Every kid who watched Mr. Wizard (myself included) learned how to make a strong magnet with some wire, a battery, and an iron rod.

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He was once convicted for beating up bar workers with an iron rod, after they had been involved in a scuffle with his son.

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So if your patented device uses an iron rod and a competitor develops the same device with a steel rod, you may not be protected under the ruling.

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So successful was the bank that under Cosimo de' Medici, who ruled it with an iron rod, the Medici were for a long while put in charge of papal finances.

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Then the tales of her workaday tantrums ... well, suffice to say, Ekta rules her 2, 000 or so staff with a rod of pure iron!

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