Reasonably Priced Business Computer (IBM/360)The IBM/360 is the first mass computer, designed as a general-purpose computer affordable for mid-sized businesses yet powerful enough for large enterprises. Background In 1962, IBM’s revenue was $2.5 billion. CEO Thomas Watson Jr. believed in the vision of a general-purpose computer that supports timesharing, the ability of a computer to do multiple things at … Continue reading "Reasonably Priced Business Computer (IBM/360)"
Pneumatic Tools1871 Simon Ingersoll It’s not an exaggeration to say that pneumatic tools built the modern world. Wherever you’re reading this article: whether in a house, apartment, office or even on a street you can stare up and see something built with pneumatic tools. Reading in the middle of a forest? The device you’re reading on … Continue reading "Pneumatic Tools"
Flushing Toilets / Indoor PlumbingShortly before reaching their third birthday, children learn to use the toilet. Except for Indian children whose parents somehow potty train them as infants, a trick that’d transform the west though remains a total digression towards indoor plumbing. Life was changed for the better when indoor plumbing was invented. Getting back to the toddlers of … Continue reading "Flushing Toilets / Indoor Plumbing"
Condensing Steam EngineThe Watt condensing steam engine is widely viewed as the primary machine responsible for the Industrial Revolution. It enabled the use of engines anywhere, not only next to coal mines. Whereas factories before the Watt engines needed to be near high-volume streams, to derive power for water wheels, the Watt engine operated at a low … Continue reading "Condensing Steam Engine"
Highway (Limited Access Road)High-speed streets with minimal interruptions were a novel concept when first created. Highways, technically called limited access roads, have entry and exit ramps are few and located far between. Long Island, near New York, was home to the first highway in 1911. Americans continued to build highways, enacting the Federal Highway Act of 1921. Germans … Continue reading "Highway (Limited Access Road)"
Mobile PhoneMobile phones allow calls from anywhere that’s within range of a tower. They vastly increase productivity, convenience, lower the risk of a missed call, and they’re fun. Mobile phones work by beaming voice (and, later, data) to a tower, seamlessly switching from tower-to-tower as the person moves. Cooper Creates the Mobile Phone Battery-operated gadget maker … Continue reading "Mobile Phone"
Water Frame Spinner / Modern FactoryRichard Arkwright’s Water Frame Spinner created factories that did not require highly skilled labor. Women and children, with no training, worked in factories that churned out low-cost good enough quality fabric at high volumes. This vastly lowered the cost of fabric. Arkwright was from a poor family: his father was a tailor. He improved on … Continue reading "Water Frame Spinner / Modern Factory"
Hard Disk DriveDisk drives quickly store and retrieve information for computers. The primary inventor is Reynold “Rey” Johnson. Previously, he invented and sold the technology that reads pencil dots, usually for taking tests, to IBM. Subsequently, he then joined them as a staff engineer. While at IBM he developed the hard disk drive. The first hard drive, … Continue reading "Hard Disk Drive"
- Fourdrinier Paper Making Machine
Fourdrinier machines transform wood pulp into enormous rolls of paper. They vastly reduced the manufacturing cost and, subsequently, the price of paper. Even the smallest Fourdrinier machine is massive and requires an enormous amount of water. Frenchman Louis Roberts invented the papermaking machine. His friend and confidant, Sealy Fourdrinier, patented and commercialized the technology in … Continue reading "Fourdrinier Paper Making Machine"
TelevisionBefore Farnsworth, there were various types of mechanical TV that used spinning disks (Nipkow disks) and electrical transmitters, none of which ever gained traction. John Logie Baird invented the most widely known mechanical TV. Electrical Television Farnsworth had a small group of innovators, who invested $25,000. They eventually told him to give up so he … Continue reading "Television"
AirlineCount von Zeppelin, inventor of the airship, partnered with a group of other German industrialists to create a Zeppelin manufacturing company and also an airline. Airships Their first airship, the enormous LZ1, launched July 2, 1900. It crashed and survived but the test was not successful for the German government to invest more funds in … Continue reading "Airline"
Locomotive (High-Pressure Steam Engine)The high-pressure steam engine was invented about the same time by Richard Trevithick in the UK and Oliver Evans in the US. Neither man knew about the other. Richard Trevithick Trevithick, a mining engineer, built a high-pressure steam-powered car, the “Puffing Devil,” in 1801, taking it for a ride around town, picking up friends. He … Continue reading "Locomotive (High-Pressure Steam Engine)"
Strategically Addictive DrugsBackground Cigarettes are addictive. However the availability of tobacco around the world, in the early 1800s, limited them as a mass-market item. Even the largest wind-powered ships contained limited space. Filling ships with enough tobacco to addict a whole country was not viable during this period. However, another product did fill this role, opium. Tobacco … Continue reading "Strategically Addictive Drugs"
BarbieIn 1945, Harold “Matt” Matson and Elliot Handler created a garage-based manufacturing business. They named it by combining their first names, Mattel. First, they manufactured picture frames. Using the leftover pieces of wood, Elliot built dollhouses that sold well. Soon, Matson dropped out of the business leaving it solely owned by Handler and his wife, … Continue reading "Barbie"
Facsimile (FAX) MachineAlexander Bain created a telegraph that transmitted light and dark dots that were reproduced on the other side, the fax machine, long before the telephone. Early faxes were popular with newspapers due to their ability to quickly transmit crude images. Countless modifications and improvements followed over the years. Despite the obvious differences in the innovation, … Continue reading "Facsimile (FAX) Machine"
