Spider climbing
In the fall of 2002, Jeff Whittaker had the idea of creating magnetic climbing gear that would allow people to climb metal structures like the fictional movie character Spiderman. The idea was inspired by a pair of small, magnetic figures given to him as a Christmas gift from his mother, called “Benders”. Over the next ten months Whittaker developed seven prototypes of magnetic climbing gear. By June of 2003 he had produced gear capable of allowing a person to climb a water tower. Whittaker then filed a US patent application and formed a company to commercialize the technology, Spider Climbing, Inc. Renting space at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show in Orlando Florida, Whittaker’s idea received interest from over 100 companies and he sold his first magnetic climbing wall systems to a major amusement park in Sandusky Ohio and two event promotion companies located in Dubai, United Arab Emrates. In 2006 Whittaker was awarded US Patent Number 7,052,447 on the idea. To date, nearly 100 Spider Climbing systems, ranging in price from $6,000.00 to $28,000.00, have been sold in more than 20 countries around the world. Spider Climbing systems have seen varied applications. They have been used to promote the opening of the Movie Spiderman II, in Japan, the Houston Space Center's "Super-Hero" Exhibit, and even for physical education at an elementary school in Sporting Hill Pennsyvania.