(...) such (...) In 1875 the Director of the United States Patent Office sent in his resignation, and advised the administration that his department be eliminated, because he was convinced there was nothing left to invent. --from (URL) is an (...) (24 years ago, 23-Oct-00, to lugnet.off-topic.fun)
Just to add to the confussion, there was a Russian patent agent called Genrich Altshuller (not sure on that spelling) who came up with an engineering philosophy called TRIZ or TIPS (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving). Basically himself and many of (...) (24 years ago, 24-Oct-00, to lugnet.off-topic.fun)