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[NOV. 13,
2003]
There's a TV show called
"Where are they now?" that focuses on the current lives of former
celebrities. We take the opposite approach in this article by
revealing the jobs that five inventors held before they
became famous. Some of their backgrounds make perfect sense as
inventors, while others may surprise you. We also include the story
of one person who didn't invent anything, yet his name is synonymous
with a certain type of invention.
Levi
Strauss (1829-1902)
Twenty-four-year-old Levi Strauss left
New York for San Francisco in 1853 to open a dry goods store with
his sister and brother-in-law. They sold supplies to miners and
other products to the people of San Francisco during the Gold Rush
days. One of his customers had a method of making jeans with metal
rivets and, unable to afford the cost of a patent, he asked Strauss
to pay for the patent and go into business together. In May of 1873,
the first official blue jeans were made. I think you know how that
turned out.
Clarence
Birdseye (1886-1956)
The name of Birdseye is synonymous with
frozen foods, yet many people do not know that there was a person
named Birdseye behind it all. Clarence Birdseye's job prior to
becoming an inventor is what led him to become an inventor. As a
biology major in college, he went to work as a naturalist for the
U.S. government and was assigned to the Arctic. There he observed
firsthand the ways of the Eskimos who lived there. Birdseye saw how
the combination of ice, wind and temperature froze the fish that had
just been caught. He also noticed that the fish retained most of
their taste when they were cooked and eaten. When he returned home
to New York in 1924, he founded Birdseye Seafoods Inc.
King Camp
Gillette (1855-1932)
The work of Gillette's parents laid the
groundwork for him to become an inventor. For a while his father
worked as a patent agent and part-time tinkerer, and in 1887 his
mother created a cookbook that remained in print for 100 years.
Gillette became a traveling salesman at age 17, and he often
made improvements to the products that he sold. He learned the
importance that disposable items had on sales and used this concept
for his idea for improving the safety razor blade. Production began
in 1903, and 100 years later the company that bears his name rings
up nearly $10 billion a year in sales in more than 200 countries.
Despite his first name and the success that he had, King Gillette
opposed capitalism, and he wrote books in which he declared
competition to be the root of all evil.
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second column in this article] |
Ron
Popeil (born 1935; still inventing)
Born in 1935, Ron Popeil is famous for
demonstrating his inventions on TV. His product line includes the
Ronco Spray Gun, Dial-O-Matic, Veg-O-Matic, Mince-O-Matic, Popeil
Pasta Maker, Pocket Fisherman and the Showtime Rotisserie Oven. What
did this master pitchman do before he began selling his inventions
on TV? He pitched his dad's inventions on the streets of Chicago in
the 1950s, as it was his dad who taught him the basics of
salesmanship and showmanship. Popeil's inventions have rung up more
than $2 billion in sales, and counting.
Rube
Goldberg (1883-1970)
The term
"Rube Goldberg invention" has led millions of Americans to believe
that Goldberg was an inventor. You won't find his name on any
patents or store shelves, though, because ol' Rube never invented
anything. After graduating with an engineering degree, he worked as
an engineer for a short time but hated the job, so he began doing
what he loved most -- drawing. Goldberg won a Pulitzer Prize in 1948
for his cartoons depicting elaborate schemes that took 10 or more
steps to accomplish a simple task. Goldberg is probably the only
"inventor" to be honored with both a postage stamp and an
adjective named for him, as in "our Rube Goldberg tax system."
[Paul
Niemann]
"Invention Mysteries" is written each
week by Paul Niemann, whose previous (and current) job of working
with inventors is the foundation for his writing career. He can be
reached at niemann7@aol.com.
Copyright
Paul Niemann 2003
Last week's column in LDN:
"Will the real inventor please stand up?"
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