- An expression in which the
intended meaning of the words is the direct opposite of their
usual sense.
- A set of circumstances or a
result that is the opposite of what might be expected.
Examples of irony as they relate to
the world of inventors include Mickey Mouse inventor Walt Disney's
fear of mice. Or that it was the inventor of dynamite who
established the Nobel Peace Prizes. Or that Rube Goldberg, whose
name is synonymous with inventions, never invented anything himself.
Goldberg was a cartoonist who drew elaborate schemes that show a
contraption taking 10 or more steps to accomplish a simple task that
any person could do in one step.
Since you've already read those
stories in this column, we'll skip the details. Today we bring you
two more short stories of irony -- stories that just aren't supposed
to happen.
Smokers,
take notice
A trademark can be called a kissin'
cousin of a patent, and the trademark for one of the most well-known
brands in the world is that of the Marlboro Man. Like the Lassie TV
character who was played by many different dogs (ironically, all of
them were male dogs), the Marlboro Man was played by many different
actors. Two of these actors had something important in common.
Wayne McLaren of Lake Charles, La.,
and David McLean of Akron, Ohio, both worked as part-time actors in
TV and in movies during the 1960s and 1970s. McLean's work even
included such top-rated shows as "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke."
They had something far more serious
in common, though. What was it?
Both of these Marlboro Men died of
lung cancer!
McLaren died at age 51 in 1992, and
McLean, who started smoking at age 12, died at age 73 in 1995. In
addition to dying from the product that they endorsed, they had one
more thing in common -- they both went on antismoking crusades after
they had learned of their cancer.
[to top of second column
in this article] |
Ralph
goes cruising
Ralph Teetor was born in Hagerstown,
Ind., in 1890. An accident at age 5 meant that he would never be
able to drive. Despite this, at the ripe old age of 12, he built a
car that could travel 25 mph.
Years later, a rough car ride with
his lawyer inspired Ralph to invent a device that he named the
"speed-o-stat" in 1945. You know it by its more familiar name of
cruise control.
Ralph went on to become president of
the company where he worked, the Perfect Circle Piston Ring Company.
In 1936, he was elected president of the Society of Automotive
Engineers. The society even named an award after him: the Ralph
Teetor Award. To top off his career, he received the highest honor
his industry has to offer: induction into the Automotive Hall of
Fame.
The irony of Ralph Teetor's story is
what made it so inspirational. Was it that Ralph Teetor, the
inventor of cruise control, didn't have his driver's license? If so,
then he would have been in the same situation as the Wright
brothers, neither of whom had a pilot's license.
Was it that he flunked his driving
exam? Or that he died from using his invention, like the Marlboro
folks did? No, nada, nyet, nein.
Remember the accident that Ralph had
at age 5 -- the accident that meant he would never be able to drive?
That accident caused him to go blind. And therein lies the
irony in Ralph's story.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann is the author of Invention Mysteries. He can be
reached at niemann7@aol.com.
© Copyright Paul Niemann 2005
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