:


 
Search
 

 

 

Every weekday, Newsday presents another
IT HAPPENED ON LONG ISLAND!


Photo: Newsday

1950s: Marvin Middlemark
Invents TV Rabbit Ears

Most of the inventions Marvin Middlemark patented between 1956 and 1968 were less than successful – like his water-powered potato peeler. But one idea really caught on. In the 1950s, the Old Westbury resident invented the "rabbit ears" television antenna and began manufacturing them. After only a decade, Middlemark sold his firm for $5 million. At the time of his death in 1989, the inventor’s mansion was home to an eccentric collection that included stained glass windows of Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein, nine miniature horses, and 1,000 pairs of one-size-fits-all woolen gloves.

–Cynthia Blair

 

 

 

 

Special Sections

Long Island Data

Databases
DJIANASDAQSPX
Find Stock Quotes

Newsday.com on your desktop

Click here to get Newsday.com's latest news, sports, entertainment and more instantly.

Newsday.com to go

Now you can add Newsday.com headlines to your blog or favorite social networking sites:
Facebook
MySpace
iGoogle
Typepad
Blogger
Twitter
Join Newsday's social media network