FiberglassFiberglass has multiple uses. It acts as an insulator, building material, and even boat hulls. First, in 1870, John Player developed a process to mass-produce glass strands with seam jets used for insulation. By and large, this is arguably the first fiberglass. Eventually, in 1880, Herman Hammesfahr patented weaving glass fibers to silk, making it … Continue reading "Fiberglass"
Tri-Motor AirplaneThe Ford Tri-Motor airplane popularized the notion of low-cost, reliable, rugged, and serviceable planes. Before the Ford Tri-Motor, there were countless aircraft, but many were proprietary with difficult-to-service parts that frequently broke down. Along with 20 other wealthy individuals, Ford and his son Edsel funded a new airplane company by designer William Bushnell Stout. In … Continue reading "Tri-Motor Airplane"
Inkjet PrinterInkjet printing produces affordable, high-quality printouts using low-cost personal desktop printers. Background Ichiro Endo, of Canon, was the first to realize the idea that ink could be heated to form a small bubble, then deposited on a page to form a pixel, inkjet printing. John Vaught, a college dropout working at Hewlett-Packard, was working on … Continue reading "Inkjet Printer"
- Bitcoin, Fruitcake, and Christmas Pudding
On the importance of being open to divergent ideas & non-experts. Cross-posted from the blue ocean thinking substack: https://blueoceanthinking.substack.com. About a decade ago I’d just moved with my new bride into a house we rehabbed. We owned our house mortgage-free and my work was routinely cited in leading newspapers including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, … Continue reading "Bitcoin, Fruitcake, and Christmas Pudding"
World Wide WebTim Berners-Lee worked at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Background The internet was about 20 years old and connected many computers. However, once connected between computers, users searched for the material, an oftentimes odious task. Furthermore, many computers required logins. Think of the pre-web internet as a series of libraries without central directories. … Continue reading "World Wide Web"
Hot Air BalloonThanks to a stunt by the Montgolfier brothers, people finally flew. Well, actually a few animals left the ground but people weren’t far behind. The balloon wasn’t especially practical, since it couldn’t be guided, but led the way for future innovations plus allowed a new perspective on the world. Despite that it was more of … Continue reading "Hot Air Balloon"
Spinning MuleFew inventions on innowiki have inspired as much social unrest at the spinning mule. The mule is a minor innovation compared to most others on the list. However, it caused a massive freak-out. The Luddite movement, that still exists to this day, if often wrongly credited to the printing press but actually began with the … Continue reading "Spinning Mule"
Blue Ocean Strategy & Finance: Margin LendingMargin lending refers to the process of using borrowed money for investing. For example, a traditional investor may purchase 100 shares of a business for $10, spending $1,000. However, using margin, that same person may purchase 150 shares, spending the same $1,000 and borrowing another $500. If the stock price goes up, they pay the … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy & Finance: Margin Lending"
Hard Disk DriveDisk drives quickly store and retrieve information for computers. The primary inventor is Reynold “Rey” Johnson. Previously, he invented and sold the technology that reads pencil dots, usually for taking tests, to IBM. Subsequently, he then joined them as a staff engineer. While at IBM he developed the hard disk drive. The first hard drive, … Continue reading "Hard Disk Drive"
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)MRI allows physicians to see and diagnose soft tissue without surgery. Background MRI is one of these cases where everybody argues somebody else invented it for patent priority. However, courts and historians find that physician Raymond Damadian was first to make an MRI that scans people (prior MRI’s would scan small pieces of organic material). … Continue reading "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)"
Cash RegisterCash registers help deter theft and led to modern bookkeeping. Ritty was a saloon owner who had problems with employee theft. He invented and patented the cash register, calling it the “Incorruptible Cashier” and created a company to sell it. There was little interest and he tired of simultaneously running two businesses, one manufacturing and … Continue reading "Cash Register"
Kodak Brownie“You press the button, we do the rest” announced Kodak introducing the camera their first mass market camera. In May 1888, George Eastman invented and sold a camera packed with film for 100 photographs. Customers snapped their hundred photos then mailed the camera back to Kodak. Kodak mailed back the prints and the camera reloaded … Continue reading "Kodak Brownie"
Condensing Steam EngineThe Watt condensing steam engine is widely viewed as the primary machine responsible for the Industrial Revolution. It enabled the use of engines anywhere, not only next to coal mines. Whereas factories before the Watt engines needed to be near high-volume streams, to derive power for water wheels, the Watt engine operated at a low … Continue reading "Condensing Steam Engine"
Wi-FiIn 1941, Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr devised a system and submitted a patent for radio signals that changed frequencies. Background Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler (Heidi Lamar) was born in Vienna. She is most famous as the first woman to appear nude in a mainstream film. In the same movie, she was also the first woman … Continue reading "Wi-Fi"
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are handheld computers. They were supposed to be more convenient and simpler than carrying paper. Most significantly, and the reason they are a major invention, is their influence as a bridge to the smartphone. David Potter created the Psion Organizer in 1984 featuring 2K or RAM in a handheld (sort of … Continue reading "Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)"
