Here at Happi we spend a considerable amount of time looking through patents, and while we are typically sleuthing for new shampoos, skin care, soap and toothpaste formulations, occasionally we find something that’s just outside our scope of coverage but gets us excited about the future of this business. No, we’re not talking about a new 18-hour natural sunblock that’s easy to rub in with great aesthetics or kid’s body wash that repels dirt—although those would be awesome! This time we found a new device patented by Stephen Beretzky of Palm Harbor, FL that addresses one of the great mysteries of modern home care. 
 
Beretzky has been awarded US Patent No. 10,344,425 B1 for a “stocking pairing device” that holds a pair of socks together in the laundry! The patent description is pretty detailed—this doesn’t seem like just your basic safety pin.
 
Is this device the key to ending the missing sock mystery? Beretzky’s patent might stem the tide of future legwarmers on the lam, but we still need someone to find out where all those other socks are hiding out.
 
In case you are intrigued, here are more details on the patent:
 
The stocking pairing device is for holding together a pair of stockings to be laundered and for securing and releasing the pair stockings. It is comprised of:
 
• a pair of stockings to be held together during laundering, the pair of stockings having a first end and a second end and an intermediate extent there between;
• a pair of arms including a first arm and a second arm, each arm having a curvilinear configuration, each arm having a lower portion and an upper portion;
• a U-shaped vertex coupling the first arm and the second arm, the arms having a circular cross sectional configuration with a first circumference and the vertex having a second circumference greater than the first circumference;
• a first outwardly curved portion with an upper end and a lower end coupled to the upper end of the lower portion of the first arm, a second outwardly curved portion with an upper end and a lower end coupled to the upper end of the lower portion of the second arm, the first outwardly curved portion and the second outwardly curved portion forming a planar opening for receiving the intermediate extent of the pair of stockings in a planar configuration during laundering, the first outwardly curved portion and the second outwardly curved portion crossing each other during laundering;
• a first knob at the upper end of the first outwardly curved portion and a second knob at the upper end of the second outwardly curved portion, the knobs being enlarged with respect to the arms, the device being fabricated of nylon in a one piece construction; and the device being reconfigurable between an open inoperative orientation and a closed operative orientation, the arms being generally parallel when in the open inoperative orientation with an opening between the outwardly curved portions for receiving, encompassing, securing, and releasing a pair of stockings with a curved open area there beneath, the arms intertwining when in the closed operative orientation which performs the function of securing the garments for laundering, the intertwining being with the arms spanning the intermediate extent of the pair of stockings, the intertwining also being with the arms adjacent to the knobs which are spaced at a distance from the pair of stockings.
 
You can check out Happi’s ongoing coverage of patents in beauty/home/personal care here.