[B]Gaming gets its first spot in the National Inventors Hall of Fame as the United States Patent and Trade Office adds videogame pioneer Ralph Baer to its 2010 class of tinkers, thinkers and hackers.[/B]

According to the USPTO, induction into the Inventors Hall of Fame is reserved for "men and women whose work has changed society and improved the quality of life. The candidate's invention must be covered by a United States patent, and the work must have had a major impact on society, the public welfare, and the progress of science and the useful arts."

Baer, of course, won that honor for inventing the Brown Box, which ultimately became the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972, the world's first game console. Baer also went on to create Simon, which, for the millennials among you, was kind of like [I]Guitar Hero[/I] without the music or the plastic guitars. Colored lights flash in sequence, you tap them in response. Quite intense for 1980s.

Baer's fellow inductees include Jacques Cousteau, who invented SCUBA; Art Fry and Spencer Silver for their collaborative effort to give the world Post-It® notes; and the guy who invented synthetic diamonds. The induction will be hosted by (very minor) celebrity David Kappos, who should be famous for having the longest title in the US government — Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent Office.

Says Kappos: "The groundbreaking patents behind these inventions provided the foundations for numerous corporations, life-saving therapies, and everyday devices that have improved all of our lives. The USPTO is pleased to join in recognizing these 16 pioneers."

Indeed. For more on how the Godfather of Gaming bettered all of our lives, checkout this excellent 2009 [URL=http://www.motherboard.tv/2009/11/16/ralph-baer-and-his-all-purpose-boxes--2]Motherboard[/URL] video interview with Mr. Baer.

[Image via [URL=http://www.motherboard.tv/2009/11/16/ralph-baer-and-his-all-purpose-boxes--2]Motherboard[/URL]]

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