Do we know these inventors and their inventions
To become an inventor you do not necessarily need to be an expert in your field or even be scientifically trained. In fact most inventors are just regular people that had an idea about how to make something better or easier to use. What every single inventor does have in common are two basic qualities, an inquisitive nature and the ability to be a logical thinker.
To this day no one knows the exact origins of arguably the most important invention in all of human civilization, the wheel, but it is easy to imagine that the person responsible for inventing the wheel was a very inquisitive and logically thinking individual.
One of the most well-known inventors of modern history is Thomas Edison, whose name is linked to more than 1,000 different patents. The following list contains some of the not so well known inventors and their inventions:
-
Alfred J. Gross (1918-2000) – Gross invented the first walkie-talkie, CB radio, the telephone pager and the cordless telephone. Sadly he didn’t make any money from his inventions. - Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) – Banneker was an African American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, and farmer who published the first Farmers’ Almanac from 1792 through 1797.
- Jacques Edwin Brandenberger (1872-1954) – In 1908, Dr. Brandenberger, a Swiss textile engineer, invented Cellophane.
- Erno Rubik (1944- ) – It may come as no surprise that in 1974 Rubik invented the 3-D mechanical puzzle called the Rubik’s Cube and has been frustrating generations of people ever since.
- Harry Wasylyk (1925- ) – A Canadian inventor from Winnipeg, Wasylyk invented the disposable green garbage bag in 1950.
- Josephine Cochran (1839-1913) – Cochran invented the first practical mechanical dishwasher in 1886.
- Mary Anderson (1866-1953) – At the age of 37 Mary Anderson was granted her first patent for an automatic car window-cleaning device called the windshield wiper.
- Percy LeBaron Spencer (1894-1970) – In 1945, while standing in front of an operating magnetron, a chocolate bar in Spencer’s pocket melted, which resulted in him coming up with the idea to invent the microwave oven. He never did gain any super powers like the Incredible Hulk or Spider Man did.
- Richard Gurley Drew (1899-1980) – Drew was an American inventor who worked for 3M where he invented Scotch Tape. The Scotch part of name was originally used as a derogative as the first prototype only had adhesive along its edges and not in the middle, but the name stuck. Pun totally intended.
- Scott Elliott Fahlman (1948- ) – Fahlman is credited with inventing the first smiley emoticon in 1982, which he thought would help people distinguish serious posts from jokes. :-)
- Walter Hunt (1796-1859) – Hunt was a New York mechanic that invented the sewing machine in 1833 and the safety pin in 1849. I take it Hunt was pretty rough on his clothes.
- Ruth Handler (1916-2002) – Handler originally invented the Barbie Doll in 1959 for her daughter Barbara.
- Willis Carrier (1876-1950) – Carrier is known as the man who invented modern air conditioning.
As you can see, inventors come in all shapes, sizes and ages. There are times when an individual or even a company will come up with a brilliant idea for a product or a service but they lack the understanding or knowledge on how to take the idea to the next level. It is at these moments when the ability to find an inventor for your idea is crucial. Thankfully there are numerous resources available on the Internet to help connect you with inventors.
