When I see something with a patent number on it, I like to look it up in the US Patent Office’s data base to see what makes it "patentable".

There was an old steel table with caster wheels that I took from Grandma's basement when she moved into her apartment. I think she used it for either a typewriter stand, or maybe just for a phone stand. We had it in our basement in Columbus to hold laundry items; soap, fabric softener, etc.

I brought the table upstairs to our office to hold the second monitor I am going to attach to our computer.

There is a little tag on top of the table that says:

Business Machine Stand
Meilink Steel Safe Co
Toledo 6, Ohio
USA
Patent No 2,644,192

I looked it up, and the patent is actually for a way of attaching a detachable hinged shelf. The patent was filed on September 4, 1951, and issued on July 7, 1953. The inventor was Ralph E. McClellan.

I looked up Ralph, and he still lives in Toledo near the intersection of Bancroft and Holland Sylvania Road.

I wonder how he would react if I gave him a call and told him I was still using a table that his company made 50 years ago.