I'm
sure you've noticed the difference between “cardboard” cereal
boxes and “cardboard” packing boxes. Cereal boxes don't have to
be super strong, so a single layer of very thick, heavy paper does
the trick. The stuff that makes up cereal boxes is often called
paperboard.
Corrugated
cardboard boxes are ever so much stronger. They are generally made up
of two layers of thick paperboard with a layer of corrugated (rippled
or pleated) paperboard in between.
But
modern-day corrugated cardboard wasn't invented in a single step, of
course. Few things are! Someone in England wanted to make paper
strong enough to stand up as a liner for tall hats and (in 1856)
invented a way to make permanent “pleats” in paperboard by
pressing it with a hot corrugated metal form. On this day in 1871,
Albert Jones of New York City used that corrugation idea but lined
one side of the corrugated paperboard with regular paperboard—
thereby making a material that was even stronger but still flexible.
He used the paper to wrap bottles and glass lantern chimneys. Some
people use one-sided corrugated cardboard to wrap cylindrical things
even today.
But
to make strong cartons, the corrugated cardboard had to be even
thicker, stronger, and more rigid. The last step to making what is
now the most familiar sort of corrugated cardboard was taken by
Oliver Long in 1874, when he lined both sides of the corrugated
paperboard with regular paperboards. Now the cardboard could be made
into cartons and packing boxes!
Humble
inventions that make a big difference...
Look
around you. What sorts of inventions probably didn't get big press
but still made a big difference?
Some
folks at London's Science Museum said that seemingly ordinary things
are often so ingeniously designed that they are manufactured for
years with no substantial design changes. Their list of
humble-yet-important inventions includes pencils, paperclips,
barcodes, ring binders, bubble wrap, snap fasteners, egg cartons,
rubber bands, light bulbs, adhesive tape, coat hangers, Velcro, tin
cans, corkscrews, tissue paper, ballpoint pens, Legos, ear muffs,
Post-it-Notes, umbrellas, six-pack carriers, safety matches, tea
bags, milk cartons, and folding rules. Plus more! What would you
include on the list?
Also on this date:
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