Category Archives: Inventions

Bicycle

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Bicycle

Ring, ring, goes the bell on the bicycle.

  • Bicycles are also known as ‘bikes’, ‘pushbikes’, ‘pedal bikes’, ‘pedal cycles’ and ‘cycles’.
  • Bicycles are vehicles that are pedal powered and typically have a frame, two wheels, two pedals and a chain that connects to the pedals and the wheels.
  • Bicycles are used for transportation, mail delivery, leisure and entertainment and have many other uses as well as advantages, which include convenience, less traffic congestion, and health and economical benefits, with some cities having street bicycle rental stations to encourage tourists and commuters to use less polluting and congesting forms of transport.
  • Bicycles have changed the way we live, giving increased mobility to generations of people, which has helped reduce poverty in some areas, given increased freedom to women in the late 1800s and impacted on the way they dressed, and is an incredibly efficient means of transport, with an estimated one billion bicycles worldwide, half of them in China, and twice as many bicycles than cars in the world.
  • It is believed that the earliest two wheeled human powered vehicle was invented by the German Baron Karl Drais von in 1817, which was known as a ‘Laufmaschine’ (running machine) and also called a ‘dandy horse’ or ‘hobby horse’ and it wasn’t until the 1860s that pedals were added to the bicycle design although who did it first is debated, and there are also unreliable reports of earlier instances of pedals.

Bicycle, black, blue, pink, white, girl, boy, two, double, chain, parts, full, row, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Laufmaschines (early bicycles) became known as ‘velocipedes’, meaning ‘fast foot’ in Latin, while the name ‘bicycle’ wasn’t used until the 1870s for the high wheel bicycle, also known as a ‘penny-farthing’.
  • When a cyclist rides a bicycle at 16 to 24 km/h (10 to 15 mph), they use only as much energy as when walking.
  • The fastest unpaced speed record on a bicycle on a flat surface is 133 km/hour (83 miles/hour), a record gained in 2009 by Sam Whittingham, a Canadian.
  • In recent years, 130 million bicycles are sold annually, and China makes two thirds of the world’s bicycles, even though the percentage of Chinese commuters riding bicycles has significantly decreased since 1998.
  • In some countries is illegal to not wear helmets and/or be equipped with bells and/or lights, as a safety precaution for the cyclist and others.
Bibliography:
Bellis M, History of the Bicycle, 2013, About.com, < http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/History-Of-The-Bicycle.htm>
Bicycle, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle>

 

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Tongs

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Tongs

Pass the tongs and the facts.

  • Tongs are tools used to handle items, and generally move the item from one place to another, or turn things, like a piece of meat on a barbecue.
  • Tongs usually have flat ends to pick up items without damaging them and to grip onto the items easily, however, some tongs have claws or toothed ends to grab more bulky and slippery items.
  • Tongs are used mainly for handling food or hot items.
  • Modern tongs are usually made from plastic, metal, stainless steel, or other material, depending on their purpose.
  • Originally, tongs were probably wood sticks that eventually became metal sticks around 3000 BC to handle hot items in a fire.

Tongs, Green, metal, white, Plastic, Steel, Cooking, Barbeque, Small< large, lots, collection, 5, open, closed, Ten Random Facts

  • Tongs are used to extend the hand or as a replacement handler for potentially dangerous items.
  • Tongs usually have a sprung end so that the operator is required to squeeze the middle of the tongs to grab hold of an item, or they have a pivot which requires the user to squeeze the handles at the end to grip onto items, these being more effective at holding heavy items due to the extra force able to be applied.
  • There are many types of tongs including barbecue tongs, salad tongs, blacksmith tongs, crucible tongs, ice cube tongs, sugar cube tongs and fire tongs.
  • Tongs are often called ‘a pair of tongs’ and the word comes from the Old English, ‘tange’ or ‘tang’, meaning ‘that which bites’.
  • There is evidence of Egyptians using metal rods and tong like tools to hold objects over fire, in around 1450 BC.
Bibliography:
Garcia C, 2013, Who Invented Tongs?, EHow,  <http://www.ehow.com/about_4743519_who-invented-tongs.html>

Camera

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Camera

Click… Beep Beep BeepBeepBeep… FLASH!

  • Cameras are used to capture a real life image, that could be still or moving, and they have been used for hundreds of years, however their form has changed many times, to what we see commonly today, the digital camera.
  • The principal of cameras was first recorded in the 400s BC by Mo Ti, who was a Chinese philosopher; the principal being a projected, inverted image that comes from the captured light of an object through a tiny hole in a dark place, which is known as the pinhole principal.
  • The first camera that was transportable was designed by Johann Zahn in 1685, although more less practical cameras had been designed.
  • Olden day cameras were boxes with a lens and a glass screen, and used light sensitive material to capture the image, which could be damaged if exposed to too much light.
  • Different types of cameras have different advantages, such as some cameras take better quality images while other cameras have a better focus.

Camera, FujiFilm, Canon, Black,Silver, Expensive, Three, Small, Big, Quality, Strap, Ten Random Facts

  • An early camera, known as ‘camera obscura’, Latin for ‘dark chamber’ or ‘dark room’, was only used to project a copy of the real life image so artists would be able to copy from the projected image with precision.
  • Cameras originally captured images on light sensitive material, later known as film, in a black and white format, but in the late 1800s a chemical process involving dyes was invented so cameras could capture coloured images, although it wasn’t until many decades later that amateur photographers used coloured film.
  • Cameras can be found in many places and are used for many things such as checking a moving vehicle’s speed, monitoring shops in case of robberies and capturing images or movies, and are now included on most mobile phones.
  • Cameras often come with artificial lighting, known as a ‘flash’, so objects appear clearer.
  • Modern digital cameras, which are the most common cameras in use today, use an electronic image sensor to capture the image, which is then stored in its memory until it is downloaded to an electronic device like a computer or printer.
Bibliography:
Bellis, M 2013, History of Photography, About.com, <http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm>
Camera, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera>

Scissors

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Scissors

Snip Snip, Snip Snip.

