Privy Prop puts boy on national TV
Mother is the mother of this invention
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, November 02, 2007
ODEBOLT, Iowa -- Jake Wulf's invention keeps him out of hot water.
And his mother out of cold.
It's a foot-activated toilet seat lifter called the "Privy Prop" and it lands him on national television today. Jake, a 9-year-old from Odebolt will demonstrate his invention on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" airing at 4 p.m. on KTIV Channel 4.
Jake, the son of Jason and Beth Wulf, is an accomplished fourth-grader at Odebolt-Arthur Elementary who breezes through assignments and participates in the school's Talented and Gifted program.
Sadly, he has a blind spot. He cannot remember to put the toilet seat back down after he's done.
"He's done this pretty much all his life," his mother says. "He's in too big a hurry to take care of that. He's been reminded thousands of times over the years."
Necessity isn't the mother of invention for Jake Wulf. Mother is his mother of invention.
"My mom was getting mad at me for forgetting to put the toilet seat down and she was falling in," says Jake, who remembers waking up one night as his mother realized his error.
AGAIN! In the middle of the night!
A few days later he and Mom visited the doctor's office in town for an unrelated matter. While waiting for an exam, Jake noticed the lid to the small trash container. It opened and closed with a foot-powered lever. Hmmmm ...
He came home and told his folks he wanted to design such a prop for the toilet. Mom and sister Josie were all for it. They challenged Jake to make good on the project, one he designed for the school's Invention Convention. Jake enlisted the advice of his dad, who designs paving equipment for a living.
"Jake drew it all out and I supervised," says Jason. "I helped him with the tools to make sure he didn't cut off any fingers."
Using a power drill, a hacksaw and a power sander, Jake built a plywood base around the toilet. He cut thin pieces of steel and devised a teeter-totter at the bottom. You step there and it raises the back, which raises an arm, which raises a lid. You step off, and the lid closes.
Which keeps Jake out of trouble.
Once built, he used a dictionary to come up with a name. He found synonyms for toilet and lift and wrote them all down. The three final choices -- "Jake's John Jack" "Privy Prop" and "Privy Proper" -- were voted on by his family with "Privy Prop" winning.
The "Privy Prop" was chosen by local judges to advance to the regional Invention Convention in Pocahontas, Iowa. It rose to the occasion at that site and was selected for display over the summer at the Iowa State Fair.
At the state fair, Beth said, lots of folks stopped and shook their heads while saying, "Why hasn't somebody thought of that yet?" She suspects someone watched Jake's talk about the invention at the State Fair and contacted DeGeneres' show. One of the show's producers called the family this fall, asking for a tape with a description of the invention.
Two weeks later, a producer called and invited Jake and one parent to fly to Hollywood as they wanted to feature him and two other young inventors with their creations.
The Wulf family all made the trek this week. Taping took place Wednesday and the show will air today with the young inventors getting 10-15 minutes of showtime.
Since this is an external system, all the family had to take was a toilet seat. It passed through airport scanners without a question.
Where does the "Privy Prop" go from here? Jake Wulf said they have considered seeking a patent, but that might cost too much. There's also the chance a national firm could get wind of this invention after today's broadcast.
The family, Jake said, has no plans to mass produce his "Privy Prop."
Why? "Because Mom said," he conceded.
Monday might be the unit's last day on stage, so to speak. Jake has to cart it to school and will give a talk to elementary students about his day on national TV. By tonight, the "Privy Prop" will be back home where it belongs, protecting Mom and Little Sis.
While keeping its creator out of hot water.
The show
What: Odebolt, Iowa, boy on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show"
When: 4 p.m. today
Where: KTIV, Channel 4
Why? He invented a toilet seat prop
And his mother out of cold.
It's a foot-activated toilet seat lifter called the "Privy Prop" and it lands him on national television today. Jake, a 9-year-old from Odebolt will demonstrate his invention on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" airing at 4 p.m. on KTIV Channel 4.
Jake, the son of Jason and Beth Wulf, is an accomplished fourth-grader at Odebolt-Arthur Elementary who breezes through assignments and participates in the school's Talented and Gifted program.
Sadly, he has a blind spot. He cannot remember to put the toilet seat back down after he's done.
"He's done this pretty much all his life," his mother says. "He's in too big a hurry to take care of that. He's been reminded thousands of times over the years."
Necessity isn't the mother of invention for Jake Wulf. Mother is his mother of invention.
"My mom was getting mad at me for forgetting to put the toilet seat down and she was falling in," says Jake, who remembers waking up one night as his mother realized his error.
AGAIN! In the middle of the night!
A few days later he and Mom visited the doctor's office in town for an unrelated matter. While waiting for an exam, Jake noticed the lid to the small trash container. It opened and closed with a foot-powered lever. Hmmmm ...
He came home and told his folks he wanted to design such a prop for the toilet. Mom and sister Josie were all for it. They challenged Jake to make good on the project, one he designed for the school's Invention Convention. Jake enlisted the advice of his dad, who designs paving equipment for a living.
"Jake drew it all out and I supervised," says Jason. "I helped him with the tools to make sure he didn't cut off any fingers."
Using a power drill, a hacksaw and a power sander, Jake built a plywood base around the toilet. He cut thin pieces of steel and devised a teeter-totter at the bottom. You step there and it raises the back, which raises an arm, which raises a lid. You step off, and the lid closes.
Which keeps Jake out of trouble.
Once built, he used a dictionary to come up with a name. He found synonyms for toilet and lift and wrote them all down. The three final choices -- "Jake's John Jack" "Privy Prop" and "Privy Proper" -- were voted on by his family with "Privy Prop" winning.
The "Privy Prop" was chosen by local judges to advance to the regional Invention Convention in Pocahontas, Iowa. It rose to the occasion at that site and was selected for display over the summer at the Iowa State Fair.
At the state fair, Beth said, lots of folks stopped and shook their heads while saying, "Why hasn't somebody thought of that yet?" She suspects someone watched Jake's talk about the invention at the State Fair and contacted DeGeneres' show. One of the show's producers called the family this fall, asking for a tape with a description of the invention.
Two weeks later, a producer called and invited Jake and one parent to fly to Hollywood as they wanted to feature him and two other young inventors with their creations.
The Wulf family all made the trek this week. Taping took place Wednesday and the show will air today with the young inventors getting 10-15 minutes of showtime.
Since this is an external system, all the family had to take was a toilet seat. It passed through airport scanners without a question.
Where does the "Privy Prop" go from here? Jake Wulf said they have considered seeking a patent, but that might cost too much. There's also the chance a national firm could get wind of this invention after today's broadcast.
The family, Jake said, has no plans to mass produce his "Privy Prop."
Why? "Because Mom said," he conceded.
Monday might be the unit's last day on stage, so to speak. Jake has to cart it to school and will give a talk to elementary students about his day on national TV. By tonight, the "Privy Prop" will be back home where it belongs, protecting Mom and Little Sis.
While keeping its creator out of hot water.
The show
What: Odebolt, Iowa, boy on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show"
When: 4 p.m. today
Where: KTIV, Channel 4
Why? He invented a toilet seat prop
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Michael P wrote on Nov 8, 2007 11:50 AM:
Joe wrote on Nov 8, 2007 11:41 AM:
Joe Smith wrote on Nov 2, 2007 10:23 PM:
Someone wrote on Nov 2, 2007 10:42 AM:
Not surprised wrote on Nov 2, 2007 9:18 AM: