Upworthy · 10 hours ago

A Pot Left on the Stove Overnight Led to an award-winning Science Fair Project and life-saving Device

When a Montreal ninth-grader's grandmother with early-onset dementia left a pot on the stove overnight, Aviana Machnes didn't just worry-she invented. Using motion detectors and current sensors, the 14-year-old created the Forget-Me-Not, a device that sounds an alarm when no one is near an active stove for an extended period. Her science teacher calls it proof that students can "get their hands dirty" working on "actual real-world problems," and Machnes now hopes to patent the device for use in long-term care homes. What began as one family's close call has become a bridge between a teenager's ingenuity and the millions of dementia patients whose independence depends on small protections like these-a reminder that the most meaningful solutions often start with someone who simply refused to accept that nothing could be done.