Have you ever had an original idea? Most of us haven't. In modern times we often quote Isaac Newton's remark about "standing on the shoulders of giants" to make the point that each of us builds upon the work of those who came before. But did you know that Newton stole the metaphor from elsewhere?

As you may have read here last week, it's much better to steal ideas than borrow them. You see, stealing an idea means that you have absorbed it so completely that it becomes yours to use and mold as you wish. Borrowing an idea is mere copying, and copies are inferior to originals.

Stealing ideas is one of the most powerful tools for any creative person. With that in mind, we invite you to share with everyone the best idea you've ever stolen. We are offering a Big Blue Saw gift certificate of $50 for the best response.

Post your responses here on the Big Blue Saw Blog by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, May 27, 2010. Big Blue Saw will judge the best entry from the responses based upon un-originality, resourcefulness, and wit. One entry per person, please.

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Allen Willis   |2010-05-25 18:59:27 I have a patented antenna sector frame design that was inspired by those old folding lawn chairs. Don't even get me started on stuff that I have reverse engineered and modified working for the oilfield equipment industry. Reply | Quote

Eric Markle   |2010-05-27 00:59:14 After accepting that my skills at scratch drawing much beyond a stick figure is near non-existent, I appropriated an old hand sketched drawing found in the swirls of the internet to use as a start for some custom vinyl work. Add in a few days of vector work in Corel draw and although you wouldn't recognize it, I know its in there. Without doubt I would never have even gotten past the blank page without that healthy base to work from. Reply | Quote

Sam   |2010-05-28 05:48:10 Whenever people flip through my Industrial Design portfolio, there's one project that stands out. Ostensibly it's a surge protector, but what strikes people is that it looks like an odd organic/cybernetic sculpture. It sort of resembles the bottom of a seahorse grafted to the bottom of another, equally uncomfortable seahorse. I love it, and I spent weeks building the final model. It wasn't until right after that I noticed the exact same profile in a wind chime on my front porch. Reply | Quote

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