Category Archives: Inventions

Ballpoint Pen

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Ballpoint Pen

Do you ever take ballpoint pens for granted?

  • A ballpoint pen is a pen that distributes ink along a writing surface, and it has a very small ball in the writing tip that moves in the process.
  • ‘Ballpoint pens’ are also known as ‘biros’, ‘ball pens’ and ‘Biromes’.
  • The main design of a ballpoint pen originated from an 1888 patent for a pen that could write on leather, by leather tanner John Loud, an American, but the design was unsuitable for writing on paper.
  • Practical ballpoint pens were patented in 1938 by an editor of a Hungarian newspaper, László Bíró, which led to the common name of the modern pen, ‘biro’.
  • Ballpoint pens were introduced to America by Milton Reynolds, an American entrepreneur, who changed Bíró’s design in the mid 1940s, although it wasn’t until the 1950s that a more reliable pen was invented by Marcel Bich in France, that did not leak and had smooth ink flow, and was sold under the name ‘Bic’.

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  • Ballpoint pens can be disposable or refillable, often with a removable lid or a replaceable tip and reservoir, as well as retractable tips that retract back into the pen cylinder.
  • Ballpoint pens are the most commonly used writing instrument, and they are also used by some artists in their artwork, although any mistakes made generally cannot be removed, unless a pen with erasable ink is used.
  • Ballpoint pens range in colour and designs, and most often have ink coloured blue or black, and the next most popular ink colours are red and green.
  • Due to the availability of mass production, ballpoint pens have become increasingly cheaper and are more commonly used.
  • Ballpoint pens range in numerous shapes and sizes, leading some to become collector’s items; while some brands have been featured in the United State’s New York Museum of Modern Art, including the Bic Cristal pen.

 

Bibliography:
Ballpoint Pen, 2006, The Great Idea Finder, http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/ballpen.htm
Ballpoint Pen, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballpoint_pen
The History of the Ballpoint Pen, 2002, Cosmopolis, http://www.cosmopolis.ch/english/cosmo30/history_ballpoint_pen.htm

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Origami

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Origami

Did you know that there is an art to folding paper? Well, it is called origami.

  • Origami is the art of folding paper, generally without cutting or gluing, that is believed to have originally started in the first or second century AD, in China.
  • Origami generally involves folding a square piece of paper into a two or three dimensional object, while the most common or well known folded object is a paper crane (bird) or ‘orizuru’.
  • In the sixth century AD, origami was introduced to Japanese people, and it eventually became ingrained into the Japanese culture, so much so, that it has been, and is still strongly associated with Japan.
  • Origami paper sizes typically range from 2.5 to 25 centimetre (1 to 10 inch) squares, although they can be larger, and the most common size is 15 cm (5.9 inches).
  • Although folding paper in origami is typically performed by hand only on a smooth surface, tools including a scorer, embosser, paper clips and tweezers can be used for better folds or holds.

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  • Some origami models have moving mechanisms once interacted with, and designs include simple jumping frogs and flapping wings to complex models of a figure playing a paper instrument.
  • ‘Origami’ comes from the Japanese words ‘ori’ and ‘kami’ meaning ‘fold’ and ‘paper’ respectively.
  • The final design size of an origami model is dependent on the paper size; and a number of computer programs have been designed that can simulate the art of paper folding, and can also create designs.
  • Origami has a strong link to mathematics, and can be seen used in practical solutions such as airbags in vehicles, and it has been a common subject of copyright issues, as designs have been often stolen and republished.
  • Origami paper is available in a wide range of colours and patterns, that usually range between 55 to 90 gsm in weight, and the paper is often thin, allowing for ease of folding.
Bibliography:
History, n.d, Kid’s Web Japan, http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/origami/origami01.html
Origami, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origami

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Lawn Mower

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Lawn Mower

Now you can mow your lawn with knowledge with these lawn mower facts!

  • Lawn mowers are mechanical or robotic devices used to cut grass, often lawns or grass fields, using blades.
  • Lawn mowers can be powered by hand, electricity or a fuel motor.
  • Lawn mower blades generally spin on a vertical or horizontal axis, and are named ‘rotary mowers’ and ‘reel mowers’ respectively.
  • Lawn mowers were first patented in 1830, by Englishman Edwin Budding, from England’s Gloucestershire in Europe, to replace the scythe, and Budding’s invention was inspired by the cloth cross-cutting machines that were used in the local mills.
  • Reel lawn mowers often have three to seven ribbon like blades that are connected together in a cylindrical formation, while those with rotary blades are typically limited to one relatively flat blade that attaches to the underneath of the machine.

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  • Steam powered lawn mowers were first patented in 1893 by James Sumner in England, although they could only be used after a few hours of heating to allow for pressure buildup.
  • Lawn mowers can propel items like stones, at high speed, that can cause damage, and while many other mowing related injuries can be prevented from wearing correct footwear, in 2004, at least 80,000 people in the United States were injured by mowers or mowing activity.
  • Many lawn mowers emit high quantities of pollution, comparable to domestic cars, and often produce loud noises that can be irritating and damage hearing.
  • Lawn mowers often consist of a motor, blades and a box called a ‘catcher’ that collects grass cuttings, although hand powered reel bladed machines typically have blades and a handle, and sometimes a catcher, although a motor is absent.
  • Ride-on mowers, that allow for a person to sit on the machine, are useful for mowing large areas, while robotic lawn mowers are becoming increasingly popular and only require minimal human interaction.
Bibliography:
Lawn Mower, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_mower
Mower History, 2014, The Old Lawn Mower Club, http://www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/mowinfo/mowhist.htm

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Shaving Cream

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Shaving Cream

Have you ever thought about the invention of shaving cream?

