Doug Hall (inventor)

Doug Hall is an author and inventor. He is known for his "Jump Start" book series, as well as for his appearance on the ABC television series American Inventor.

Hall began his inventing career at age 12, inventing and selling a line of magic and juggling kits. After earning a chemical engineering degree from the University of Maine he joined Procter & Gamble where he rose to the rank of Master Marketing Inventor - inventing and shipping a record 9 innovations in 12 months.

Hall is the founder and CEO of the Eureka! Ranch located in Cincinnati with offices in London, UK and Monterrey, Mexico. The Ranch is an “invention & research think tank” that specializes in creating new products and services for corporate clients including American Express, Ford Motor Company, Nike, Inc. and The Walt Disney Company.

Merwyn Technology

The R&D team of Eureka Ranch have developed an AI system called Merwyn Technology. This system is used to evaluate abstract ideas before additional effort is used to substantiate it. The system was named after Hall's father Merwyn Bradford Hall, who always hated the name Merwyn.

Published books

• Jump Start Your Brain with David Wecker (Time Warner, 1995)
• Maverick Mindset with David Wecker (Simon & Schuster, 1997)
• Jump Start Your BUSINESS Brain (Emmis Books, 2001)
• Jump Start Your MARKETING Brain (Emmis Books, 2005)

Sample recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed banana (3 medium)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp. lemon zest (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions

• Grease a bread loaf pan and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and make a well in the center.
• In a separate bowl combine the egg, bananas, sugar, oil and lemon zest.
• Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture. Stir just till moist. Fold in nuts, if desired.
• Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350F (175C) for 50 to 55 minutes (or convection bake at 330F (165C) for 40 minutes). Bread is done when a knife or toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Optional: You can also sprinkle brown sugar and/or chopped pecans on top of the bread before cooking, for added tastiness.

• Banana nut bread - chopped nuts, often walnuts or pecans, are added to the recipe.
• Chocolate chip banana bread - chocolate chips are added to the recipe.
• Other variations: try adding raisins, or substituting nutmeg for cinnamon

External links

• Doug Hall's home page

Newspaper Articles

• Increase your rate of success at USA Today