|
How do we know which inventions are the
best, since it's only February? We look into the history books.
The year is 1905. Teddy Roosevelt is
president. There are 45 states. John McGraw's New York Mets defeat
Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics in only the second World Series
ever played. Elsewhere in the world, Pablo Picasso is in his prime,
and in China they're celebrating the Year of the Snake.
Eleven-year-old Frank Epperson of
San Francisco leaves his soft drink outside on the porch with a
stirring stick in it one night. The drink freezes to the stick, and
he ends up inventing the "Epsicle." I'm guessing that young Frank
probably named it after himself. It eventually becomes known as the
Popsicle, and the rest is history.
That same year sees Albert Einstein
publish his theory of relativity while working in the Swiss patent
office. He also makes famous the E = mc2 equation (pronounced as E
equals MC squared). Sure, the theory of relativity is important, but
it won't cool you down on a hot summer day.
Mary Anderson of Alabama receives a
patent for the windshield wipers that she invented two years
earlier. Mary does not profit from her invention, but that doesn't
seem to matter to her.
Also in 1905, in San Francisco, two
guys named Chapman and Skinner invent the first portable electric
vacuum cleaner. It weighs 92 pounds and uses an 18-inch fan, which
explains why it becomes a commercial failure.
Inventor Luther Simjian was born in
Turkey in 1905. The inventions that the multitalented Simjian
created include the self-focusing camera, a flight simulator used to
train Allied pilots during World War II, an automatic postage
metering machine, the teleprompter and an early version of the
automatic teller machine.
[to top of second column
in this article]
 |
The year is 1805. In America, Thomas
Jefferson is president, and there are only 17 states. The Louisiana
Purchase occurred just two years earlier, doubling the size of the
United States. Lewis and Clark are probably somewhere in Montana by
now. Elsewhere in the world, Napoleon declares himself king of Italy
and is starting to conquer most of Europe.
It was not a great year for
inventors, but Congreve's rocket, which was invented a year earlier,
was first used in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. The significance
of the Congreve rocket to Americans is that it would later produce
"the rocket's red glare" in Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled
Banner."
The year is 1705. There are no
states yet. One of the greatest inventors of all time, Ben Franklin,
will be born next year in Boston.
Thomas Newcomen of England invents
the atmospheric steam engine. What's the significance of his steam
engine? Even though it wasn't very efficient, James Watt would later
use it to make improvements. Watt is the man who is credited with
inventing the modern steam engine.
Also in 1705, Edmund Halley
correctly predicts that Halley's comet, which appears every 76 years
(in 1531, in 1607 and in 1682), would reappear in December of 1758.
Fast forward to 2005. George W. Bush
is president, and the Iraqi people have just voted in their first
election in more than 50 years. Spring training is less than two
weeks away. And it will probably be another 100 years before the
Cubs win the World Series.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann is the author of Invention Mysteries. He can be
reached at niemann7@aol.com.
© Copyright Paul Niemann 2005 |
