As surgical instruments became sharper in the late 19th century, one inventor, a cutler (knife expert) came up with a new way of storing these tools. The creative team at Politics of Patents shared the patent and their reconstruction of it as part of their inventory.

Dutch designers come up with creative use of socks during pandemic that bring colour and fun into coughing and sneezing hygiene.

It's 2020 and the pandemic has started. Hospital staff are struggling to get the protective gear they need. People start thinking with the materials they have to hand, including snorkelling gear.

During the pandemic, many people made fabric masks, for themselves, and for hospital workers, using patterns that were free to download online. In this entry we offer a personal look into making masks.

Use oranges and socks to assess cervical dilation when practicing vaginal examination. By carving a round off the orange peel and positioning the orange in the neck of a sock, and inserting your fingers through the ‘vaginal vault’ (i.e., the neck of the sock), you can simulate a vaginal examination by guessing with your fingers the cervical dilation on the oranges.

Two nurses in the small city of Sao Carlos, in Sao Paulo state, have discovered a way to help with a millimeter of latex and some warm water that mimics a human touch. This was dubbed as "Hands of Love".

Banana peel is actually very similar to the human skin in texture, and so it is a great (and cheaper) way to practice simple suturing techniques. Grape is also a great fruit to simulate thinner and more fragile skin that is more delicate in certain areas of the body (like the face).