Showing posts with label Invention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Invention. Show all posts

June 26 - Invention of the Toothbrush

   Posted on June 26, 2022     


This is an update of my post published on June 26, 2011:



People used chew sticks, toothpicks, and even cloths to clean their teeth.

They rubbed sulfur oil, salt water (saline), or baking soda on their teeth.


They even frayed one end of a twig from a nice-smelling bush or tree to clean their teeth and freshen their breath.

But, until this day in 1498, people didn't brush their teeth.

The Emperor of China patented a toothbrush made of bamboo with stiff hogback bristles attached at right angles to the bamboo. Tooth hygiene was much easier with a brush rather than a stick, and word of the invention traveled back to Europe and, eventually, all over the world.

Celebrate! Buy new toothbrushes today!

Did you know you should...

  • use a toothbrush with soft nylon bristles.


  • change your toothbrush every 3 to 5 months, plus after every cold or flu.

  • clean your toothbrush with running water after each brushing and allow it to air-dry in an upright position without contacting other toothbrushes.



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June 10 - The “Outlook Envelope” is born!

   Posted on June 10, 2022     


This is an update of my post published on June 10, 2011:



I've heard it said before: just take something that has already been invented, and make it better. Voila! You have a new invention!


That's what Americus Callahan did. On this day in 1902, the Chicago resident received a patent for a windowed envelope, which used to be called an outlook envelope. A section of the envelope was cut out, and (as Callahan suggested), a thin piece of rice paper covered the cutout. The contents of the envelope were protected, and yet the address could be easily read through the transparent paper.

It was a super idea! Although companies now use clear plastic rather than rice paper, the design of today's windowed envelopes is basically the same as Callahan's. And the savings in time, cost, and quality in not having to print or type addresses on envelopes is equally welcome today as it was in the early 1900s!



Celebrate!

To celebrate the then-new outlook envelope, how about reinventing something yourself? What doesn't work quite perfectly in your life? Can you change something to make it faster, cheaper, longer-lasting, more reliable, bigger, smaller, or more personalized?
Or you could try to reinvent your outlook on something. Try to learn something outside your comfort zone. Go somewhere new, talk to new people, try a new hobby. Read a kind of book you've never read before, listen to a kind of music you think you'd probably dislike, or watch a documentary on a topic you've never, ever explored.





Plan ahead:


Check out my Pinterest boards for:

And here are my Pinterest boards for:


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February 26 - Lots of Arms and Very Hot Liquid?

     Posted on February 26, 2022


This is an update of my post published on February 26, 2011:




What has 6 to 20 arms and blows air into hot liquid?

Michael Joseph Owens's glass-blowing machine.

Glass blowing has been practiced since before the ancient Roman Empire, but Owens created a machine that could automatically make more than one bottle at a time. The machine cut loose the finished pieces, which were then carried by conveyor belt to the annealing oven, where they were slowly cooled. (Annealing helps to make glass stronger, less brittle.)


On this date in 1895, Owens received a patent for his invention. A later version of the machine could make four bottles per second. Altogether, Owens received more than 45 patents for glass-blowing apparatus.



Explore some more...


Check out glass blowing by hand on this video.


Here is a video that names the various tools used in hand glass blowing.

Here is a video of a factory making glass bottles. And here is another video with clear information about each step of machine-made glass containers.

 

Maybe there is a glass-blowing shop, class, or museum near you. If so, check it out!
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