Tag Archives: Invention

Napkin

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How would you politely wipe your face without a napkin?

  • Napkins are pieces of material used to politely remove food from one’s face and hands.
  • ‘Napkins’ are also known as ‘face towels’ and ‘serviettes’, and are most commonly manufactured white, as the colour symbolises cleanliness and gives a fresh feel.
  • Napkins are typically made from fabric, that can be washed and reused; or paper, that are usually disposed of after use.
  • Napkins are often square or rectangular in shape; often patterned in design; and are commonly folded for aesthetic purposes.
  • ‘Napkin’ derives from the word ‘nape’, the Old French word for a tablecloth or towel, that originally comes from the Latin word for map, ‘mappa’, and ‘kin’ is the word for ‘little’ in Middle English.

Napkin, White, Paper, Disposable, Pile, Ten Random Facts, Many, Culinary, Invention

  • For table settings, napkins are generally placed to the left of the fork on the table; in the middle of a plate; wrapped around cutlery; grouped together in a specially designed holder; or placed in a ring usually to the left of the fork.
  • Early napkins are believed to have originated as slices of a type of bread, used by those from ancient Greece; ancient Chinese used paper; while ancient Romans are said to have used cloth, that eventually became popular by the 1500s.
  • Napkins normally range in sizes of 13 by 13 centimetres (5 by 5 inches), up to 51 by 56 centimetres (20 by 22 inches).
  • Napkins come in a variety of colours and patterns, can be customised with text and imagery, and are not always strictly a rectangular or square shape.
  • Napkins are often folded into triangles, but also many other shapes, often utilising origami methods to create flowers. cranes and other designs, and paper ones are often purchased already folded in quarters.
Bibliography:
Napkin, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napkin
Napkins, 2014, Napkin Folding Styles, http://www.napkinfoldingstyles.com/napkins/

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Hair Dryer

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Hair Dryer

Be careful not to mess up your hair with a hair dryer.

  • Hair dryers are electrical machines used to dry and evaporate water molecules in hair or other materials, using air flow.
  • A ‘hair dryer’ is also known as a ‘blowdryer’ and a ‘blow dryer’.
  • Hair dryers typically contain a motor that runs a fan, that blows air across hot, electricity-powered wires to produce a warm flow of air.
  • Hair dryers were first invented in 1888 by French hairstylist Alexandre Godefroy, and although his invention produced heat, it did not blow air.
  • Hair dryers are often made with attachments that may spread air, that helps to maintain hair shape; or focus air, which allows quicker drying.

Hairdryer, BVreville, Compact Express, Black, Wire, Blue, Navy, Ten Random Facts, Electronics, Device, Machine, Mechanical, Hair, Beauty

  • Early hair dryers were typically large and long, in an upside-down bowl shape, and were used by placing one’s head underneath the air-blowing opening.
  • Vacuum cleaners are said to have been used for hair drying purposes, before the introduction of hair dryers.
  • Hair dryers were originally designed from heavy materials including metal, but they became more practical and lightweight with the introduction of plastic.
  • A handheld hair dryer was invented by Gabriel Kazanjian, an inventor from America, in 1908, that used heated air flow with a fan, which is the basis of our modern devices.
  • Hair dryers resulted in hundreds of annual electrocutions up until significant legislation was set up in the 1970s and the 1990s, and due to the safety regulations, they are now considered a safe appliance to use with very few related deaths occurring.

 

Bibliography:
Gross J, Who made that hair dryer?, 2013, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/magazine/who-made-that-hair-dryer.html?_r=0
Hair Dryer, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_dryer

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Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

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Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

Spreadable chocolate and nuts is hazelnut chocolate spread.

