The weather is warming up here in Amsterdam... We've had a week of sun and temperatures in the mid-70s.

It's ice cream weather, which brings to mind creative problem solving and the invention of the ice cream cone.

In September 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair an ice cream vendor ran out of dishes for serving his ice cream. He was going to have to close for the day until he acquired more dishes. However, his neighboring vendor, Ernest Hamwi, was selling fresh waffles and saw an opportunity. Hamwi rolled his waffles and offered it as a way to contain the ice cream - and the ice cream cone was born.

How are you 'running out of dishes' and what are potential solutions?

add YOUR reaction (1)	link to this entry added at 7:22 AM
categorized as CREATIVITY > imagination

I've just returned from my first visit to Venice, Italy or Venezia as it's called locally.

Ah... Venice... The beautiful city built on water...

While I the entire trip was terrific, I was especially impressed with this advertising tactic used at the Venice airport (Aeroporto Marco Polo) by the company Casino di Venezia. (The Casino of Venice)

I found this clever, eye catching, and memorable. What a great greeting for those heading to the casino. While I'm not a gambler, this 'interactive' ad let me know, in a remarkable way, that Venice has a place to gamble.

Casino di Venezia was built in 1638 and is the oldest gaming house in the world. In fact, Venice was once the Las Vegas of Europe.

add YOUR reaction (0)	link to this entry added at 12:04 PM
categorized as CREATIVITY > great creative ideas

There was a fire today across the street from my office.

I was sitting working... looked out the window and saw flames erupting from the top floor of the building across the street.

I called 112 (the 911 of the Netherlands) and a few minutes later there was an explosion powerful enough to blow-out the windows of the floor above my office. Firefighters arrived swiftly and contained the flames before they spread.

Nobody was hurt, but the building is a mess. Demolition guys are out there now (10 pm) tearing down the loose, dangerous chunks of building.

Coincidentally, my street is named Jan van der Heijden - a famous Dutch Baroque Era painter and innovator who in 1672 invented the fire hose and improved pumps used for firefighting.

Here's one of his sketches called "A Comparison of Old and New Firefighting Methods" I found (with caption) on the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam website.

Van der Heyden compared traditional firefighting methods with his new fire-hose. on the left in the foreground is an old fashioned pump: a large barrel filled with buckets of water. A fixed nozzle is attached to the pump to project water. On the right stands Van der Heyden's invention, which pumps the water directly. The long hose enabled firemen to penetrate deep into the burning building. The insert shows two combined pumps.

Luckily no one was injured today, just property damage and a few people who had to spend the night in a hotel.

add YOUR reaction (1)	link to this entry added at 8:01 PM
categorized as behind the scenes