Tag Archives: Invention

Eyeglasses

By | |
1 Comment
Eyeglasses

Magical lenses.

  • Glasses are also known as ‘eyeglasses’ and ‘spectacles’.
  • Glasses are used to help correct one’s vision, or give protection to they eyes from something, such as the sun.
  • Glasses were first made in Italy in about 1286, although the concept of magnification was discovered before 400BC Egypt.
  • Some glasses, called ‘safety glasses’ are used to protect eyes from chemicals, potentially dangerous machinery, and fragments or debri that may lodge in the eye.
  • Some glasses have special lenses that create a visual 3D effect when wearing them, so one can watch a film in 3D.

Rafting glasses, spectacles, two, round, square, lens, Ten Random Facts, Colourless, Brown

  • Modern glasses sit on the nose, have two lenses usually made from polycarbonate or other plastic, and are supported by arms that rest on the ears.
  • In the 1500s and 1600s, demand for glasses greatly increased due to the accessibility of books to the general public, and then the release of newspapers, and merchants were commonly seen in streets selling them.
  • Some older glasses don’t have ear supports or have one lens such as the pince-nez and the monocle.
  • Some glasses, called sunglasses, have dark lenses, to darken bright light from the sun and protect the eyes from UV rays.
  • It is estimated that approximately 64% of adult Americans wear glasses.
Bibliography:
Glasses, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasses>

Fire Blanket

By | |
Leave a comment
Fire Blanket

Fire alarm goes off – Get the blanket!

  • Fire blankets are sheets of fabric that are made out of the most fire resistant materials.
  • Fire blankets are used to cover a small fire and extinguish it by removing the oxygen, which smothers the fire.
  • Large fire blankets are used in science labs and industries, and special welding blankets are produced.
  • Fire blankets are most commonly used for clothing or cooking fires, and a person can be wrapped and rolled in a fire blanket if their clothing has caught on fire.
  • Typically fire blankets are 1.2 x 1.2 m (3.9 x 3.9 feet), 1.2 x 1.8 m (3.9 x 5.9 feet), or 1.8 x 1.8 m (5.9 x 5.9 feet) in size, and the 1.2 x 1.8 metre fire blanket is large enough to wrap around an adult if their clothes have caught on fire.

Fire Blanket, 1 meter by 1 meter, red, white, packet, old, open, spread, Australia, Ten Random Facts, fire

  • Fire blankets are easy to use,  and generally to use them you pull the tabs, open up the blanket, carefully put it over the fire, turn off the heat source and wait 15 minutes before removing the blanket, as it is likely to be hot and can burn your hands.
  • Fire blankets are normally thrown out after use.
  • Fire blankets are usually made out of woven fibreglass or wool, although some fire blankets have a gel layer, which helps protect a person wrapped in the blanket, and keeps them cool.
  • Fire blankets should be placed away from areas that could catch on fire, such as an oven or stove, and should be easily accessible.
  • If there is a fire, sometimes it is better to use a fire blanket rather than a fire extinguisher, especially for chemically sensitive equipment, although they are not suitable for electrical fires.
Bibliograhpy:
Fire Blanket, 2013, Victorian Fire Protection, <http://www.vfp.com.au/products/fire-extinguisher/fire-blanket.html>

Tangram

By | |
2 Comments
Tangram

A thinking puzzle.

  • The tangram is a flat puzzle with seven shaped pieces, which when put together correctly, create a large square.
  • Tangrams can be arranged into many different shapes, such as a person or dog, and can be put together in an infinite number of combinations, and since the 1800s, there has been over 6500 documented, different tangram puzzle arrangements.
  • The tangram rules are that you must use all seven shapes (‘tans’); they must all touch; and they are not to overlap.
  • It is believed that tangrams were most likely invented in China between 960-1279 AD.
  • Tangrams were brought home to America and Europe by various merchants in the early 1800s, as gifts and souvenirs from their business trips to Canton, China, and became very popular.

Tangrams, Full, square, B lue, Together, Magnetic, James Lyon, simon and schuster australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Tangrams also became popular in World War I, probably due to their portability and good entertainment value.
  • The origin of the word ‘tangram’ is uncertain, and there are a variety of theories about it, including that it comes from an old English word ‘tramgram’ meaning puzzle or trinket.
  • Tangrams were originally made from glass, wood, ivory or turtle shell, and are now commonly made from plastic.
  • The tangram shapes are two large right angled triangles; one medium right angle triangle; two small right angle triangles; one square; and one parallelogram.
  • Tangram shaped tables and condiment dishes have been produced during the past couple of hundred years, with the sets of condiment dishes, made from a variety of materials, being popular in the 1800s and early 1900s.
Bibliography:
Tangram, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangram>

Shoe polish

By | |
Leave a comment
Shoe polish

Polish, polish.

