Best Inventions of 2001

Inventions come in all shapes and sizes. Some are as simple as purple catsup. Others push the limits of quantum physics. The real measure of an invention is not just how well it works or how impressively it is engineered, but how it changes our lives.

Mashed Potato Machine

inventions 2001 mashed potato machine

Stan Musilek for TIME

Inventor: Carmina O'Connor

Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. But boiling the potatoes and whipping them up just right is a drag. Now homemaker Carmina O'Connor of Warrenville, Ill., has patented a mashed-potato machine that cooks, mashes and flavors potatoes in just 20 min. Chefs insert washed potatoes into a food processor­ size device and add water and seasonings. A finalist in Hammacher Schlemmer's Search for Invention 2001 competition, O'Connor hopes that someday "mashed-potato machines will be for Americans what rice cookers are for Asians." Now all she needs is someone to make and market her invention.

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