Sugar Land man invents quirky egg gadget

SUGAR LAND, TX (KTRK) -- Do you have an idea for an invention? One Sugar Land man did and now you can buy his product.

It all started with a visit to the doctor's office. Mark Fusco was told by his physician that his cholesterol was too high and that he would have to start making dietary changes in his life.

"I went to my doctor, and he told me I had high cholesterol and that oatmeal was in my future for breakfast," said Fusco, the inventor of Pluck. "Not a big fan of oatmeal so I was looking for some other options. A friend of mine told me to an egg-white omelet."

Fusco, having never tried an egg-white omelet before, said he went online and saw several methods of separating the egg white from the egg yolk. One was to let it run through your hands. Another was to break the shell and pour the yolk back and forth while letting the egg white drip into a bowl. Finally, he saw a do-it-yourself method of using a water bottle to suck up the egg yolk and said he hated it.

"The idea of using an empty water bottle and a crackling plastic just doesn't say come get breakfast," said Fusco.

So Fusco invented a suction gadget to separate the yolk and took his idea to Quirky, a development company that turns invention ideas into reality.

"We loved his idea during our weekly product evaluations," said Nathaniel Padgett, the Community Director of Quirky.

Quirky, along with their Internet community, chooses weekly which user-submitted ideas to make into an actual product. They take 90 percent of the sales for carrying out the invention and overseeing it all, from engineering to production to legal to marketing. The inventor is left with 10 percent, which is shared with anyone online who helped with development. Quirky directors say they have sold at least 20,000 Plucks so far.

"Pluck is always one of our examples of a successful go-to product that came from a really simple idea but ended up producing a successful item," said Padgett.

Inspired by her father, Fusco's daughter Alexa, a 5th grader at Trafton Academy, now wants to follow in his footsteps, particularly with a moving trash can invention she has been playing with.

"Everything I think of now is inspired by my dad because I invent things in my head every day," said Alexa Fusco.

Since coming out in 2011, Pluck has had media attention from a spot in New York Magazine to a highlight on The Chew.

For Mark, the invention has been a great ride and brought in extra money on top of his day job in the oil industry.

"I've been to New York, shot a commercial in California, so I don't know if my life has changed all that much, but it has been an interesting experience," said Fusco.

Fusco says anyone can invent, as long as they are willing to be bold and put themselves out there.

For more on how to submit your invention, www.quirky.com CLICK HERE.