Tag Archives: Invention

Lint Remover

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Lint Remover

Are you sick of the lint? Try a lint remover!

  • Lint removers are objects that when rolled or brushed on fabric, remove lint and other foreign fibres.
  • A type of lint remover, a lint roller, features a handle and a small barrel usually coated with sticky adhesive, that is rolled over fabric to remove lint and other fibres, and is disposable or is able to be refilled with more sticky adhesive.
  • Prior to especially designed lint removers, clothes brushes were used to clean and remove lint from clothes.
  • A lint brush, a type of lint remover that lasts a long time, is a cushioned brush covered in fibrous material that collects lint and other fibres and sometimes they have a swivel head so that the brush can be used in either direction.
  • Lint removers are common items among pet owners, since the remover easily collects fur or dead skin off pets.

Lint remover

  • It is commonly believed that Nicholas McKay from the United States invented the first lint remover in 1956, however, there are number of patents filed years earlier for lint rollers and brushes, most notably Charles F Slater and Homer T Clark, who both filed patents in the US for lint rollers in January 1944.
  • Different types of lint removers are suited to different materials as some may cause damage or wear to the fabric.
  • Lint should be cleaned or removed from lint removers regularly to avoid lint being put back onto the fabric.
  • Lint removers are best used by lightly, rather than firmly, brushing or rolling.
  • Lint removers are commonly used by those that regularly wear black suits or other dark formal clothes, as lint can easily be seen on dark fabrics.
Bibliography:
Lint Brushes, 2010, Lint Brush Online, http://www.lintbrushonline.com/lint-brushes/
Nicholas McKay (inventor), 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_McKay_(inventor)
What is a lint brush?, 2013, Wise-GEEK, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-lint-brush.htm

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Thomas Edison

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Thomas Edison

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” – Thomas Edison

  • Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, United States on February 11, 1847, and his full name was ‘Thomas Alva Edison’ and was also known as the ‘Wizard of Menlo Park’.
  • Thomas Edison was an American inventor who invented the practical electrical light bulb, the phonograph and other communication items, including moving images, although these were only some of Edison’s 1000 inventions.
  • Many of Thomas Edison’s inventions shaped the way we live today which caused him to be dubbed ‘the greatest inventor ever’, and during his lifetime he was the most prolific inventor in known history, a position he held through the 1900s.
  • Thomas Edison became a telegraph operator as a young teenager, due to receiving the training as a reward for saving a young boy from death by a train, and he went on to become a successful businessman, founding 14 companies during his lifetime.
  • Thomas Edison caught scarlet fever when he was young, which contributed to poor hearing, and later, deafness.

Thomas Edison, Image, Portrait, Many, Inventor, Lightbulb, Ten Random Facts, Ohio, America, Flickr

Portraits
Image courtesy of Intel Free Press/Flickr
  • In 2013, Thomas Edison ranked 4th for ‘the most prolific inventor in the world’, with 1093 patents.
  • Thomas Edison married Mary Stilwell in 1871, who died later in 1884, and had three children, and after Mary’s death, married Mina Miller in 1886, and had three more children.
  • Thomas Edison constructed a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, named the ‘Menlo Park Laboratory’, which contained virtually every material available and he was the recipient of a number of various medals and awards during his lifetime.
  • Thomas Edison, the youngest of 7, was a very curious child, and ended up being schooled at home by his mother due to his wandering mind and many questions which weren’t welcome at the school he attended for 3 months.
  • Thomas Edison died aged 84, on 18 October 1931 from complications of diabetes, in the house that was his wedding gift to his wife Mina, in West Orange, New Jersey, United States.
Bibliography:
Beals G, The Bibliography of Thomas Edison, 1999, Thomas Edison.com, http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html
Thomas Edison, 2013, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison

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Bread Clip

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Bread Clip

What would we do without bread clips…?

  • ‘Bread clips’ are also known as ‘bread tags’, bread tabs’, ‘bread-bag clips’, ‘bread ties’, ‘bag closures’, ‘Kwik Lok closures’ and ‘bread climps’.
  • Bread clips were invented to seal and reseal bags, and are often used for bags containing bread or bakery products to improve freshness.
  • Bread clips come in many different sizes, shapes, and colours, and are selected according to their use and the size of the packaging that will be involved.
  • Bread clips are sometimes colour coded for certain purposes, and it is common for the expiry date to be printed on the clip.
  • Bread clips are sometimes collected due to the uniqueness of most clips.

Bread tag, Bread clip, seal, loose, white, blue, brown, expiry, Ten Random Facts, notched, Australia, Plastic

  • A bread clip looks like a notched square or rectangle and are made of a cheap plastic.
  • Bread clips were invented by Floyd G Paxton, an American, in the 1950s, but it is said that he was never awarded a patent.
  • Floyd Paxton, the founder of the Kwik Lok company, invented bread clips when he cut part of a credit card, notched it and placed it on an open bag, that stopped the contents from spilling out.
  • Bread clips are a more practical replacement for wire closures and a fresher replacement than folding the packaging over.
  • Bread clips can be clipped on the wheel spokes on a bicycle, which when the wheel is spun, the clips produce spins of colour and clicking sounds.
Bibliography:
Bread clip, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_clip
Taxonomy of the Occlupanida, n.d, http://www.horg.com/horg/?page_id=921

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Polyethylene Terephthalate

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Polyethylene Terephthalate

Polyethylene terephthalate – a lengthy compound.

