Category Archives: Inventions

Straight Pin

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Straight Pin

There are so many versions of pins! So… which pin is the straight pin?

  • Straight pins are a form of pin, typically used to temporarily keep two or more pieces of material together, and they usually have a head on one end and a sharp point at the other.
  • Today, fabric or other textiles are what straight pins most commonly pin together, however, throughout most of history, most of the time these pins were only used for holding papers or clothing together.
  • ‘Straight pins’ are also known as ‘common pins’ or simply ‘pins’; as well as ‘sewing pins’, when intended for use in the making of textile objects.
  • Straight pins were originally purposed to keep clothes together, known to be in use as far back as Ancient Egypt, and they have since been prominent throughout Medieval Europe and the Renaissance.
  • Originally, bone, iron or thorns were used to make straight pins, however modern varieties are typically made of steel or brass, often with a plastic or glass head.

Straight Pins, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Sewing Pin, Assortment, Coloured, Plain, Facts, Invention

  • Straight pins were originally quite expensive and of high demand, as each pin required handcrafting and most women required one to pin their clothes and accessories together.
  • In the Middle Ages, straight pins could be used to distinguish a person of a specific social class, with nobles affording more intricate and valuable pins.
  • Modern straight pins with metal heads are made by pressing cut pieces of wire into a die or against a hard surface to form the head, and the other end is sharpened, while plastic or glass headed pins are made in a similar way, though the wire is either forced or fused into the head.
  • Straight pins utilised for pinning paper have generally been replaced with staples, while safety pins are now commonly used for pinning clothing items.
  • Many later versions of straight pins were notorious for rusting as its nickel coating flaked off, which led to the introduction of pin cushions containing emery grit to remove said rust.
Bibliography:
Henson B, Sewing Pins – Knowing the Different Types, 2016, Create For Less, http://www.createforless.com/buying-guides/sewing-and-quilting/sewing-pins-types-and-sizes.aspx
Pin, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin
Regency Pins, 2011, The Regency Redingote, https://regencyredingote.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/regency-pins/
Straight Pin, 2016, How Products Are Made, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Straight-Pin.html

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Polymer Banknote

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Polymer Banknote

Polymer banknotes may be uncommon and unfamiliar, but they certainly are not unidentified.

  • Polymer banknotes are an invention used to represent an amount of currency, using flat, generally rectangular, printed notes made of polymer plastic, and they were introduced as a replacement for paper banknotes.
  • ‘Polymer banknotes’ are also known as ‘polymer money’, ‘plastic banknotes’ and ‘plastic money’; and they are particularly difficult to forge, especially with added security features.
  • Together, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian science research centre CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), headed by Australian chemist David Solomon, invented polymer banknotes, releasing the first batch in Australia in 1988, after twenty years of development, and a cost of 20 million Australian dollars.
  • The project to develop polymer banknotes was initiated after a large Australian forgery of newly released paper ones, spanning over 1966 to 1967, mounting to approximately 800,000 Australian dollars worth at the time.
  • The first successful polymer banknote was the Australian ten-dollar note released in 1988, which originally featured an indigenous Australian on one side, and European settlers and a ship on the other, and was issued to commemorate the bicentenary of European settlement in Australia; while a full set, the first in the world, of Australian notes was not released until 1996, after some further improvements were made.
Polymer Banknotes, Money, Australian, Assortment, Plastic, Real, Collection, Types
  • For security purposes, polymer banknotes will often include watermarks; embossing and micro printing among other printing methods; various threads, including magnetic, that are embedded in the note; transparent plastic windows containing an optical variable device (OVD) – an iridescent or holographic image; and other measures, many of which were once unique to polymer money.
  • Traditionally, polymer banknotes are made by inking a plastic film with white, usually leaving a small transparent shape, cutting the film into sheets and printing on them with a variety of inks using diverse range of techniques over multiple processes, and then are varnished and cut.
  • In 2014, only 22 countries were using polymer banknotes, while only a few countries had full sets in circulation, and these included Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Vietnam, Romania, Papua New Guinea and Brunei.
  • The practical advantages of a polymer banknote compared to a paper note include its resistance to water, dirt, burning, tearing and crumpling – general factors that improve note longevity.
  • One of the primary issues against introducing polymer banknotes into many countries is its cost for initial introduction, as well as higher production costs, which in 2011, for Canadian notes was 19 cents per banknote, slightly more than double the cost of paper notes.
Bibliography:
How Plastic Money is Made, 2016, AZO Materials, http://www.azom.com/materials-video-details.aspx?VidID=430
Polymer Banknote, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_banknote
Robertson G, Funny money: How counterfeiting led to a major overhaul of Canada’s money, 2012, The Globe and Mail, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/currencies/funny-money-how-counterfeiting-led-to-a-major-overhaul-of-canadas-money/article554632/?page=all
Spurling T & Solomon D, Proceeds of Crime: How Polymer Banknotes were Invented, 2014, The Conversation, http://theconversation.com/proceeds-of-crime-how-polymer-banknotes-were-invented-34642
Weiczner J, Canada’s Plastic Money Is Stumping Counterfeiters, 2016, Fortune, http://fortune.com/2016/01/15/canadian-dollar-usd-counterfeit/

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Braille

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Braille

Letters aren’t the only way to read – try reading braille!

