[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 10, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING ANDREW TOTI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DENNIS A. CARDOZA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2004

  Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American 
inventor from Modesto, California, Mr. Andrew Toti. Mr. Toti has 
invented a number of household items, and has over 200 United States 
and foreign patents to his credit. He is a perfect example of the 
``can-do'' attitude that Americans possess. His ingenuity has created 
the vertical blinds which many of us have in our office windows, to a 
device that helped save lives in World War II.
  In a 1995 interview with Parade magazine, Mr. Toti stated that the 
most important element to successful inventing is defining a need for a 
new product or identifying a problem, then finding an elegant solution. 
Mr. Toti has been finding solutions to problems, and inventing new 
products almost his entire life. He credits his parents for nurturing 
and supporting his craft, and giving him advice on how to become a 
success.
  At the young age of twelve, Mr. Toti created a new kind of 
combination lock, however it was not marketed very well. He learned 
quickly from this mistake. Mr. Toti has always been able to admit to 
mistakes, and this is one of his greatest qualities. When Mr. Toti was 
sixteen, he had built a boat with a very powerful motor. His mother was 
worried he would drown, so he began making a life vest using duck and 
goose feathers. He noticed that these vests were a bit bulky, so began 
filling them with compressed air. The War Department was told of his 
invention, and paid Mr. Toti $1500 for the rights. This life saving 
device soon became the Mae West life vest. This is the same life vest 
that President George H.W. Bush was wearing when he was shot down over 
the Pacific Ocean. Without this life preserver, President Bush might 
not have survived his ordeal in the ocean.
  As you know Mr. Speaker, the San Joaquin Central Valley is a lush 
agricultural area, and our farmers grow anything from peaches to wine 
grapes, and raise cattle and poultry. Mr. Toti's ingenuity has helped 
two major industries in the area. First, in 1951, Mr. Toti patented his 
feather-plucking machine. This machine uses thousands of rubber 
``fingers'' to remove the feathers of poultry. Twenty-one years later, 
he assisted in designing a grape-harvesting machine for Ernest and 
Julio Gallo, two of the most prominent viticulturalists in the nation. 
Recently, Mr. Toti developed an endotracheal tube, which aids 
physicians with rapid intubation of the trachea in situations where the 
tube needs to bend due to anatomical variations in the body.
  I ask all of my colleagues today to help me recognize and thank Mr. 
Toti for his contributions to our nation. It is my honor to represent 
such a fine constituent in the House of Representatives.

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