After a polite back-and-forth led nowhere, he decided to sue for the lost sum, serving simultaneous depositions to the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Swiss monastery, and Pope Paul VI.

After graduating from Cal State–Long Beach with a degree in philosophy, he worked with former classmate Steven Spielberg on a yearlong film project, but just didn’t see promise in Hollywood. After graduating from California State University, Long Beach, with a degree in philosophy, he worked with former classmate Steven Spielberg on a year-long film project, but just didn't see promise in Hollywood. It can not only be used alone in canteens, restaurants, small processing plants, but also can be used to slice bananas in the banana chips production line. But none of this would compare to an invention he created in hopes of truly changing the world: the banana slicer. In 1969, while working toward a degree in philosophy from Cal State–Long Beach, Sheffield collaborated with Steven Spielberg—a fellow Long Beach classmate and friend—on a film project titled Who Collects the Garbage?

Sheffield says that the VP initially declined, responding that Chiquita's "business is bananas, not banana slicers", but he was soon sold on the product after he saw how much his kids loved it. More than 60 percent of the proceeds went directly to fund the orphanage in India, now known as Pathway. Sheffield found himself walking through the crowded streets of that city one day, brainstorming potential ways to help the director of a small orphanage in India whom he and his wife had recently met. Sheffield and his soon-to-be first wife, April, traveled the world, conducting interviews with the likes of Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr.

Now 74 years old, Sheffield no longer makes money from the banana slicer, its patent having expired in 1999. In 1989 Sheffield met with a plastics manufacturer in Hong Kong, built and tested a prototype, then secured a patent.Sheffield will retire from legal mediation in July before embarking on a two-year mission with the Mormon Church, his wife of more than 40 years at his side. Having already spent long hours on the case, Sheffield eventually had to choose between yet another hearing or taking the bar, so he let the suit drop. The patent describes the banana slicer as a “tool which has a frame circumscribing an area into which a typical banana readily fits, and a plurality of spaced ribs or blades disposed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the frame and interconnecting opposite sides of the frame. Then a swaggering second-year law student – he earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1971 – he was feeling bold. Currently, banana chip slicer machines generally have the disadvantages of uneven slicing and low efficiency.

Sheffield and his soon-to-be first wife, April, travelled the world, conducting interviews with Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr, the King of Thailand, and the Beatles' maharishi, among others. During an interview with Slate , Sheffield explained how the idea for a banana slicer was not the direct result of fruit-cutting frustration, but rather a vision from God.The Indira Gandhi chapter of his life is just too much for this article, but trust me, it's equally fascinating. But none of this would compare to an invention he created in the hope of truly changing the world: the banana slicer. Thanks to all of these great reviews, I now know what I am going to get my in-laws for Christmas this year. During the interview, Sheffield explains how the idea for a banana slicer was not the direct result of fruit-cutting frustration, but rather a vision from God.

He will retire from legal mediation in July before embarking on a two-year mission with the Mormon Church, his wife of more than 40 years at his side.

The patent describes the banana slicer as a "tool which has a frame circumscribing an area into which a typical banana readily fits, and a plurality of spaced ribs or blades disposed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the frame and interconnecting opposite sides of the frame". More than 60 per cent of the proceeds went directly to fund the orphanage in India, now known as Pathway. Sheffield says that the VP initially declined, responding that Chiquita’s “business is bananas, not banana slicers,” but he was soon sold on the product after he saw how much his kids loved it.