Steve Divnick

Last updated
Steve Divnick
Nationality American
Occupation Inventor, Businessperson

Steve Divnick is an inventor and businessman. His patented inventions include the "Spiral Wishing Well" (1985) seen at various museums across the United States, [1] and a smaller version for individuals. He has developed a boat lift, the DivnickLift, for docking small vessels onto larger boats. [2] His company Divnick International Group also invented, patented and manufactures an adjustable-loft telescopic golf club and a range of other golf clubs.

Contents

Spiral wishing well

This is a waterless product which allows people launch coins on a spiral path onto the smooth fiberglass surface of the vortex funnel. The coins spin faster and faster as they cling to the nearly vertical throat of the funnel in a blur of speed before they drop into the locked base. The coin revenue is kept as a donation by the organisation who owns the well. It therefore has similar functionality to a traditional wishing well without the size and water. In 1987, Popular Science reported the typical take was $5–$25 per day, with one Salvation Army branch reporting a peak of $532 in one day. [3]

According to documentation on the Spiral Wishing Well website, the first Well they sold was in 1985 to the United States Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio where it has had over $2 million tossed into it. Many locations passed the $100,000 amount. The first one-day record was $532 at a Kmart store, another at a small school that raised $7,352, and a church that raised $40,979. [4]

The first Well that Divnick made was as an offering device for the children in his church. He began to see the potential as a non-profit fund raising device in public locations, and the company has shipped thousands of Wells all over the world where they have raised in excess of $200 million for charity. 100% of the revenue stays with the charity. Divnick and his company never receives any portion of the coins tossed into the Wells.

Many of the waterless wishing wells are sponsored by individuals or companies. Since they are placed in retail and other foot-traffic locations, they provide significant positive community relations for the sponsors.

The Wells are also popular with science teachers who use the company's Student Guide to teach topics such as tornadoes, whirlpools, planetary orbits, and the physics of a vortex. [5]

Related Research Articles

Propeller Device that transmits rotational power into linear thrust on a fluid

A propeller is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral, that, when rotated, performs an action which is similar to Archimedes' screw. It transforms rotational power into linear thrust by acting upon a working fluid, such as water or air. The rotational motion of the blades is converted into thrust by creating a pressure difference between the two surfaces. A given mass of working fluid is accelerated in one direction and the craft moves in the opposite direction. Propeller dynamics, like those of aircraft wings, can be modelled by Bernoulli's principle and Newton's third law. Most marine propellers are screw propellers with helical blades rotating on a propeller shaft with an approximately horizontal axis.

Trolling (fishing)

Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water. This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from a jetty. Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as salmon, mackerel and kingfish.

Delta wing Triangle shaped aircraft wing configuration

A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ).

Parking meter

A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and mobility management policies, but are also used for revenue.

A payphone is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic outdoor areas, with pre-payment by inserting money or by billing a credit or debit card, or a telephone card. Prepaid calling cards also facilitate establishing a call by first calling the provided toll-free telephone number, entering the card account number and PIN, then the desired telephone number. An equipment usage fee may be charged as additional units, minutes or tariff fee to the collect/third-party, debit, credit, telephone or prepaid calling card when used at payphones. By agreement with the landlord, either the phone company pays rent for the location and keeps the revenue, or the landlord pays rent for the phone and shares the revenue.

Shopping cart

A shopping cart or trolley, also known by a variety of other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a shop or store, especially supermarkets, for use by customers inside the premises for transport of merchandise as they move around the premises, while shopping, prior to heading to the checkout counter, cashiers or tills. Increasing the amount of goods a shopper can collect increases the quantities they are likely to purchase in a single trip, boosting store profitability.

High-lift device

In aircraft design and aerospace engineering, a high-lift device is a component or mechanism on an aircraft's wing that increases the amount of lift produced by the wing. The device may be a fixed component, or a movable mechanism which is deployed when required. Common movable high-lift devices include wing flaps and slats. Fixed devices include leading-edge slots, leading edge root extensions, and boundary layer control systems.

