science · 19 November 2002 · 22 years ago
In 2002, a U.S. patent for "Registered pedigree stuffed animals" was issued to David L. Pickens of Honolulu, Hawaii (No. 6,482,067). The toy animals are designed to simulate the biological laws of inheritance both for educational, recreational and aesthetic purposes. According to the patent, a pair of opposite sex "parent" toy animals are sold with a serial number by which the parent's genotype and phenotype may be identified. Owners of the 'parent' toy animals, having registered with the manufacturer, may later request "breeding" of the animals, and receive at least one "offspring" toy animal randomly selected from a litter having traits determined according to the registered genotypes of the parents and the Mendelian laws of inheritance."
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