SF Patent (pending) #1 - Spray-on Pancakes

There are three conditions an invention must meet before the USPTO will grant its inventor a patent. It must be 1) Original, 2) Useful, and 3) Not obivious to a person with average knowledge in a given field.

This sprayable pancake batter has been all over the news lately, including a front page piece in the Chronicle. Sean O'Conner and Nate Steck haven't been awarded a patent yet (read their full application here), but they've began marketing Batter Blaster from their South of Market Office and have sold, according to the Chronicle, over 400,000 cans.

My opinion? Useful -- absolutely. Obvious? I guess not, because nobody's marketed it before. As for originality, though, I don't know. I hear echoes of Cheez Whiz.