Invention Corner

Mark I Computer

2007-08-23T00:19:00.001-07:00

The Mark I Computer

Howard Hathaway Aiken with his colleagues at Harvard, and with some assistance from International Business Machines, by 1944 had built the Mark I, the world's first program-controlled calculator; an early form of a digital computer, it was controlled by both mechanical and electrical devices. Although he went on to build other computers, they would soon be made obsolete by more advanced electronics.

Definition: The Mark I, was the world's first program-controlled calculator; an early form of a digital computer, it was controlled by both mechanical and electrical devices.
Inventor: Howard Hathaway Aiken
Criteria; Modern prototype.
Birth: March 8, 1900 in Hoboken, New Jersey
Death: March 14, 1973 in St. Louis, Missouri
Nationality: American
Invention: Mark I Computer
Function: noun / early computer

Multiplane camera

2007-08-22T00:00:00.001-07:00

Multiplane camera

Walt Disney, inventor of the multiplane camera in 1936, is a legend and a folk hero of the 20th century. His worldwide popularity is based upon the ideas his name represents: imagination, optimism, and self-made success in the American tradition. Through his work he brought joy, happiness, and a universal means of communication.

Definition: Disney's invention of the multiplane camera brought better looking, richer animation and in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated film to use the camera.
Inventor: Walter Elias Disney
Criteria: First to invent. First to patent. Entrepreneur..
Birth: December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois.
Death: December 16, 1966
Invention: Multiplane Camera in 1936
Function: noun / still frame motion picture camera
Patent: 2,201,689 (US) issued May 21, 1940

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Traffic Light

2007-08-14T05:18:00.001-07:00

Traffic Light

Police Officer William L. Potts of Detroit, Michigan, decided to do something about the problem caused by the ever increasing number of automobiles on the streets. What he had in mind was figuring out a way to adapt railroad signals for street use. Potts used red, amber, and green railroad lights and about thirty-seven dollars worth of wire and electrical controls to make the world's first 4-way three color traffic light. It was installed in 1920 on the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenues in Detroit. Within a year, Detroit h

ad installed a total of fifteen of the new automatic lights.

Invention: Traffic Light
Function: noun / trsffic signal / stoplight
Definition: A road signal for directing vehicular traffic by means of colored lights, typically red for stop, green for go, and yellow for proceed with caution.
Patent: As a government emplyee Potts could not patent his invention.
Inventor: William L. Potts
Criteria: First practical. Modern prototype.
Birth: Unknown
Death: Unknown
Nationality: Unknown

Potato Chips

2007-08-14T05:17:00.001-07:00

Potato Chips

In the summer of 1853, Native American George Crum was employed as a chef at an elegant resort in Saratoga Springs, New York. One dinner guest found Crum's French fries too thick for his liking and rejected the order. Crum decided to rile the guest by producing fries too thin and crisp to skewer with a fork. The plan backfired. The guest was ecstatic over the browned, paper-thin potatoes, and other diners began requesting Crum's potato chips.

Invention: Potato Chips in 1853
Definition: noun / po·ta·to chips
Function: Snack food made of a thin slice of white potato that has been cooked until crisp and then usually salted. Also known as Saratoga Chips or potato crisps.
Patent: Never patented.
Inventor: George Crum (a.k.a. George Speck*)
Criteria: First to invent.
Birth: 1822 Saratoga Lake, New York
Death: 1914 Saratoga Lake, New York
Nationality: Narive American

Tea

2007-08-14T05:14:00.001-07:00

Tea

What kind of world would this be without tea?

There would be no teapot or teakettle if tea had never been discovered. There would be no teacup, teaspoon, or tea towel, and no tea time. Two of the world's most famous parties would have been canceled: The colonists could not have held the Boston Tea Party in 1773, throwing 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. And Lewis Carroll 's Alice in Wonderland would say nothing of the Mad Hatter's and March Hare's tea party. Luckily, tea was discovered in 2737 b.c. by a great Chinese emperor named Shen Nung.

One day Shen Nung was boiling water outside when leaves from a nearby bush fell into the open kettle. Before Shen Nung could retrieve the leaves, they began to brew. He smelled the sweet aroma of the mixture and once he tasted it, the world was given tea! Tea is the most popular beverage in the world today-after plain water. It was introduced in Europe in 1610, and until about two hundred years ago, people in many Asian countries used blocks or bricks of tea as money.

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SAFETY PIN

2007-08-14T05:13:00.001-07:00

SAFETY PIN

One day in 1849 Walter Hunt wanted to pay a fifteen-dollar debt to a friend. So he decided to invent something new.
From a piece of brass wire about eight inches long, coiled at the center and shielded at one end, he made the first safety pin. He took out a patent on his invention, sold the rights to it for four hundred dollars, paid his friend back and had three hundred eighty-five dollars to spare.
Then he watched his latest brainstorm go on to become a million dollar money earner for someone else.

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DRAM- dynamic random access memory

2007-08-14T04:21:00.001-07:00

DRAM- dynamic random access memory

Robert Heath Dennard invented the one-transistor dynamic random access memory DRAM in 1967. It has become the standard for the RAM industry and enabled the microcomputer revolution because prior to his invention, computers were too large and heavy to be installed in homes or placed on desktops. Before the early 1970s, computers required separate storage space and dedicated air conditioning units to keep them cool.

Inventor: Robert Heath Dennard
Criteria: First to invent. First to patent.
Birth: September 5, 1932 in Terrell, Texas
Nationality: American
Invention: dynamic random access memory DRAM in 1967
Function: noun / most often called RAM
Definition: A computer memory that provides the main internal storage available to the user for programs and data. A breakthrough that transformed the microelectronics industry in the early 1970s and remains the most popular form of computer memory today.

Internal Combustion Engine

2007-08-14T02:58:00.001-07:00

Internal Combustion Engine

Otto, Nicholaus August ~ Internal Combustion Engine ~ 1876
A German traveling salesman named Nicholaus August Otto constructed the first practical internal combustion engine; it used a four stroke cycle of a piston to draw a fuel-air mixture into a cylinder, compress

it, mechanically capture energy after ignition, and expel the exhaust before beginning the cycle anew. Issued (US) patent 194,047 on August 14, 1877. Source: Greatest Engineering Achievements

Inventor: Nicolaus August Otto
Criteria: Modern prototype. First practical. Entrepreneur.
Birth: June 14, 1832 in Holzhausen, Germany
Death: January 28, 1891 in Cologne, Germany
Nationality: German
Invention: internal-combustion engine in 1876
Function: noun / Otto cycle / four-stroke cycle / gas-motor engine
Definition: A four stroke cycle of a piston to draw a fuel-air mixture into a cylinder, compress it, mechanically capture energy after ignition, and expel the exhaust before beginning the cycle anew.
Patent: 194,047 (US) issued August 14, 1877