  • Hazelnut chocolate spread, also known as ‘chocolate spread’, is a cocoa flavoured substance that is typically known by the famous brand name ‘Nutella’.
  • Hazelnut chocolate spread typically contains oil, sugar, cocoa, milk powder and hazelnuts, as well as a few other ingredients, and is usually made by extracting the cocoa and processing the hazelnuts, then mixing the items with the other ingredients, into a paste.
  • Hazelnut chocolate spread was first invented by Italian confectioner Pietro Ferrero, in Italy’s Piedmont, after World War II, to give people an affordable chocolate treat.
  • The first invented hazelnut chocolate spread was originally solid, known as ‘Pasta Gianduja’, which was first sold in 1946, and later altered so that it became spreadable, which was known as ‘Supercrema’ in 1951.
  • Hazelnut chocolate spread is commonly used on wheat-based items, such as bread, waffles, crumpets and scones.

Hazelnut Chocolate Spread, Nutella, Brown, Hoembrand, Australia, Paste, Condiment, Dollop, Ten Random Facts, Foods, Culinary

  • In 1964, ‘Supercrema’ was improved and released as ‘Nutella’, by Michele Ferrero, Pietro’s son, which is the original, and leading hazelnut chocolate spread brand.
  • Hazelnut chocolate spread has been previously marketed as a healthy item, due to the healthy hazelnuts, but generally the product actually contains a large quantity of sugar and fat.
  • Hazelnut chocolate spread was originally targeted at all ages, but later primarily at children, who are one of the main consumers of the spread.
  • Hazelnut chocolate spread is high in fat, sugar, and manganese and is a good source of vitamin E, copper and iron.
  • Although hazelnut chocolate spread originated in Italy, it entered the market in the United States of America in 1983, and it is now sold around the world under different names, recipes and brands, by different companies.

 

Bibliography:
History of Hazelnut Chocolate Spread, 2013, Nutilight, http://www.nutilight.com/#!HISTORY-ON-HAZELNUT-CHOCOLATE-SPREAD/cqpw/6136BBEF-617B-4315-9DA2-818B42B7439D
Mitzman D, Nutella: How the world went nuts for a hazelnut spread, 2014, BBC News Magazine, http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27438001
Nutella, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutella

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Chisel

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Chisel

Chisels, in the wrong hands, could destroy your creation.

  • Chisels are hand tools used to carve or cut objects or materials.
  • Chisels are most commonly used in the carving of wood, metal or stone, and are commonly used by woodworkers and stonemasons.
  • Chisels are typically accompanied with a force, either hand-propelled or mechanical, such as a hammer, to complete a carving action.
  • Chisels are generally made of a metal such as steel, with a wooden, plastic or metal grip.
  • Chisels are most often used to remove small to medium sized parts in projects, including models, devices or sculptures.

Chisel, Blue, Handle, Tool, Carpentry, Marples, Steel, Metal, Ten Random Facts

  • Chisels often have a rectangular shaped piece of metal that is quite flat and very sharp on the end, with a central upwards slope, although the ends can be various shapes, including v-shaped, and different shapes are used for different purposes.
  • Chisels originate from approximately 8000 BC, initially using a flint base material, and the appearance and use has remained virtually unchanged throughout the years.
  • Chisels come in a variety of sizes, which can make the difference between a perfect or destroyed piece of work.
  • ‘Chisel’ comes from the Old French word ‘cisel’, and originally from ‘cisellum’, which is from the common form of Latin, meaning ‘cutting tool’.
  • Chisels are often incorrectly believed to be an easy tool to master, however mastering the tool can take years of practice.
Bibliography:
Chisel, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chisel
Lee E, History of the Chisel, 2014, eHow, http://www.ehow.com/about_4681861_history-chisel.html
What is a Chisel?, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-chisel.htm

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Barrel of Monkeys

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Barrel of Monkeys

It is ‘more fun than a barrel of monkeys’.

