RIP Bott's Dots - CA discontinuing them

[August West]

Mistake, only thing to get you through tule fog.

[M A V I C]

Yoyodyne ArtWorks wrote:
They're a bastard in wet weather if you're on a motorcycle.

Can't be any worse than going off the edge of the road because you can't see the lanes.

[Yoyodyne ArtWorks]

Uh, you realize there are plenty of times when the roads are wet and the visibility is still decent, right?

[M A V I C]

Yoyodyne ArtWorks wrote:
Uh, you realize there are plenty of times when the roads are wet and the visibility is still decent, right?

Not that I remember that well. Google for Seattle rain record and that should explain it.

[Racer X]

I once met the woman who worked at either DuPont or 3M, as a chemical engineer specializing in adhesives. She invented the special glue they use on the dots. She negotiated a payout royalty of a penny per dot installed. Let that sink in.....

[vision63]

We always call it driving by braille. Would hate to see them go. Then there is always the sport of trying to change lanes without striking any of them. WHO HAS NOT DONE THIS???

[N-OS X-tasy!]

They've saved my life at least once.

[DeusxMac]

Racer X wrote:
I once met the woman who worked at either DuPont or 3M, as a chemical engineer specializing in adhesives. She invented the special glue they use on the dots. She negotiated a payout royalty of a penny per dot installed. Let that sink in.....

Sorry, but in companies as large as DuPont or 3M, I can't believe a chemical engineer who "invented" an adhesive would also be the person who "negotiated" that company's product licensing. Their corporate organizations are just not structured that way; and rightly so.

[Racer X]

No, the company gave it to her. She didn't negotiate the licensing. She might have been semi-retired and came back on a contract deal to solve the problem. I met her in '97, so I don't recall every little bit.

I know a few aerospace engineers that have patents that technically belong to the company, but they have been given some minute percentage of the profit.