  • ‘Polyethylene terephthalate’ is also known as ‘PET’, ‘PETE’, ‘PETP’, ‘PET-P’ and ‘Dacron’, which is a brand name.
  • Polyethylene terephthalate is a strong, light and safe plastic that is often made into containers to store foodstuff or liquids such as drinks, film – often for the packaging industry, and it is also used significantly in the textile industry.
  • Of all the production of polyethylene terephthalate, approximately 30% is used in plastic bottles and more than 60% is produced as textile fibre.
  • Polyethylene terephthalate is a type of polyester, and is named as such when used in textiles.
  • Polyethylene terephthalate is made of a chemical structure of (C10H8O4)n.

PET, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Bottle, Code, PETE, 1, recycling, Plain, Bottom, Ten Random Facts

  • Polyethylene terephthalate is fully recyclable and has a recycling code of ‘1’, by which PET can be recognised.
  • Polyethylene terephthalate was first patented in 1941 by chemists from England, named John Whinfield and James Dickson, invented for textile purposes.
  • Polyethylene terephthalate is made from two organic compounds, dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol that go through a heating and distilling process.
  • Polyethylene terephthalate has become a very popular recycled material, as it can be recycled a number of times, and is generally converted to flakes or pellets to be further processed into fibres, film or formed in moulds, which are often made into carpets, fabrics, containers and other items.
  • Polyethylene terephthalate is typically transparent when in thin sheets, but can be opaque when thick.
 Bibliography:
PET Basics, n.d, NAPCOR, http://www.napcor.com/pdf/v4-11_NAPCOR_PET_Interactive.pdf
Polyethylene terephthalate, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_terephthalate

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Ribbon

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Ribbon

Tie up that ribbon.

  • Ribbons are generally thin strips of a cloth but are sometimes manufactured from or include metal or plastic.
  • Ribbons are often made of silk, polyester, nylon and cotton, and common types include satin, wire-edged, velvet and grosgrain.
  • ‘Ribbon’ comes from the Middle English or Old French words ‘ribban’ or ‘ruban’ respectively.
  • Ribbons are cloth strips that are between 0.32 to 30 centimetres (0.125 to 12 inches) in width.
  • Ribbons are an ancient invention, and were manufactured in France as early as 1000 AD.

Ribbon, Thick, Thin, Hair, Red, Strip, Pink, White, Coloured, Blue, Orange, Ten Random Facts

  • Ribbons are often used as a body accessory, decoration for gifts, for tying objects in place, an adornment on clothes, as recognition of a place-getter in a competition or an award, and is a popular hair accessory.
  • Ribbons are often used as symbols, commonly worn for awareness, with symbolic colours such as red for AIDS awareness.
  • During the 1500s, in England, there was an attempt at restricting the wearing of ribbons only to those who were noble or of importance.
  • Ribbons are generally made from spun and woven fine threads, and once they are woven, they are usually rolled onto a spool ready for sale or use.
  • In the 1600s, ribbons were the fashion, appearing on many wearable items of both male and female.
Bibliography:
How to make Ribbon, n.d, How To, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Ribbon.html
Ribbon, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribbon

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Google

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Google

“Don’t be evil.” – Google Inc.

  • Google is an online, public, international search engine that also owns many other companies, programs and utilities.
  • Google was created in 1996 at Stanford University in Stanford, United States by Larry Page and Sergey Brin as part of their PHD project.
  • Google was incorporated in 1998, when a check was sent to a nonexistent company ‘Google Inc.’, with the ‘office’ being located in the garage of a friend.
  • Google originally existed at the domain ‘google.stratford.edu’, and the current domain was purchased in 1997.
  • ‘Google’ is a commonly spelled version of the mathematical word for 10100, ‘googol’, but the search engine was originally named ‘BackRub’.
Google Logo, Internet, Screenshot, Ten Random FactsLogo
Image courtesy of Google
  • Google was used by 1 billion people in one month, for the first time in May 2011, and in 2012, Google earned $50 billion, which was $12 billion more than 2011.
  • Google moved its offices to California, United States in 2003, calling the complex ‘Googleplex’, which came from the mathematical term ‘googolplex’, 10googol.
  • Google owns YouTube, Blogger and Android and has created programs including Gmail, Maps, Drive, social network (Google+), Earth, News, Chrome (browser), Translate, Apps and Adwords.
  • ‘Google’ became an official word in 2006, meaning ‘to search on Google’.
  • The Google logo is typically the name in blue, red, yellow and green, which sometimes changes appearance for certain days and these special logos are called ‘doodles’.

 

Bibliography:
Company, 2013, Google, http://www.google.com/about/company/
Google, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google

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