{"id":3283,"date":"2014-07-15T14:52:47","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T14:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/booyorker.wpengine.com\/?p=3283"},"modified":"2018-08-28T20:17:45","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T20:17:45","slug":"hunt-for-mystery-woman-who-saved-takeout-pizza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/booyorkcity.com\/hunt-for-mystery-woman-who-saved-takeout-pizza\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunt for mystery woman who saved takeout pizza"},"content":{"rendered":"

An award-winning inventor is on the hunt for the mysterious New Yorker whose brilliant idea\u00a0stops your takeout pizza from being ruined before\u00a0it’s\u00a0delivered.<\/p>\n

Secretive Carmela Vitale invented the pizza saver \u2013 the little white plastic tripod that sits in the middle of pizzas to stop the box from sticking to the toppings.<\/p>\n

And though Alison Grieve \u2013 who invented the G-Hold<\/a> and the Safetray<\/a> – has been searching for Vitale for two years in her spare time, she has yet to even find a photograph of the secretive creator.<\/p>\n

\"Carmela's<\/a>

INGENIOUS…Carmela Vitale’s takeout pizza saver invention in action<\/p><\/div>\n

Grieve said: \u201cI started researching the inventors of the products we use on a day-to-day basis for a TV series idea that I had.<\/p>\n

“Carmela\u2019s takeout pizza saver is used literally billions of times per year. I remember the days of having to scrape half of my pizza toppings from the cardboard and refashion them in a sludgy mess back on\u00a0to the half-naked base.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a small, yet widespread, problem, answered by a simple solution. And yet, despite its ubiquity, its inventor is entirely unknown. Who is Carmela Vitale? Where is she now? Why did she let the patent expire after just a couple of years? I love the mystery and intrigue. And I want her to receive some of the kudos she deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BOXING<\/a>

BOXING CLEVER…Carmela’s patent for the takeout pizza saver from 1985<\/p><\/div>\n

Grieve set about tracking down Vitale, of Dix Hills, New York, by finding her original patent from 1985, spending hours on internet research, and calling people she thought may have a connection to her.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI tried to find the attorneys who originally filed her patent but they have since changed name. A lovely old gentleman picked up the phone, as if it were his home number, and said he had no recollection of a client called Carmela Vitale.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven her own patent attorneys seem to have forgotten about this unsung hero. I also emailed the only Carmela Vitale for whom I could find contact details, but she had never heard of the pizza saver.<\/p>\n

\"Alison<\/a>

MYSTERY TOUR…Alison Grieve wants to find fellow inventor Vitale when she’s in New York<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cShe was, however, pretty excited to share her name with \u2018someone so clever\u2019. There isn\u2019t even a photo of her or a single newspaper article online. The more elusive Carmela seems to be, the more I am determined to track her down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would just love to listen to her story. I\u2019d hope that she feels proud of her achievement. I\u2019d like to parade her round pizza parlors and have her users thank her in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be a lonely path, inventing a product and persevering for many years to make a success of it. Many inventors never see so much as a penny for their pains, but what can make a difference to many is the thought that they have changed the world in a very small, or sometimes highly significant, way.<\/p>\n

\"G-Hold<\/a>

HANDY…G-Hold will be launched in New York in the Fall<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI would want to talk to her about whether making that change to the world had a positive impact on her own life. I think the final question I would have for her would be around the effect her journey had on her family and loved ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas she obsessive about her invention? Did it put financial strain on her and those around her? Did it, at times, feel like a selfish endeavor or were her family and friends very much involved? These could be difficult, personal questions but ones that I am most interested in hearing \u2013 the human parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grieve herself is about to launch the G-Hold, a device for comfortably holding tablets and cell phones with one hand, making filming, reading and business presentations significantly easier.<\/p>\n

\"G_Hold_againstiPad2_hires\"<\/a>

IT’S A HOLD-UP…G-Hold uses micro suction to attach to devices – leaving no damage to the surface<\/p><\/div>\n

The Scot said: \u201cI\u2019m launching G-Hold at Adorama<\/a>\u2019s store in Manhattan in the Fall, because New York is synonymous with creative innovations and has a vibrancy that makes it perfect for launching a product like G-Hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first cellular phone call was made from a street corner in Manhattan just over 40 years ago by its inventor, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith classic acerbic New York humor, he called up his competitors, AT&T, to speak to a divisional manager whom he knew had been working hard on a similar project.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019m ringing you just to see if my call sounds good at your end\u2019. What a legend. So, with the first mobile technology example having taken place in Manhattan, I can\u2019t imagine launching the G-Hold anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Grieve is also going to make time to continue her search for Vitale while she’s in New York. She said: \u201cI think a trip to Dix Hills – and its pizzerias – will be in order. You would have thought those eateries would know that they share a home with the takeout pizza saver inventor but, \u00a0if not, they\u2019ll know after I\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to hold some sort of event, like a pizza-carrying race, and put banners all over the place asking for help in finding Carmela Vitale.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely someone would remember her? There are a couple of news sites that cover Dix Hills so maybe they could help us out. It could be quite an adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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