What started with a small YouTube trick on how to remove a wine cork turned into a medical invention that could save millions of lives. Jorge Odón, an Argentinian mechanic, had a spark of genius: “What if this idea could help babies stuck during birth?”

Armed with that thought, he built the first prototype of the Odón Device. His tools were humble: a glass jar (representing the womb), his daughter’s wrist (representing the baby), and a cloth bag.

Simplicity Is the Key to Life-Saving Solutions

The resulting invention is simple yet revolutionary: a lubricated plastic sleeve with an inflatable bag that gently grips a baby’s head to guide it out safely.

Unlike forceps or vacuum extractors, which can cause severe injuries to both mother and baby, the Odón Device is proven to be safe, inexpensive, and easy to use—even in rural areas with minimal medical support.

Recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), this innovation forces us to ask a profound question: Could this ingenuity be the subtle evidence that the greatest solutions often come from the most unexpected places, and are we overcomplicating life-saving ideas when the key lies in the simplicity around us?

Odón’s story confirms that true ingenuity isn’t confined to specialized degrees. It’s the ability to observe and apply common knowledge to critical problems that gave birth to a global lifesaver, proving that the simplest sparks can indeed change the world.