Electronic Stock Exchange (NASDAQ)History In early stock markets, traders offered and accepted bids for stock prices to one another. People would stand in a stock exchange and literally yell out stock symbols and prices. Buyers would purchase blocks of stock. This system was slow and expensive. Only high-level bankers had access to the people on a stock trading … Continue reading "Electronic Stock Exchange (NASDAQ)"
Automatic Tomato HarvesterGrain and corn harvesters date back to the 1800s. However, grain and corn are relatively easy to harvest. Grain harvesting involves little more than cutting tall grass whereas ears of corn are large, strong, and similarly shaped. Tomatoes Interestingly, tomatoes were not common food until the 1800s. Early colonialists brought the tomato plant to Europe … Continue reading "Automatic Tomato Harvester"
In-Vitro FertilizationIn-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) allows eggs to be fertilized outside the womb. In a controlled environment, fertilization is more likely to be successful. In 1936, In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) was first performed on rabbits by Dr. Gregory Pincus of Harvard University. He announced his invention and mentioned it might someday work on humans. Rather than celebrate the … Continue reading "In-Vitro Fertilization"
Contact LensesLeonardo DaVinci proposed the first contact lens idea in his Codex of the Eye, published in 1508. His invention involved putting a fishbowl over one’s head filled with water to refract light. This is arguably not his finest work though, in hindsight, he was onto something. René Descartes picked up DaVinci’s work in 1636, proposing … Continue reading "Contact Lenses"
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) turns a tiny bit of DNA into a much larger amount which can subsequently be sequenced. In 1983, Mullis figured out a way to multiply the tiniest piece of DNA by orders of magnitude, making millions of copies. This is how the smallest bit of DNA, from bacteria, viruses, historical artifacts, … Continue reading "Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)"
Screw PropellerScrew Propellers vastly reduced the amount of power needed to move ships. The propellers look like fans and work on similar principles except they displace water instead of air. Countless people, from James Watt onward, claim to have invented the screw propeller. Early experiments, in the late 1700s and early 1800s, functioned but propelled ships … Continue reading "Screw Propeller"
High Strength, Mass Produced Steel (Bessemer Steel)Vastly increased the quality and decreased the price of steel. Unlike the iron furnaces, that created small amounts of high strength iron, the Bessemer process created enormous amounts of much stronger steel. The Bessemer process is still in use today. On Aug. 24, 1856, Bessemer described the process of forcing air through steel that dramatically … Continue reading "High Strength, Mass Produced Steel (Bessemer Steel)"
Linotype MachineThe Linotype machine vastly reduced the cost and time needed to prepare printing plates, making newspapers and books faster and less expensive to print. Described as “the next Gutenberg,” Germany immigrant Ottmar Mergenthaler made typesetting vastly simpler. Whereas before his innovation typesetters would have to look for individual letters, arranging them together, his innovation did … Continue reading "Linotype Machine"
MotorcycleAfter engineering a buggy that runs on four wheels it didn’t take long to realize a motorized bicycle would work well. Motorcycles are more efficient than cars: they use less fuel and take less space. However, they’re more dangerous than cars, offering far less protection in the event of a crash. They’re also fun. In … Continue reading "Motorcycle"
VideoconferencingVideoconferencing is well over 50 years old. Today, it is fast and virtually free over the Internet. However, aside from extremely formal or informal events, videoconferencing has largely failed to catch on. Background AT&T introduced videoconference at the 1964 World’s Fair. People in New York waited in line to walk into a booth and spend … Continue reading "Videoconferencing"
Peer-To-Peer File Sharing (Napster)File sharing allows one computer to connect anonymously with others, sending and receiving files. Most files were single-track MP3s of copyright music. Background The original theory was that because mixtapes were legal then noncommercial “sharing” of any music was legal. The legality of mixtapes, a collection of songs from other tapes, stems from a US … Continue reading "Peer-To-Peer File Sharing (Napster)"
Cotton GinWhitney’s innovation vastly lowered the price of cotton. Before Whitney’s cotton gin, producing cotton was economically inefficient because of the enormous cost to separate cotton from seeds. After the innovation, cotton became a profitable crop. Background Coming of age during the Revolutionary War, Whitney made a nail company, at the age of 15. Later, he … Continue reading "Cotton Gin"
AirlineCount von Zeppelin, inventor of the airship, partnered with a group of other German industrialists to create a Zeppelin manufacturing company and also an airline. Airships Their first airship, the enormous LZ1, launched July 2, 1900. It crashed and survived but the test was not successful for the German government to invest more funds in … Continue reading "Airline"
Options & Futures“I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today,” cartoon character Wimpy Wellington repeatedly offers. If he worked as an options trader he’d probably say “I’ll gladly pay you 1/10th the price of a hamburger today if I can buy a hamburger, sometime in the next year, at the price they are today.” You’d answer: … Continue reading "Options & Futures"
Videotape RecorderCharles Ginsberg invented the videotape recorder, that put images onto tape, in 1951. Ampex sold their first video recorder, the VRX-1000, in 1956 to CBS for $50,000 ($462,000 in 2018). Ampex recorders were sold exclusively to television studios. Before videotape recordings, television broadcasts either played a movie in front of a TV camera or broadcast … Continue reading "Videotape Recorder"