  • Barrel of Monkeys is a game or toy that contains plastic linkable monkeys and a container that they are held in.
  • The main object of the Barrel of Monkeys game is to make the longest monkey chain by linking the arms, before dropping any.
  • Barrel of Monkeys was invented in 1965 by Leonard Marks, who came from New York’s Roslyn, in the United States, who is said to have sold the game to Lakeside Toys around that time.
  • Barrel of Monkeys was most likely an improvement on a similar form of entertainment of detachable hooks and links, that was possibly first invented in 1953 by Lawrence Reed from the United States, and was patented in 1955.
  • It is believed that ‘Barrel of Monkeys’ was originally to be named ‘Barrel of Fun’, but due to copyright issues it was named after a well known phrase.

Barrel of Monkeys, chain, coloured, blue, red, green, yellow, assorted, plastic, game, Milton Bradley, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • The monkeys in the Barrel of Monkeys game were originally, until 1968, stored in cardboard cylinders, but this was changed to a plastic barrel.
  • Barrel of Monkeys traditionally contains twelve monkeys, though twenty-four is the barrel’s capacity, and the monkeys are generally coloured similar to the barrel – red, blue, green or yellow.
  • Barrel of Monkeys is manufactured by the Milton Bradley Company, which in 2014 was owned by the game and toy corporation Hasbro.
  • Two Barrel of Monkeys’ monkeys are said to be able to be linked in eighty different ways, using arms, legs, heads and the like, and they can been used in 3D models to create polyhedral chemical structure models of viruses and proteins.
  • In 2011, Barrel of Monkeys was given the 53rd place in the ‘All-TIME 100 Greatest Toys’ list.
Bibliography:
Barrel of Monkeys: One of the All-TIME 100 greatest toys, n.d., Answers, http://invent.answers.com/toys-and-games/barrel-of-monkeys-one-of-the-all-time-100-greatest-toys
Barrel of Monkeys (Game), 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_of_Monkeys_(game)
Leonard, M 1968, ‘Interconnectable toy elements having hook members’, Google Patents, no. US3414265, 5 July, accessed 10 September 2014, <http://www.google.com/patents/US3414265>
Reed, L 1955, ‘Detachable link and hook game-piece’, Google Patents, no.US2712444, 5 July, accessed 10 September 2014, <http://www.google.com/patents/US2712444>

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Soup Ladle

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Soup Ladle

Soup ladles are a relatively new invention.

  • Soup ladles are spoons used primarily for serving liquid-based foods, such as soup, sauce, stew or beverage.
  • Soup ladles have deeper bowls than spoons, as well as a notably long handle.
  • ‘Soup ladles’ are also known simply as ‘ladles’.
  • Some soup ladles have a pouring lip on the bowl edge, that allows a steadier flow of food from the utensil.
  • Soup ladles are typically made of stainless steel, plastic or wood, but also silver, aluminium, and bamboo are sometimes used.

Ladle, Invention, Soup, Spoon, Culinary, Ten Random Facts, Kitchen, Many, Few, Three, Black, Plastic, Green, Blue

  • Soup ladles come in sizes that range from approximately 12 to 38 centimetres (5 to 15 inches) in length, and the bowl size is usually proportionate to the length of the handle, and they are used for different food items, depending on their size.
  • Soup ladles are not only used to serve liquid foods, but they can be also used during the cooking process, as well as to stir food.
  • Some soup ladle bowls have volume measurement markings to determine the amount of liquid in the bowl.
  • The term ‘ladle’ is derived from the word ‘hladan’, meaning ‘to load’ in Old English.
  • Soup ladles were most likely invented in the 1800s, and an early style utensil with a similar purpose, known as a ‘cup holder’, was patented in 1876, that was invented by Joseph Scherer from Buffalo, New York in the United States, and was a wire frame with a wooden handle that was designed to hold a teacup or similar item for the purpose of scooping soup or other food.
Bibliography:
Ladle (Spoon), 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladle_(spoon)
Scherer, J 1876, ‘Cup-holder’, US178963, 20 June, pp. 1, Patents, Google
What is a Soup Ladle, 2014, WiseGEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-soup-ladle.htm

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