The Humble Mousetrap

James Henry Atkinson was the British inventor who in 1897 invented the prototype mousetrap the "Little Nipper". The "Little Nipper" is the classic snapping mousetrap that we are all familiar with that has the small flat wooden base, the spring trap, and the wire fastenings. It slams shut in 38,000s of a second and that record has never been beaten. Graphic: Mary Bellis

The Patent Office has issued over 4400 mousetrap patents, however, only about twenty of those patents have made any money. Take a look at our Gallery of Historical Mousetraps.

Did You Know About Project Mousetrap?
Project Mousetrap is a FTC campaign to combat the extremely persistent problem of invention promotion fraud, which continues to bilk tens of thousands of consumers out of thousands of dollars each and every year.