  • Scissors are two sharp, metal blades attached to two handles that pivot, and are used to cut thin items such as paper or cardboard, although there are many types of scissors that are designed for special functions, including scissors for textile, medical, grooming, metal, food and agricultural purposes.
  • It is estimated that scissors, in a basic shear like form made from one piece of metal, were invented in 1500 BC in Egypt, and further modifications to the design, allowing a cross cut action, were made by the Romans in 100 AD.
  • The term ‘scissors’ comes from the Latin word ‘cisoria’, meaning ‘cutting instrument’.
  • Originally, scissor blades were made from bronze, and later iron, and are usually now made from stainless steel with plastic handles, although sometimes rubber is added to the plastic to provide better grip.
  • Pivot action scissors were being used by the 6th century, and in 1761, Robert Hinchliffe is said to have started the production of cast metal scissors, similar to our modern day scissors.

Scissors, Metal, Shears, Lots, Many, Ten Random Facts

  • Scissors are typically no more than 15 -20 cm (6 – 7.8 inches) in length, as bigger sizes are usually called ‘shears’.
  • The finger holes in the handles of scissors are typically the same size, whereas shears usually have the typical finger hole in one handle, and then have a larger hole in the other to accommodate more fingers which allows for extra cutting strength.
  • Most scissor blades should be sharpened regularly and sometimes oiled, at the pivot point, for smoother cutting.
  • Typical scissors are for right handed people, so special left handed scissors with the blades mirror reversed are manufactured, which makes cutting easier and neater for left handed people.
  • Scissors that have the pivot closer to the end of the blade and further away from the handle increases the cutting strength of the scissors.
Bibliography:
Facts about Scissors and Shears, n.d, Canada Cutlery, <http://www.canadacutlery.com/product/facts_on_scissors.pdf>
Scissors, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scissors>

Wheel

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Wheel

Roll, roll, roll.

  • Wheels are generally circular in shape, and rotate, primarily on an axis, and are said to be one of the most important inventions of all time.
  • A basic standard wheel has a rim which is the outside of the wheel, spokes that attach to the rim and go to the centre of the wheel, and a central hub where the spokes meet and the axle is held.
  • Wheels are most commonly found on transport, which allow the vehicle to move, although they are used in many other applications including machinery.
  • Modern wheels are made from metal, although they were originally made from wood, and they often have a rubber tyre on the outside of the rim of the wheel to protect the metal wheel and to reduce shock from bumps, holes and rocks on the ground.
  • Wheels are often used in transportation, farming and industry machines, as well as on moving toys.

Wheel, Blue, Grey, Black, Car, bicycle, Ten random Facts

  • The idea for the wheel is said to have come from the process of moving heavy items by sitting them on logs or similar, and this process was developed further by having a platform that sits on the logs, which eventually became a basic cart.
  • Other inventions such as propellers, jet engines and wind turbines were derived from the idea of the wheel moving on an axis.
  • Evidence of the use of a wheel, a potter’s wheel, dating back to 3500 BC, has been found in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq).
  • Other significant types of wheels throughout history include spinning wheels, water wheels, cogwheels (toothed wheels), steering wheels and grinding wheels.
  • Hub-less wheels do exist and are very eye-catching, although they are not widely used due to their practical limitations and expensive manufacturing process.
Bibliography:
Wheel, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel>

Grater

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Grater

Grate the cheese.

  • A grater is also known as a shredder, and by pressing the food against the grater and moving the food down along it, it shreds the food into smaller pieces.
  • Graters come in a wide variety of shapes and styles, including the traditional box grater, and the plane grater, although most have a steel plate with sharp edged holes.
  • It is believed that French François Boullier invented the grater in the 1540s, due to a surplus supply of cheese, although the surplus was short lived, and so graters were very rarely used in the following centuries.
  • Due to the significant excess of cheese in the early 1500s, much of the cheese hardened due to longer storage times, so grating the cheese made it more usable.
  • Graters can cut fingers or knuckles if you strike your hand on one, so care needs to be taken while grating.

Cheese , Grater, Shredder, Metal, Plastic, Tupperware, Handheld, White Stand, Ten Random Facts

  • Coconut graters are used as musical instruments in Jamaica.
  • The first grater was made out of pewter, a type of metal mainly made of tin, and can be seen in the Muséum du Havre in France.
  • Graters were reintroduced in the 1920s by Jeffery Taylor from Philadelphia, a cheese shop owner, after he read about Boullier’s invention, and his first grater was said to be a sharpened metal shower drain.
  • Cheese; some vegetables; citrus rinds; chocolate; and other hard, or semi hard foods can be grated, which allows them to cook or melt more quickly, or they can be used as a garnish.
  • Graters became popular in the Great Depression because grated cheese appeared to have greater volume, which was an advantage to those who could not afford large  quantities of food.
Bibliography,
Grater, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grater>
Salar, S 2007, The Cheese Grater, Magnetic Salmon and Other Little Known Facts, <http://magneticsalmon.blogspot.com.au/2007/12/cheese-grater.html>
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