  • Shaving cream is a foamy mixture placed on the body, typically the face, during the process of removing, or shaving, hairs.
  • ‘Shaving cream’ is also known as ‘shaving foam’.
  • Shaving cream is typically used with a razor to create an easier and smoother cutting process and to help protect the skin from the razor blade.
  • Before shaving cream, a type of soap made from animal fat and wood ash was used in a similar way, and was invented thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia, now modern day Middle East, by Sumerians.
  • Shaving cream was originally manufactured as a solid prism, like soap blocks, and an early foaming soap for shaving purposes was produced in 1840, while in the 1900s the products became more foamy and were generally applied by brush.

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  • Modern day shaving cream is most often bought in cylindrical cans, that are pressurised, and have a spray function and nozzle.
  • Shaving cream that expands against a change of pressure was invented in 1949 by the American healthcare company Carter-Wallace, and quickly became very popular, although gases emitted from the pressurised cans were later considered environmentally unfriendly, so the propellants were eventually changed.
  • Shaving cream is generally made of water, oils, soap and other agents used primarily for hygiene.
  • Shaving cream is usually white in colour and has a texture of cream or foam, and it can also be a gel-like substance.
  • Shaving cream products need to be tested before being being released to customers, for the size of the foam once emitted, rate of absorption, water purity, and pH levels, and the standards are set by agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Bibliography:
Shaving Cream, 2014, How Products are Made, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Shaving-Cream.html
Shaving Cream, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaving_cream
History of Shaving Cream, Part 1 (of 1), 2012, Perfect Shave, http://perfectshave.com/history-of-shaving-cream-part-1-of-1/

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Hammer

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Hammer

Hear those hammers striking iron early in the morning.

  • Hammers are tools used primarily to imply a sharp force on to an object, often to force an item into another.
  • Hammers are often used to secure nails, shape metal or apply components, as well as crush and destroy objects.
  • Hammers have been used since the Stone Ages, and were made of rock, used for carving and breaking items including stone, wood and bone.
  • Hammers most often require a human force to become useful, although mechanical and electrical versions are available.
  • Hammers generally are made of a handle and a head, and the head is often shaped and has a flat sided knob that often impacts the item, and sometimes a claw on the opposite end.

Hammer, many, Four, Claw, Mallet, Flat, Knob, Invention, Construction, Ten Random Facts,

  • The head of hammers are generally made of metal, often steel, due to having a suitable mass, although they can be wooden, and these have a softer impact which helps to prevent damage to the item being hit.
  • The claw of a hammer is commonly used to grasp unwanted nails and remove them from the driven object, and there is increased power due to the leverage occurring.
  • Titanium hammer heads have been proven to absorb most recoil from the force of the impact, with recoil being up to ten times greater in typical steel heads.
  • Hammers are often used to symbolise mining, industrial and manufacturing workplaces, and they were adapted as a close combat weapon, used in the late medieval times, although they were larger and heavier than the modern device.
  • The most common style is the claw hammer, that typically weighs between 455 to 680 grams (16 to 24 ounces).

 

Bibliography:
Different Types of Hammers, 2014, Diydata, http://www.diydata.com/tool/hammer/hammers.php
Hammer, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer

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Can Opener

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Can Opener

How would you open a can, without a can opener?

    • Can openers are tools, typically used to open cans, usually in a culinary environments like the food industry and domestic situations.
    • ‘Can openers’ are also known as ‘tin openers’, and are often made of metal such as stainless steel, or plastic, although the cutter is generally metal.
    • While preserved food in cans dates back to the mid to late 1700s and the process became successful, patented, and popular in the early 1800s, can openers were not invented until approximately 50 years later, and were most likely not invented earlier due to the heavy thickness of the iron that the cans were made from.
    • Can openers replaced the common hammer and chisel method of opening a can, and were first invented around the 1850s with a leverage mechanism shaped like a claw.
    • Modern can openers typically involve a sharp metal rotating disc that cuts through cans when moved along the edge.

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  • William Lyman, an American inventor from Connecticut’s Meriden, in the United States, is said to have invented the first can opener with a rotating wheel, in 1870, and it is this basic principal which most modern designs use.
  • Early can openers were originally quite dangerous to use, and this problem was fixed by an improved cutting technique and design.
  • Electrically operated can openers were not popular when first invented in 1931, but they were redesigned in 1956 by at least two different companies of which only one became popular.
  • Can openers often use a scissor like mechanism with two handles that pivot and close two discs onto the can, one of which rolls around the can, and the other cuts, both of which move due to the user turning a protruding handle.
  • Can openers have become less essential due to many cans now having their own ring pull lid or pull open top, that easily opens the can without a special tool.
Bibliography:
Can Opener, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can_opener
The Can Opener Wasn’t Invented Until 48 Years After the Invention of the Can, 2012, Today I Found Out, http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/06/the-can-opener-wasnt-invented-until-48-years-after-the-invention-of-the-can/

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