BraCommunist spitfire Ida Rosenthal came from a line of Jewish intellectuals in what was then Russia and is now Belarus. She returned from college an outspoken communist revolutionary and with a boyfriend, William. Threatened with jail, the army, or both they fled to the US in 1905 and married in 1906. Ida, who was 4′ … Continue reading "Bra"
Rechargeable Battery1859 Frenchman Gaston Planté invented the lead-acid rechargeable battery. In the early years, his battery lacked commercial value. Planté’s battery stored electricity and recharged easily but tended to release the electric in enormous bursts that, at the time, offered limited utility value. Before the Planté battery was the Voltaic Pile and later derivatives. These were … Continue reading "Rechargeable Battery"
Refrigerated Trucks1939 Frederick Jones Refrigerated trucks, invented by Frederick Jones, enable modern commerce. Jones is somewhat of an innowiki aberration in that he 1) invented something useful with enormous impact, 2) successfully commercialized it, 3) managed to keep the business and build it out, and 4) was a minority. We’d like to have a long list … Continue reading "Refrigerated Trucks"
TobaccoWalter Raleigh popularized tobacco, grown in the America’s, in England. He set sail in South America searching for El Dorado, the mythical city of gold. Raleigh never found the golden city but he did find tobacco, bringing it back to England. He committed a crime and was pardoned but, on a second journey in search … Continue reading "Tobacco"
Football (Soccer)Football is one of the few innovations entirely lacking in utility that is impactful enough to warrant inclusion. It’s just fun. The game of football (soccer in the US and Australia) is a variation of an ancient game. Essentially, two teams work to get a ball into the goal of the other team. Background It’s … Continue reading "Football (Soccer)"
Sound Over RadioAfter a series of other innovations involving radio, Fessenden invented sound over radio in 1906. Before then radio typically carried Morse Code signals. He created a company, NESCO, that struggled with IP, financing, and people issues. The owners, including Fessenden, hoped to sell the company to AT&T or GE but that deal did not close. … Continue reading "Sound Over Radio"
Communication Satellite“This satellite must be high enough to carry messages from both sides of the world, which is, of course, an essential requirement for peace…” President Kennedy, July 23, 1962 Communication satellites bring the world closer together, with instant communication. They are especially important for communication, beaming information from one central place to many more. For … Continue reading "Communication Satellite"
Tractor Treads1904 Benjamin Holt “In the Roberts Island tract, where a man could not walk without sinking to his knees, and where tule-shoed horses could not be used, the new traction engine was operated without a perceptible impression in the ground.” Farm Implement News, May 18, 1905 “It looks like a caterpillar,” said a photographer observing … Continue reading "Tractor Treads"
Object-Oriented ProgrammingObject oriented programming is the first of countless Xerox PARC inventions. Vastly simplifying, there are two ways to program a computer. In procedural programming, each thing the computer does is listed. Conditional statements tell the computer which path to follow. Comparatively, in object-oriented programming, objects mimic real life. Programmers then act on these objects. For … Continue reading "Object-Oriented Programming"
Instant PhotographsLong before the digital camera Polaroid’s delivered instant photographic gratification, albeit it at a steep price. Like countless tech inventors after him, Land dropped out of Harvard. He sneaked into the labs at Columbia while developing early Polaroid light filter technology. Land’s Polaroid created polarizing light filters, especially useful as sunglasses during WWII. Eventually, he … Continue reading "Instant Photographs"
CamcorderThe camcorder combined a camera and videotape player into one handheld unit. It made moviemaking exponentially easier and less expensive, opening the field to countless new auteurs. Background The first video making system offered for the home was by Ampex. Advertised in the 1963 Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog it cost $30,000 ($247,201 adjusted to 2018) … Continue reading "Camcorder"
Discount AirlineAs the airline market developed, the US found it necessary to regulate interstate air transport as a “public utility.” Significantly, the “Civil Aeronautics Board” (CAB) regulated fares, routes, and schedules. The benefit of regulation was predictability and widespread routes. For example, a carrier that wanted to fly from New York to Chicago might be required … Continue reading "Discount Airline"
Marine ChronometerThis device, an accurate clock that works on ships, allows sailors to much more accurately navigate. Before this innovation, sailors had to guess, and it was common for ships to miss their destination on a journey by hundreds of miles. This device reduced the risk and cost of long journeys by ship, lowering the cost … Continue reading "Marine Chronometer"
Breach Loaded FirearmsFlintlock guns required the user to pour gunpowder into the barrel of the weapon, stamp it down, add a bullet, then carefully pick the whole thing up and fire it. By the time all that finished, soldiers could be chased down and stabbed with a knife. Breach-loading firearms opened the rifle near the back. They … Continue reading "Breach Loaded Firearms"
Steam TurbineIn much the same way that Watt’s condensing steam engine vastly increased the value of Newcomen’s engine, the steam turbine vastly improved the value of Edison’s electric factory. Steam turbines allow steam, generated by heating water, to efficiently turn generators, usually to make electricity. In addition to steam, water (ex: waterfalls) or wind (ex: windmills) … Continue reading "Steam Turbine"