Urinal sanitary fixture for urination

A urinal is a sanitary plumbing fixture for urination only. Urinals are often provided in public toilets for male users in Western countries. They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be with manual flushing, automatic flushing, or without flushing, as is the case for waterless urinals. They can be arranged as single sanitary fixtures or in a trough design without privacy walls. Urinals designed for females also exist but are rare. It is possible for females to use male urinals with a female urination device.

Corkscrew

A corkscrew is a tool for drawing corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix attached to a handle, which the user screws into the cork and pulls to extract it. Corkscrews are necessary because corks themselves, being small and smooth, are difficult to grip and remove, particularly when inserted fully into an inflexible glass bottle. More recent styles of corkscrew incorporate various systems of levers that further increase the amount of force that can be applied outwards upon the cork, making easier the extraction of difficult corks.

Slipway

A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers towed by automobiles and flying boats on their undercarriage.

Golf ball

A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf.

Gas holder

A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressure coming from the weight of a movable cap. Typical volumes for large gas holders are about 50,000 cubic metres (1,800,000 cu ft), with 60 metres (200 ft) diameter structures.

Electric stove

An electric stove or electric range is a stove with an integrated electrical heating device to cook and bake. Electric stoves became popular as replacements for solid-fuel stoves which required more labor to operate and maintain. Some modern stoves come in a unit with built-in extractor hoods.

Gurney flap Tab on a wing, used to stabilise racecars, helicopters etc.

The Gurney flap is a small tab projecting from the trailing edge of a wing. Typically it is set at a right angle to the pressure-side surface of the airfoil and projects 1% to 2% of the wing chord. This trailing edge device can improve the performance of a simple airfoil to nearly the same level as a complex high-performance design.

Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark is a water park located in the Pocono Mountains, in Tannersville, Pennsylvania at Big Pocono State Park. Opened in 1998, it is the summer operation for Camelback Mountain Resort which operates Camelback Ski and Snowboard Area during the winter.

Wish tree

A wish tree is an individual tree, usually distinguished by species, position or appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. Postulants make votive offerings in hopes of having a wish granted, or a prayer answered, from a nature spirit, saint or goddess, depending on the local tradition.

Golf equipment

Golf equipment encompasses the various items that are used to play the sport of golf. Types of equipment include the golf ball, golf clubs, and devices that aid in the sport.

Ladder toss

Ladder toss is a lawn game played by throwing bolas onto a ladder.

Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945) Chronological list of advances

A timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945) encompasses the ingenuity and innovative advancements of the United States within a historical context, dating from the Progressive Era to the end of World War II, which have been achieved by inventors who are either native-born or naturalized citizens of the United States. Copyright protection secures a person's right to his or her first-to-invent claim of the original invention in question, highlighted in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution which gives the following enumerated power to the United States Congress:

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

Liquid-based cytology Method of preparing samples for cytopathology

Liquid-based cytology is a method of preparing samples for examination in cytopathology. The sample is collected, normally by a small brush, in the same way as for a conventional smear test, but rather than the smear being transferred directly to a microscope slide, the sample is deposited into a small bottle of preservative liquid. At the laboratory, the liquid is treated to remove other elements such as mucus before a layer of cells is placed on a slide. The technique improves specimen adequacy and HSIL detection. The United Kingdom screening programmes changed their cervical screening method from the Pap test to liquid-based cytology in 2008.

References

  1. Pittman, Donna L (2001). "A Nickel and Dime Operation". Public Library Quarterly. 19 (2): 5–9. doi:10.1300/J118v19n02_02. S2CID   154064950.
  2. "Divnick Lift". Houseboat Magazine. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  3. "$8,000 Per Year From Coins!". Popular Science: 109. Mar 1987.
  4. "Spiral Wishing Well Coin Funnel" . Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  5. "Student Guide" . Retrieved 24 January 2013.