modified paintballs to deter wild animal attacks, a product the inventor claims was inspired by his run-in with Bigfoot. There's the "Phone Glove," a cell phone that's not exactly hands free, given that it's built into a winter glove. Also Easy Down, a potential life-saving invention inspired by the events on 9/11; and "Roscoe: One Bad Bird" - a new "weapon" in the battle to keep pesky pigeons away. Which of these and many other items will meet with Garrett and Reichart's approval? The stakes couldn't be higher for the inventors.

Garrett is an American theoretical physicist best known for "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything," a unified field theory combining particle physics with Einstein's theory of gravitation. Born in Los Angeles and raised in San Diego, California, Lisi received bachelor's degrees with highest honors in physics and mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a doctorate in physics from the University of California, San Diego. After moving to the island of Maui, Lisi balanced his efforts between physics research, scientific consulting, and surfing. His work has been featured in many academic, popular, and online publications.

Reichart has produced over 120 consumer products and pioneered dozens of technologies over the past 30 years including one of the first multiplayer video games, co-designed the first set-top computer, created Disney's Animation Studio software, designed slot machines for Vegas, Toys for Mattel, and weapons for the Defense Department. From their Laboratory nicknamed "The Barn" Garrett and Reichart evaluate and test an array of newly developed prototypes for the series.

INVENTION USA is produced for HISTORY by T Group Productions. Matthew Ginsburg and Charles Nordlander are Executive Producers for HISTORY. Executive Producers for T Group are Jenny Daly, Gunnar Wetterberg and Jason Sklaber.

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