Top 100 Inventions Trends of 2012

It takes a special kind of mind to be able to come up with a great concept for an invention out of thin air, but as these inventions trends show, 2012 was a year full of this kind of innovation. The difficult thing about inventing something is not just coming up with an idea, but getting it off the ground -- luckily, digital natives have resources like Kickstarter available to help.

These resources have made it so that even the most obscure invention gets a chance. This is seen in such oddball pieces as the Cardboard Bicycle, which costs all of $9, but holds up to 485 pounds. Other noteworthy invention microtrends from 2012 include private work pods, Game Boy-made robots and the "why didn't I think of that"-inducing scoop-knife.

Check out our Inventions Trend Report if you're looking to sift through the sea of random, yet interesting invention microtrends.