I've noticed that when anyone claims to have invented something on HN, they get voted down. But I have no reason to doubt it. Please tell us more about how you

I've noticed that when anyone claims to have invented something on HN, they get voted down. But I have no reason to doubt it. Please tell us more about how you came to use this question, and why you think it wasn't in circulation before that. I know someone asked me this in an interview in 2010, so it was in wider use by then.