  • Braille is an alphabet-like system of ‘letters’ that enables the blind or visually impaired to read through the sense of touch, as opposed to sight.
  • Braille primarily translates the letters of a language using a specific placement of raised dots, generally six dots in a two (wide) by three (high) grid, and is usually read by the touch of fingertips.
  • Braille is based on a rejected dot communication system designed by Frenchman Charles Barbier in the the early 1800s, known as ‘Ecriture Nocturne’ or ‘night writing’, developed for use by Napoleon’s soldiers to ‘talk’ with each other without making noise or using light at night.
  • The night writing system became known to Louis Braille, a French boy, in 1821 in Paris, who identified its flaws and by 1824, at age 15, had reworked it into braille for the blind by reducing the grid from twelve to six dots, and encoding letters rather than sounds.
  • Two grades are typically used to classify braille; Grade 1 is usually used for encoding letters, while Grade 2 is generally an abbreviated and shortened version of words, without the need to spell each letter out as found in the first grade; though there is a Grade 3 system, which is usually one’s own shorthand version of the writing system.

Braille, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Embossed, Toilet Block, English

  • Although braille differs in various countries, depending on the language, it is generally ordered and based on the original French version and alphabet, to reduce confusion; while a music notation system is also available, though it has also traditionally varied from country to country.
  • Braille is typically written using a typewriter, embossing printer, or a slate and stylus, although other printers are also used, and various handheld embossing devices with adhesive tape are also manufactured, that are popular for home use.
  • In both the United Kingdom and the United States, the large majority of visually impaired people cannot read braille, and the number of people learning the system has declined due in part, to new technologies like computerised screen readers being utilised.
  • Medicine labels in the United Kingdom are required to be embossed with braille, and while some other manufactured products and public signs include this writing system, most products and signs do not.
  • According to statistics, blind people fluent in braille are far more likely to be employed, than those who are not.
Bibliography:
Braille, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille
Braille: Deciphering the Code, 2014, American Foundation for the Blind, http://braillebug.afb.org/braille_deciphering.asp
What is Braille?, 2015, American Foundation for the Blind, http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/braille/what-is-braille/123

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Pokémon

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Pokémon

Gotta Catch ’em All – the Pokémon slogan.

  • Pokémon is a major video gaming franchise published by Nintendo and produced by Game Freak, of which the main series has been and is released on Nintendo’s handheld consoles; and the game developers, Game Freak, nearly became bankrupt due to the lengthy production of the first games.
  • Pokémon follows a role-playing game format were the player is depicted as a human, named a ‘trainer’, that travels the land to find, capture, battle, train, evolve, and trade the fictional creatures named “Pokémon”.
  • The term “Pokémon” is a contraction, derived from the Japanese name “Poketto Monsutā”, meaning “Pocket Monsters”, and during early development the game was known as “Capsule Monsters”.
  • The idea for Pokémon was created by video game designer Satoshi Tajiri, from Japan, however he was unsuccessful in marketing it to Nintendo for development, until Shigeru Miyamoto, also a Japanese video game designer, identified its potential and initiated its development around 1990.
  • Pokémon was inspired by the hobby of insect collecting and the aspiration for the creator to introduce the new generation to an equally pleasurable hobby involving creatures, in a quickly industrialising Japan.

