Who invented the electrical surge protector?

When Harold P. Kopp got his initial patent, it was for a device called the Zap Trap in 1941. It was the first electronic voltage surge suppressor, the predecessor to the power strips in widespread use today.

David Quagliana, his high school classmate and longtime friend, said it was inspired by a visit to the Standard Electronics store on Main Street in Buffalo to purchase metal oxide varistors, which protect electronic devices from power surges.

"They're the size of a dime," Quagliana said. "The store told him to solder them to the wire coming from a power plug and ground the other wire and if a surge comes along, instead of blowing up your television, these little things will absorb the shock. He invented this little box. You plug it into the wall and you plug the TV into the box."