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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
PLAYBOOK SLUG: PIZZA SAVER INVENTION - Bañez
HEAD: An Argentinian’s Tiny Invention Changed Pizza Delivery Forever
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT:
BYLINE: Gonzalo Bañez Villar
CONTRIBUTOR: Gonzalo Bañez Villar
DATELINE: Buenos Aires, Argentina
VIDEOGRAPHER: Gonzalo Bañez Villar
TRANSLATOR/VIDEO EDITOR: Veronica Villafañe
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Storyblocks (round plastic saver), Reuters (photo), INPI archive website,
PLATFORMS: (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; sb
TRT: 2:41
VID APPROVED BY:
UPDATE: PLEASE RETURN TO VERONICA VILLAFANE WHEN DONE
((INTRO))
[[Sometimes it’s the little ideas that can make the biggest difference. And that definitely goes for delivery pizza. From Buenos Aires, Gonzalo Bañez Villar has the story of a little idea that had a big impact, in this report narrated by Veronica Villafañe.]]
((NARRATION)) ((video pizza tripod, Troglia broll))
This small gadget prevents cheese from sticking to the cardboard lid of the pizza box. It was conceived 50 years ago by this man. (1)
((Claudio Daniel Troglia, Pizza Separator Inventor)) ((Male in Spanish))
"My name is Claudio Daniel Troglia. In 1974, I invented the so-called 'pizza thingy' that is actually called a SEPI, which stands for pizza separator."
((NARRATION)) ((video of Troglia at pizza kitchen))
A native of Buenos Aires, Troglia and his family shared a profound love for pizza. But with each purchase came a problem.
((Claudio Daniel Troglia, Pizza Separator Inventor)) ((Male in Spanish))
"In 1974, pizza boxes were not made of corrugated cardboard. They were made of very thin cardboard. So, pizza makers would put about 10 to 15 toothpicks on the pizza. But by the time you got home, the toothpicks had toppled over and were embedded in the mozzarella. Sometimes, you could be eating the pizza and suddenly get stabbed by a toothpick."
((NARRATION)) ((Troglia with pizza, showing the pizza separator, image of patent))
((is credit needed for patent image? If so: INPI web archive at 1:10-1:14))
After a bit of thinking he devised a simple yet ingenious design – a small and lightweight plastic tripod, and the pizza separator was born.
Troglia obtained an international patent on his invention 50 years ago, and it became an instant hit. But, he says, many others began using his design despite his exclusive right to it.
((Claudio Daniel Troglia, Pizza Separator Inventor)) ((Male in Spanish))
"The patent was never respected. I would go to pizzerias with just this gadget only to discover that the person who sold them the pizza box would also offer my invention, so it was more convenient for the pizza maker to buy everything from the same supplier."
((NARRATION)) ((video of Troglia, image of US patent))
((if credit is needed on patent image: Espacenet patent search at 1:54 - 1:58))
He didn’t have the means to pursue legal action in Argentina and other parts of the world and, Troglia says, he eventually grew frustrated and allowed the patent to lapse.
Troglia’s invention eventually made its way to the United States… where later, a woman living in New York patented a pizza separator.
((Claudio Daniel Troglia, Pizza Separator Inventor)) ((Male in Spanish))
"Carmela Vitale in 1985 patented it as if it were own. She submitted the patent with the identical design."
((NARRATION)) (Troglia’s restaurant, and video/stills from Oscars)
Nowadays, Troglia owns a restaurant... and yes, pizza is on the menu. He marvels at how his modest invention has traversed the globe, even making a cameo at the 2014 Oscars.
And while Troglia says he did not profit financially from the patent on his invention, his legacy remains.
((Claudio Daniel Troglia, Pizza Separator Inventor)) ((Male in Spanish))
"The only thing I have left is the fame."
((NARRATION)) ((video of pizza separator))
((For Gonzalo Bañez Villar, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Veronica Villafañe, VOA News.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateApril 12, 2024 10:10 EDT
BylineGonzalo Bañez Villar
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