Pokemon, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Franchise, Video Game, Original, Logo, RPG, Nintendo, Pocket Monsters, Pikachu

Pokémon Logo
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company
  • Pokémon has been adapted from the handheld games into multiple spin-off versions, including a unique and anticipated massive multiplayer location-based game, and it has been adapted into film, anime, manga, trading cards, figurines and more.
  • The first Pokémon game was released in early 1996, exclusive to Japan as a Red version and Green version for the Game Boy handheld device, and it originally experienced average sales until the Japanese magazine CoroCoro began a competition allowing a small number of people to obtain a previously unknown bonus character, which subsequently boosted sales and general popularity.
  • The general aesthetics of the first Pokémon versions were below average, however these aesthetics were pleasingly enhanced in the similar Blue version, which had a limited release in 1996, and in the sequels Gold and Silver, both released commercially in 1999 in Japan.
  • Pokémon risked changes to its visuals on its importation to America to better cater for its audience, but it was eventually released faithful to the originals under the Red and Blue versions in 1998.
  • As of the end of 2015, the Pokémon franchise consisted of 721 known individual Pokémon species across six generations, and a total of twenty-four main-series games.
Bibliography:
20 Years of Pokémon, 2016, Nintendo/Creatures Inc., http://www.pokemon20.com/lite/timeline.html
History of Pokémon, 2016, Bulbapedia, http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/History_of_Pok%C3%A9mon
Pokémon, 2016, Bulbapedia, http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon
Pokémon, 2016, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon

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Fountain

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Fountain

You can watch fountains for simply ages.

  • Fountains are structures that generally pour or spurt water, often upwards, and then typically collects in a reservoir.
  • Fountains are commonly used for ornamental purposes, although they can be used as drinkable water sources or to bathe.
  • The earliest known fountains were created by Ancient Greeks in the 500s BC, and they utilised gravity to pull water from aqueducts that were situated at a higher level, to make drinking water available to residents of the cities.
  • Fountains can have water that sprays, bubbles, or overflows, and they are usually found out of doors, however the may be installed inside buildings.
  • Large public drinking water fountains were mostly discontinued by the 1900s, however small variants emerged, typically able to be activated by the user, and modern ones are commonly found in parks, schools and sports centres.

Fountain, Water, Spray, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Architecture, Contemporary, Melbourne Australia

  • In 2015, ‘King Fahd’s Fountain’, which spurts salt water in the air to heights of 260 metres (853 feet) or more, was the highest, permanent, constant fountain in the world, and it is located in the Red Sea in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East, and started operating in 1985.
  • Fountains are often ornately sculptural or artistic in form, and can be stylised and decorated, however more contemporary pieces are generally sleeker and plainer.
  • Some fountains are engineered to coincide with music, and also lights, using a computer-based program for spectacular displays.
  • Some fountains are used as a method for humans to cool down during hotter days, with people being able to move under the sprays of water.
  • Modern fountains usually utilise pumps, typically powered by electricity, often to spray water in an upward direction, and those used for ornamental purposes typically reuse the same water by recirculating it.
Bibliography:
Fountain, Wikipedia, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain
Moffat C, Fountains: Sculpture of Water, Bronze & Stone, 2010, Fountains in Art History, http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/sculpture/Fountains.html

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Soap Dispenser

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Soap Dispenser, Liquid, Invention, Container, Trivia, Ten Random Facts

Soap dispensers are just one of those inventions you take for granted.

  • Soap dispensers are an invention that stores and distributes soap using a mechanical function.
  • Soap dispensers typically feature a pump or squeeze bottle to release soap, with a nozzle often protruding from the top.
  • Plastic is commonly the material used to make a soap dispenser and is often disposable; however glass and ceramics can also be used.
  • Many soap dispensers, especially those for public use, have a nozzle that foams liquid soap, by utilising air.
  • Soap dispensers will typically hold liquid soap, while some are designed to hold foam or powdered soap.

Soap Dispenser, Liquid, Invention, Container, Trivia, Ten Random Facts

  • Soap dispensers were used in the early 1800s for liquid soap used in hospitals and other facilities; however these were notorious for being clogged by the thick soap.
  • Liquid soap was first patented in 1865 though used earlier, and while it was used in commercial settings, it was not until more than a century later, in 1980, that it was introduced into the home market by Minnetoka Coporation, and as a result, soap dispensers became more commonly used.
  • Minnetoka Corporation, to hinder other companies copying their new liquid soap idea, purchased all of the stock of pump mechanisms for soap dispensers that they could, forcing their competitors to wait a whole year before they could launch a competing product.
  • Soap dispensers are available in a wide variety of shapes, colours and styles, and decorative ones can sometimes be purchased in a matching bathroom set without soap, which is to be added later, while cheap plastic ones from supermarkets usually contain soap.
  • Automatic soap dispensers, activated using sensors, where first patented in 1989, invented by Guey-Chuan Shiau, and have since been a commercial success, and are especially prominent in public bathrooms.
Bibliography:
Bellis M, The History of Soaps and Detergents, 2016, About Inventors, http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsoap.htm
Cretu D, Who Invented Liquid Soap and Why?, 2013, Quora, https://www.quora.com/Who-invented-liquid-soap-and-why
Soap Dispenser, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_dispenser

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