Could Eben Dobson have the next Miracle Mop? Remember Joy Mangano, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence in the movie “Joy”? The single mom invested her life savings in a self-wringing mop that went big-time on the QVC network.
About seven years ago, Dobson invented a golfer etiquette broom that, with a one-handed sweep, whisked into a foot-controlled dustpan unwanted sand left on greens during bunker shots.
It wasn’t until a superintendent at Lomas Santa Fe golf course told him his Wisp broom sets were disappearing because golfers were walking away with them to use at home, that Dobson realized he was on to something even more utilitarian.
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Fast forward to 2018. After appearances on “Good Morning America” and “The View,” Dobson demonstrated his innovative product on ABC’s “Shark Tank” this month. He explained to investor-judges that his Wisp broom has 90-degree bristles that trap debris, and the dustpan seals to the floor when stepped on so the dirt goes into it, not under it.
He got an offer from Kevin O’Leary, “Mr. Wonderful” — $500,000 in exchange for 50 percent of his company. Dobson declined. “I have put everything in my life into this company for a long time. I believe so strongly in it,” said the Solana Beach entrepreneur. He wasn’t about to give it away.
But soon he learned there is life after a “Shark Tank” dunking. A minor miracle happened when Lori Greiner, the “Shark Tank” judge known as “the Queen of QVC,” contacted him. She saw promise in his Wisp products, which include brooms of varying sizes, and offered to represent him on QVC and elsewhere.
“It was a dream come true,” said Dobson. So the Wisp CEO entered into an agreement with her and expects his invention to debut on QVC any day now.
Will he duplicate Joy Mangano’s success? Only time will tell. Right now, Dobson simply takes pride in having re-invented the age-old dustpan and broom.
A century late for #MeToo: The New York Times has added an “Overlooked” feature about remarkable people whose deaths went unreported by the venerable newspaper in earlier years when its obituaries were dominated by white men.
Hence, San Diego architect Lilian J. Rice, who died 80 years ago at the age of 49, was brought to life on its pages last week. Rice is no stranger to local historians. She put her architectural stamp on Rancho Santa Fe, where she designed many of its Spanish Colonial Revival-style homes, the civic center and The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.
This 1,968 sq. ft. home just outside Rancho Santa Fe center, at 16811 Via de Santa Fe, was designed by Lilian Rice, although changes since have been made. The house was almost lost in a wildfire in 2007, but firefighters made a stand in a canyon on the property and saved it.
(Jerry McClard / SDUT)
She stressed simple lines and form, tying a home into its natural environment. She also designed many estates in La Jolla, including that of Reuben H. Fleet, the Ecke ranch house and San Dieguito Union High School in Encinitas, as well as the ZLAC Rowing Club on Mission Bay, the oldest continuously operating women’s rowing club in the world. In fact, Rice was the club president in 1915 and 1916.
On Dec. 6, 2012 Tara Tarrant installed a new head stone on the National City grave of architect Lilian Rice with Rice’s correct birth date. Years before, after the graves of her and her family were defaced by vandals, well-meaning volunteers restored them with an erroneous date.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda / SDUT)
The New York Times noted that Rice was the first woman to graduate from UC Berkeley’s architecture program in 1910 and the 10th woman to be licensed in California as an architect. Ten of her Rancho Santa Fe buildings and one in La Jolla are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Earlier this year, Rice also won recognition on the national website “50 Pioneering Women of American Architecture,” created by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. At last, she is getting her much-deserved niche in history.
On track: The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum has a photo collection that captures forever a “most embarrassing moment” of millionaire entrepreneur John D. Spreckels.
Ninety-nine years ago this month, Spreckels drove the final spike in the San Diego & Arizona Railway (SD&A) link to El Centro and the East. It had been nicknamed “The Impossible Railroad” because the 12-year, 148-mile construction over treacherous terrain was plagued by landslides, wildfires, flooding, flu epidemics and even World War I.
It required 2.5 miles of bridges and 21 tunnels, many in the steep Carrizo Gorge area. Spreckels, who owned the railroad, reportedly self-financed much of the $18 million project. Perhaps it was symbolic then that, as about 1,000 onlookers watched him drive home the final gold-plated spike with a sledge hammer, the spike bent.
We’ve all been there — hammering a nail but hitting a finger instead or buckling the nail with a glancing blow. It’s like the bottle that refuses to break when someone christens a ship. Photos of the ceremony show sheepishly smiling faces.
Embarrassing or not, the railway museum plans to re-enact the spike-bending event to celebrate its 100th anniversary next Nov. 16. Until then, though, it’s scheduling commemorative activities — a traveling exhibit, free lectures, special events and screenings of silent movies with SD&A chase scenes.
Sadly, only portions of the ill-fated railway remain in use today, primarily for freight and vintage train rides.
diane.bell@sduniontribune.com
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