When I was attending the University of Southern California, I learned that Steven Sample, president of the University, has "patents in the field of digital appl

When I was attending the University of Southern California, I learned that Steven Sample, president of the University, has "patents in the field of digital appliance controls that have been licensed to practically every major manufacturer of appliance controls and microwave ovens in the world. More than 300 million home appliances have been built using his inventions." I have no idea whether patents are the reason for the differing controls, but I just thought I'd share this interesting fact.