Samuel Thomas Houghton invented the Sweeping Device With Two Heads after watching his father, Mark, at work in the backyard. Mark first used a coarse broom for leaves and twigs, then used a finer broom to sweep the smaller particles.

Samuel decided it would make his father’s job easier and faster if the two brooms were connected as one. So he tied them both together with a large elastic band he got from their backyard shed.

Mark, a patents lawyer, was so impressed with his son’s invention that he helped him apply for a patent, which was granted when Samuel was 5 year old.
(Buxton, England: 2006)

Watch Samuel’s interview on YouTube.