This is what annoys me so much. If a company discovers a way to make solar panels for half the cost of the current methods, every article will say its a "game changer" because cheap solar panels mean everyone can afford them, now that they cost half as much.

The truth is...if a company patents a new process, and the manufacture of them is cut in half, then the company will sell them for 10% less to undercut the competition. Then, 3 years later the Chinese will have succeeded in using industrial spies to discover the method, and they will copy it with a few small tweaks, and THEN they will be sold for 20% less, to undercut the research company that discovered the method.

The guy who invented the Gatling gun literally said that it was so...future armies would only need much smaller armies, and there would be fewer inured or killed soldiers. I think that was PR and he knew it was BS at the time, but...who in their right mind wouldn't think that armies would stay the same size, and gatling guns (plus improved machine guns later) would be a force multipier?

My wife insisted that she wanted a "purple mattress" based on chat-forum recommendations from customers. We saved up and bought one and she likes it (I don't care either way). However, my brother in Christ, it is a silicone rubber mattress that cost $800. If I had slept on one at a friends house, I would say the mattress is nice, but my old mattress was ok. I'd take a purple mattress any day its offered, as long as someone else is paying for it.

It absolutely must cost half of the cost to manufacture compared to a common style mattress, even taking into consideration the cheap labor in Malaysia/Indonesia/China/India/etc...