Sunday, November 2, 2014

Invented In New Hampshire

New Hampshire is my home state, the state with the first Presidential primary, and the "Live Free Or Die State".

It is also the state where these 10 inventions were first created.

1. Paper Towels
     
         Inventor: William E Corbin
         Year of Patent: 1920
         Place: Gorham

The story goes that when Corbin became general manager, in 1904, of the Brown Co's Gorham Cascade Mill, he got the idea because he was tired of wiping his hands on the then old-fashioned rolling cloth towel. "It was always sticky and greasy," he said.

His paper towels were made of Kraft paper, the same paper that today's paper grocery store bags are made of.

2. The Knitting Machine

      Inventor: Herrick, Walter, and Jonas Aiken
      Year: 1836
      Place: Franklin

Herrick and his sons were inventors as a family business. Their original machine could knit the tube of a sock, from knee to ankle.

3. The Sewing Machine

     Inventor: Elias Howe, Jr.
     Year: 1843
     Place: Nashua

It all started with an overheard conversation. After his first design didn't go over that well, Howe's second design was a big hit. For one thing, it had a needle with an eye at the point--an idea that came to Howe in a dream: an evil king threatened him with execution if he didn't complete his work within 24 hrs.

4. The Apple Parer

     Inventor: David Harvey Godell
     Year of Patent: 1863
     Place: Antrim

Goddell was a former New Hampshire Governor (1889-1891) who grew up on a farm. He invented the apple parer while working at the Antrim Shovel Co; at the height of its initial popularity, 24,000 units were sold in three weeks.

5. Tupperware

     Inventor: Earl Tupper
     Year: 1946
     Place: Berlin

The ubiquitous kitchen storage containers came after Tupper worked at the DuPont Chemical Company where he designed unbreakable and light masks and containers used during World War II.

Today, a Tupperware Party happens every 1.4 seconds.

6. The Alarm Clock

    Inventor: Levi Hutchins
    Year: 1787
     Place: Concord

Although it was never patented, and it was developed for his own personal use, Hutchins is still considered the inventor of this convenient yet somewhat annoying device. At least in the US, anyway.

7. The Spork

     Inventor: George Laramy
     Year: 1907
     Place: Enfield

This much maligned member of the silverware family did not have a name when the patent was accepted--the word "spork" didn't come about until 1909. However, the reason for its invention was so that the combined knife, spoon, and fork could be "adapted for use by persons with one arm," according to the patent application.

8. The Segway

     Inventor: Dean Kamen
     Year: 2001
     Place: Manchester and Bedford

In popular culture, the Segway is most famous its appearances in the movie Mall Cop, and the video for Weird Al Yankovic's "White and Nerdy." The two-wheeled, self balancing, electric transport is now used in tours, college campuses, and other tourist destinations.

9.  The Measuring Tape

     Inventor: Hiram Augustus Ferrand Jr.
     Year: 1922
     Place: Berlin

The measuring tape started life as the Rapid Rule, but it was very similar to what we have today. Commander Admiral Byrd even had one on his expedition to the South Pole.

10.  The Artificial Leg

       Inventor: Benjamin Franklin Palmer
       Year: 1846
       Place: Meredith

About 5 miles away from the Weirs Beach area of Lake Winnepasaukee,  Meredith is the center of activity in the Lakes Region.

Palmer's wood artificial leg was intended to weigh less than 3 1/2 pounds for the full leg, or less than 2 pounds for below the knee. He also created articulated joints in order to mimic the natural motion of a leg.


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Source material for this post is the article "In Praise Of The Spork And 14 Other Inventions" published in the Oct. 9-15 edition of The Hippo.




2 comments:

Unknown said...

also invented in NH was the proper way to use the thesaurus lol

Bill Georato said...

LOL. Nice one! :)