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"The
little-known stories behind well-known inventions"
Veterinarian overshadowed by his success
as an inventor
By Paul Niemann
[SEPT. 1,
2005]
There have been inventors whose lives as inventors
were overshadowed by their other careers -- their main careers. For
example, little-known inventor Charles Lindbergh invented the heart
fusion pump, which led to open-heart surgery. Little-known inventor
Zeppo Marx had two patented inventions; one of them secured bombs in
airplanes during World War II, and the other alerted patients of an
irregular heartbeat.
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There are many more
examples of inventors who had dual careers, but J.B.'s career was
just the opposite. You've heard of him because of his invention.
You've probably used the product that he invented. But it wasn't a
veterinary product that this veterinarian invented.
J.B. was born in 1840 in Scotland, the same country that gave us
Alexander Graham Bell, Robert Louis Stevenson and Harry Potter
author J.K. Rowling. Lest you think I'm disguising his name by using
his first and last initials, "J" and "B" were his first and middle
initials.
People often went by their initials back then. His stand for John
Boyd. I am hiding his last name from you because his last name is
synonymous with his product, and that would give it away. I will
give you a hint, though. J.B.'s invention was in the rubber
industry.
And that's the last time I'll ever use one of those words like
"lest" in this column, I promise. Only snooty people with foreign
accents use words like "lest" on a regular basis.
J.B. did not invent the material that made him famous, but he
figured out a much better way to use it.
Here's another hint as to J.B.'s identity: The material was used
in its natural form as far back as the 1400s in Latin America.
Christopher Columbus even noticed that the natives were playing with
it and that they also made shoes with the material.
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If that clue doesn't give it away, then this one should just
about do it: It was originally known as "cahuchu." Gesundheit.
J.B. invented the first working inflatable tire in 1888. His full
name was John Boyd Dunlop. As in Dunlop tires.
His inspiration came watching his son struggle to ride his
tricycle with its solid rubber wheels. He thought there must be a
better way, so he went about designing his own type of tire. His
invention became the modern-day tire.
Actually, the first inflatable tire was invented by another
Scottish inventor, R.W. Thomson in 1845 (there they go with those
initials again!). Thomson never developed his invention, though, so
he is not remembered.
The word "rubber," by the way, got its name from the erasers at
the end of pencils that are used to "rub out" mistakes.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann may be reached at
niemann7@aol.com.
© Paul Niemann 2005
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