  • Shoe polish is also known as boot polish.
  • Shoe polish is a substance generally used to protect and restore the colour and shine of leather boots and leather shoes and it also helps to keep them water resistant.
  • Before shoe polish, dubbin was used, a product made with wax, tallow (rendered animal fat), oil and soda ash, and it is still sometimes used although it does not make shoes shiny.
  • Modern shoe polish is made from a combination of ingredients, sometimes including dyes, naphtha, turpentine, wax, lanolin and gum arabic.
  • The popularity of shoe polish increased in the two World Wars because the troops used the polish to keep their army boots shiny and water proof.

Shoe Polish, Black, Kiwi, Open, Opener, Dried, Hard, Limited edition, Australia, Ten Random Facts

  • Shoe polish is generally applied with a brush, rag or cloth and then buffed to enhance the shine.
  • The ‘Kiwi’ brand shoe polish was the first modern style shoe polish, and was produced in a Melbourne (Australia) factory by two Scotsman, William Ramsay and Hamilton McKellan, who launched the product in 1906.
  • The Australian ‘Kiwi’ brand shoe polish was classified as the best shoe polish in the world, and is now sold in over 180 countries, and remains as the most sold shoe polish in the world.
  • Shoe polish can be heated up to temperatures of 85°C (185°F) in it’s manufacturing process, which melts the wax and other ingredients so they are more easily combined.
  • Shoe polish is traditionally sold in a round flat cylindrical 60 gram (2 ounce) tin, which prevents the polish from drying out.
Bibliography:
Shoe Polish, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_polish>

Headphone

By | |
1 Comment
Headphone

Boom, boom, boom.

  • Headphones are sound projectors or speakers that are placed over the head and on the ears.
  • Headphones normally have wires that connect to a music player or a communication or sound device, although sometimes they are wireless.
  • Headphones are sometimes known as ‘earspeakers’ or ‘cans’.
  • Headphones sometimes have a microphone included and these headphones are called headsets.
  • In 1910, the first working headphones were created by Nathaniel Baldwin, a professor, among other things, but he didn’t patent his invention.

Headphones, Ear, Black, Silver, Cord, Sennheiser, HD 595, Ten Random Facts

  • Some headphones have a padded area that fits around the ears and presses against the head, and these headphones are called ‘circumaural headphones’; or they have padding that sits and presses onto the ears, and these are called ‘supra-aural headphones’.
  • Nathaniel Baldwin’s headphones were designed for radio communication and he sold them to the US Navy.
  • Headphones are often used to listen to the audio device in private, or to prevent distraction to others, such as in libraries.
  • Using headphones with the volume on high, can cause deafness or other hearing problems.
  • Wearing headphones while exercising can be dangerous due to less blood in the ear, which causes the ears to be more easily damaged by loud volumes during those periods.
Bibliography:
Headphones, 2013 Wikipedia, 19 April 2013, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones>
Newman, M n.d. The History of Headphones, Cool Material, <http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/history-of-headphones/>

Phonograph

By | |
4 Comments
Phonograph

Some say it is ancient technology…

  • Phonographs are also known as record players and gramophones.
  • Phonographs are machines that are used to reproduce sound.
  • Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877.
  • Thomas Edison’s phonograph could record and reproduce sound on a special cylindrical tinfoil sheet.
  • Modern phonographs consist of a turntable and a needle or stylus, and are usually connected to an amplifier and speakers to project the sound.  The record, a grooved vinyl disc, is placed on the turntable and the stylus travels in the grooves which causes vibrations, which in turn generates sound.

Phonograph, Record Player, Old Music, Disic, Pin, ULM Dual Record-Player CS 505-3, 1923, lid, Ten Random Facts

  • The use of phonographs declined when compact discs (CDs) started being produced in the 1980s.
  • The term ‘phonograph’ comes from two Greek words translated phonē and graphē meaning ‘sound’ and ‘writing’ respectively.
  • The cost of phonographs ranged from $100 to $100,000.
  • Thomas Edison used the phonograph inside toys, especially dolls, and as a dictating machine, to reduce the need of a stenographer.
  • Cylinders were used on phonographs until the early 1900s, when the popularity of discs took over.

Bibliography:
Chang, P 2013 Infomation on the Phonograph, eHow Tech, <http://www.ehow.com/about_5076499_information-phonograph.html>

Phonograph, 2013 Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph>

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...