Posted in Arkansas
May 30, 2015
Here Are 7 Things You Probably Didn’t Know Came From Arkansas
Arkansas can boast about a lot, and that includes the objects we use that came from the minds of Natural State natives! Check out these inventions that Arkansans created and get some inspiration for your own patented product.

Cat Claws claims the secret to their success is the top-quality certified organic catnip used in all of their products – cats love it, and it keeps their owners coming back for more.

By late summer, he had perfected the pickle to what it is today: a large pickle sliced lengthwise and breaded in the family's secret recipe, then deep-fried until it's golden. Atkins offers these Southern delicacies during the annual Picklefest every May.

Owens later advanced cinematography technology when he designed and developed cameras and lenses used by the Eastman-Kodak Company.

His company, founded in 1927, is the oldest bow company in America and still sells archery products. The company was the largest archery products manufacturer in the United States for about 30 years, and Pearson promoted the sport through films, tournaments, and demonstrations. He was inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame & Museum in Union City, Pennsylvania, in 1972.

His grandson enjoyed it so much that Baltz decided to mass-produce them, naming them after the Wonder State, Arkansas’ moniker at that time. The company Wonder Products started mass-producing Wonder Horses in 1949. In 1952, Wonder Products started making vinyl horses on black wooden frames and converted to metal frames in 1959.

Klipsch initially sold his speakers from a tin shed in Hope, Arkansas in 1946 and opened his first speaker factory in Hope in 1948. His speakers were primarily for commercial or professional buyers, but the Klipsch company seized the home theater market in the 1990s. Klipsch created 23 patents before his death in 2002 at age 98.

Black’s knife, also known as the “Arkansas Toothpick,” was created for self-defense in the 1830s by settlers on the Arkansas frontier. Bowie came to possess one, and his fighting prowess linked him to the weapon. The knife kept the name after Bowie died at the Alamo in 1836. Black’s knife design was later copied by knifemakers in Sheffield, England.
You’re welcome for the Wonder Horse, world…I definitely had one as a kid and one of my first childhood memories was bobbling along on that toy! Thankfully the inventors from the Natural State provide some pretty practical ideas for everyday use.