Stock IndexStock indexes set objective benchmarks for how a stock should perform against peers. Reduces the risk of stock investing. Farmer turned reporter turned media mogul Charles Dow, with reporter Edward Jones, launched a stock newsletter in 1883. Titled the Customers’ Afternoon Letter, they tracked issues affecting the stock market. Dow’s letter gained a reputation for … Continue reading "Stock Index"
Tetraethyllead (Leaded Gasoline)Leaded gasoline prevented engine ping, making driving safer and more pleasant. Correspondingly, it also caused an enormous amount of extremely toxic pollution. Working for GM under the direct supervision of Charles Kettering at Dayton Research Laboratory, Midgley discovered the benefits of adding lead to gasoline. They named their innovation Tetraethyllead, avoiding any mention of lead, … Continue reading "Tetraethyllead (Leaded Gasoline)"
- Fourdrinier Paper Making Machine
Fourdrinier machines transform wood pulp into enormous rolls of paper. They vastly reduced the manufacturing cost and, subsequently, the price of paper. Even the smallest Fourdrinier machine is massive and requires an enormous amount of water. Frenchman Louis Roberts invented the papermaking machine. His friend and confidant, Sealy Fourdrinier, patented and commercialized the technology in … Continue reading "Fourdrinier Paper Making Machine"
AutomobileIt’s difficult, and arguably pointless, to separate the innovation of the automobile and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). The use of an ICE for a “horseless carriage” was so obvious that early engines were all used for cars. Engine propelled buggies were, by far, the most popular use case though ICE’s also powered other applications. Early … Continue reading "Automobile"
Charge-Coupled Device (CCD)1969 William BoyleGeorge Smith “We are the ones who started this profusion of little cameras all over the world.” William Boyle Charged Coupled Devices (CCD’s) are a special type of chip that reacts to light. They are inexpensive and especially useful in imagining, enabling digital photography and video. William Boyle and George Smith worked for … Continue reading "Charge-Coupled Device (CCD)"
FM RadioHistory In 1906, Lee de Forest invented the “three-electrode Audion” cathode ray tube. However, by his own admission, saw no use for it in radio. During his time at Columbia, Armstrong worked with Audion tubes and realized they could recycle a radio signal, amplifying it by sending it repeatedly through the tube. Further, by reversing … Continue reading "FM Radio"
Electronic Airline Reservation System (SABRE)As the Cold War heated up during the 1950s, the United States installed an enormous number of missiles, radars, and nuclear weapons to track and respond to nuclear war. WWII radars were good enough for propeller planes but the delay between detection and analysis proved too slow for jet engines and missiles. SAGE As the … Continue reading "Electronic Airline Reservation System (SABRE)"
Combine HarvesterBackground Before the combine harvester farmers would need to hire groups of people to harvest crops before they rotted. Since there were only so many people available, the ability to harvest limited the volume of crops that could be grown. The harvester fixed that, doing the work of many people at once. This enabled the … Continue reading "Combine Harvester"
Supersonic FlightOn Tuesday, October 14, 1947, a B-29 bomber took off in the Mojave Desert in California. Instead of a bomb, it carried another plane. Chuck Yeager & the X-1 The Bell X-1 “research vehicle” was a rocket fired aircraft. As the bomber climbed, test pilot Capt. Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, climbed into the rocket aircraft. … Continue reading "Supersonic Flight"
Modern AdvertisingBefore Albert Lasker advertisements tended to be crude, raising awareness or reinforcing a brand name. Many ads were not much more than offers to purchase something, with no overarching idea. Lasker used the emerging science of psychology and budding technology of radio to radically change advertising. Background Born in Germany, Lasker moved to the US … Continue reading "Modern Advertising"
Stock Ticker / Ticker TapeBoth the ticker and ticker tape lowered the cost of transmitting stock prices by eliminating the need for a person to translate them to and from Morse Code. Subsequently, this innovation served as a bridge from specialists required to send and receive telegraph messages to plain-text transmissions. Edward Calahan saw people rushing from the floor … Continue reading "Stock Ticker / Ticker Tape"
Credit UnionLet it not be forgotten that a credit union is, above all else, an association of people, not dollars. Alphonse Desjardins Banks at the turn of the 20th century were for rich people. A.P. Giannini founded his Bank of Italy, later renamed Bank of America, in 1904 as a bank for everybody else. But it … Continue reading "Credit Union"
Vaccines (Smallpox)Smallpox was a killer, affecting royalty and peasants alike. When it didn’t kill, it oftentimes left victims permanently maimed. Besides eventually eradicating smallpox, this vaccine led to the development of future ones. Background Jenner was born to a wealthy and well-educated family. Like many during his time, he was inoculated for smallpox, a process where … Continue reading "Vaccines (Smallpox)"
Superstore, v2 (Walmart)In 1962, the median lifespan of a US man was 67 years old. Arkansas, with 1.79 million residents, had the 33rd lowest GDP in the United States, $3.8 billion. That year, Sam Walton, at age 44, opened a new type of store in his hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, naming it Walmart. Walton’s strategy was to … Continue reading "Superstore, v2 (Walmart)"
Rock & Roll“If you’re not doing something different, you’re not doing anything.” Sam Phillips Background Billboard magazine started charting songs in 1940. Eventually, they divided songs into three categories, pop, country-and-western, and “race music.” Around 1949, race music was renamed rhythm and blues (R&B). Music sales were proprietary and closely guarded so Billboard based their charts off … Continue reading "Rock & Roll"