By La Toya Smith
The Scene staff
The world has electric light bulbs because of Thomas Edison, streetlights because of Garrett Morgan and bifocal glasses because of Benjamin Franklin.
Forest Park has its own inventor. His name is Marvin Thomas, and he’s a 62-year-old student who plans eventually to earn an engineering degree.
“I’ve been inventing things since I was 8 years old,” he said.
Thomas started as a young baseball player, trying to improve his bat speed. He came up with a device to help with arm and leg strengthening.
As an adult, Thomas realized he had a knack for solving problems, particularly those related to construction, plumbing and home maintenance.
“I love to help people,” he said. “It gives me joy, and it keeps me busy.”
Thomas has invented about eight products, ranging from a self-cleaning gutter system to a hands-free, vertical and horizonal leveler. He has secured one patent and applied for seven more.
Toilet tank supporter
In February 2020, Thomas auditioned for “Shark Tank,” a reality TV series with a panel of celebrity investors who decide whether to spend money to help entrepreneurs after watching presentations on their ideas for companies or products.
“The whole experience was exhilarating and amazing,” he said.
Thomas pitched his “toilet tank supporter” to the show’s producers in Kansas City. They are the ones who pick contestants to go before the panel.
The toilet tank support isn’t much bigger than a pack of cigarettes. It’s propped between a toilet tank and the wall with a hanger that holds it in place.
“It allows the structure to remain sturdy,” said Thomas, who has done his own plumbing for years. “It takes less than a minute to install, no tools are required, and it’s economical.
“My invention (allows plumbers) to install toilet tanks, regardless of the measurement dynamics.”
The COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after Thomas auditioned for “Shark Tank,” so he wasn’t invited to appear on the show. But he hopes to see his toilet tank supporter manufactured and sold at stores that carry plumbing equipment.
“Shark Tank” producers gave him permission to use the show’s name in his advertisements and promotional materials.
“It was sad that I couldn’t go, but it still helped me get my main invention out there,” Thomas said. “… It allowed me to get my foot in other doors.”
Ben Franklin’s son
Thomas has always loved working with his hands and coming up with inventions that would serve multiple purposes, according to his daughter, Marilyn Perry. She thinks his father had a big influence on him.
Benjamin Franklin Thomas was an automotive instructor at Vashon High School, O’Fallon Technical High School and North County Technical High School. He loved to take things apart and fix them.
“I think his destiny was to be an inventor,” Perry said of her father, Marvin Thomas.
Perry was the one who secretly contacted the producers of “Shark Tank” to get him an audition. Thomas wasn’t surprised. She’s always been tenacious and a go-getter.
Thomas is former star baseball player in high school and college and a veteran who served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Over the years, he has worked mainly as an automotive mechanic. He has three grown daughters. He’s been attending Forest Park in 2018.
Thomas operates under the company name BFT (Benjamin Franklin Thomas) Products. More information can be found on the website at bftproducts.com.
Since the “Shark Tank” audition, Thomas has invented four more products. He has already started the manufacturing process for his hands-free, vertical and horizonal leveler.
“Right now, I’m trying to get a loan from the Small Business Administration to market it,” Thomas said. “It’s definitely something needed in the construction industry.”