On the Inventive Spirit

I had the rare opportunity to judge an invention fair. Oklahoma kids in 1st through 9th grades presented their new ideas for products that will change the world. I cannot invent things because I'm old and have been told that some things are impossible. Were I still young and creative I would be out inventing things everyday.
There were many great inventions that I cannot describe because I have great respect for the intellectual property of those children, and some of them I couldn't describe even if the product were in front of me with a detailed diagram. There were some inventions that worked, and some that didn't. The vast majority were a simple deviation on an already existent product. I don't know why the kids thought making readily available products more expensive and less functional was a good idea, but they're kids, and not polluted by old age and pessimism.
The real secret revealed in this invention fair was the existence of magic and enchanted little elves. You might think a shoe box with sticks glued to it would be incapable of doing anything worthwhile, at least not worth the $100 price tag attatched to it. You would be wrong though, that little box contained enchanted little elves that, after purchasing, become your personal slaves, and will do all your bidding. Or at least some light cleaning and plumbing repair.
When you first see a ruler glued to a measuring cup you probably think to yourself that maybe the kid didn't put a whole lot of thought into his project, and you'd be right. When you can harness the power of magic you don't have to put a lot of thought into these sort of things. You'll be wandering around using multiple tools to measure everyday things, while millions of grade schoolers will be using their magical measuring tools to... measure... things... whatever grade schoolers need to measure these days.
Doubt not, but be believing. We haven't lost our inventive edge to the Asian upstarts. They don't even believe in elves.