Console Gaming SystemsConsole game systems are specialized computers that play games. Ralph Baer came up with the idea of a video-game system that connects to televisions in 1966. Magnavox agreed to manufacture and distribute his seventh prototype, in 1971, branded the Odyssey. Magnavox sold about 350,000 units, at the then steep price of $100, before discontinuing it … Continue reading "Console Gaming Systems"
American Pop CultureIn the roaring ’20s, after WWI, Americans were coming into their own, developing a culture that was distinctly not European but also no longer a country of rugged settlers. Background At 26, Walt Disney was on the train to success, literally. Riding from his upstart studio in Los Angeles to New York to finalize and … Continue reading "American Pop Culture"
Voice Over IP (VOIP)Voice Over IP (VOIP) transmits voice calls over the internet, allowing people to speak to one another. Invented in 1995, VOIP came about after countless seemingly more complex inventions including web-based video. Interestingly, the likely reason for the late invention date is incentives. Businesses believed that the internet would work well for broadcasting, displacing other … Continue reading "Voice Over IP (VOIP)"
Long Playing (LP) Records & Talking MoviesLong-playing records play for a long time, enabling records with more than one song. Background As Edison’s phonograph evolved, the recordings eventually migrated to small disks played at 78 rotations per minute (rpm). Each disk held about three minutes of music per side. Filmmakers wanted to add sound to their movies. Before then, movies ran … Continue reading "Long Playing (LP) Records & Talking Movies"
PatentsPatents protect the invention of things but not works of art or trademarks, which have their own body of law. They give a limited monopoly for an inventor to produce or license their invention for a set amount of time. Throughout history, patent law has inspired and rewarded innovation but also stifled innovation when abused. … Continue reading "Patents"
Visual Web BrowserTim Berners-Lee original world wide web was entirely text-based, mainly used to link textual papers to one another. Mosaic Marc Andreesen, then a student at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, extended Andreesen’s HTML. Andreesen extended the original HTML, adding components describing not only the contents of a page but also how it should be laid … Continue reading "Visual Web Browser"
Long-Term MortgagesMortgages are loans to purchase a property. The word derives from the French “mort” and meant death pledge with the obligation ending when the loan was paid off or the property repossessed. Background The Dutch have the earliest mortgages. Originally in the Netherlands, people saved money and purchased their house for cash. However, starting in … Continue reading "Long-Term Mortgages"
Automation Armageddon: a Legitimate Worry?Right now, we have 122 major innovations that involve some type of automation. Click here to see the list. Putting it mildly, many of them were not met with enthusiasm. For example, Frenchman Barthélemy Thimonnier invented the sewing machine only to see his factory burnt down by worried tailors. The “American Manufacturing Method” using standardized … Continue reading "Automation Armageddon: a Legitimate Worry?"
Electric Arc FurnaceElectric arc furnaces are giant pots that melt steel. They enable the recycling of scrap steel. Recycled steel both costs far less than creating steel from raw materials and has a lower environmental impact. The process involves three-phase electrodes which create an arc that reaches about 3000°C (5400°F). Frenchman Paul Héroult (co-inventor of aluminum smelting) … Continue reading "Electric Arc Furnace"
Why not Wikipedia? Deletionists.There is a major problem with Wikipedia, deletionists. Deletionists, as the name suggests, get off on deleting things. They tear down rather than build up. Why would they want to do this? There are two primary reasons. First, it is an easy way to increase the number of Wikipedia edits which increases the visibility and … Continue reading "Why not Wikipedia? Deletionists."
PacemakerPacemakers use electrical impulses to keep hearts beating regularly. In 1926 Australian anesthesiologist Dr. Mark Lidwill inserted a needle into the heart of a newborn and used an electric pulse to control the baby’s heart, saving its life. Lidwill’s cardiac pacemaker has saved countless lives since. Like Banting and Best, the inventors of insulin, Lidwill … Continue reading "Pacemaker"
TelegraphBackground Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. He learned that his wife was sick while working in a different city. By the time he arrived home, she had died. Morse determined to invent a faster message delivery system. Like Fulton, Morse was an artist before going into business. He had no background in science or engineering. … Continue reading "Telegraph"
Mass Manufactured Soft DrinksBackground John “Doc” Pemberton was an Atlanta chemist. After the Civil War he, like many chemists of the time, used coca-derived “wine” as a prescription for various ailments, real and imagined. Some of the wines contained distilled coca leaves, which cocaine is made from. Others contained the less expensive already distilled cocaine. Cocaine during this … Continue reading "Mass Manufactured Soft Drinks"
Internal Combustion EngineFew innovations throughout history are as important as the internal combustion engine. In 1807, the Niepce brothers received a patent on an internal combustion engine but failed to commercialize it. The brothers also invented photography. The first known working internal combustion engine (ICE) belongs to Lenoir. He converted a steam engine to burn coal gas … Continue reading "Internal Combustion Engine"
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"