NickelodeonNickelodeon’s were the original movie theaters. Many had gaudy facades but, inside, they were dark dank rooms with wooden benches to watch short movies. Movies ran on a reel and people could watch as long as they wanted, or as long as they could stand the oftentimes filthy interiors. Possibly because Nickelodeon theaters are successors … Continue reading "Nickelodeon"
Viagra (Sildenafil)It’s hard to write seriously about Viagra. No sooner did the drug help erectile dysfunction than it opened the opportunity for countless puns. Additionally, the name of co-inventor Albert Wood worsens the situation. However, in hindsight, Viagra cured a serious problem. Background Wood and Viagra co-inventor Peter Dunn were working on a blood pressure medicine. … Continue reading "Viagra (Sildenafil)"
The Role of Education in Automation TechPart I, “Automation Armageddon: a Legitimate Worry?” reviewed the history of automation, focused on projections of gloom-and-doom. Part II, “Automation: Robots in Real Life” reviewed how robots are ubiquitous and create jobs. My first real job was creating a print estimating and production control system for five print plants scattered around the US. Each had … Continue reading "The Role of Education in Automation Tech"
Archie McCardell: Worst CEO EverArchie McCardell is the worst CEO in history. Sure, there are CEO’s who committed crimes, CEO’s who bankrupt their businesses, and CEO’s who looted their businesses. There are crooks, those who hire cronies, people who paid bribes, plenty who demanded sex or servitude, and countless sociopaths. In fairness to him, Archie did none of these … Continue reading "Archie McCardell: Worst CEO Ever"
Movable Type Printing PressBackground Gutenberg’s father was a minor royal and his mother came from a merchant family; they lived in Mainz, Germany. His father was in charge of running an ecclesiastical mint; they created coins. Growing up, Guttenberg was essentially a jeweler. Gutenberg’s father died in 1419, leaving an inheritance but also a problem. Guttenberg’s father was … Continue reading "Movable Type Printing Press"
- Featured Stupid Feature: Auto-Off Scales
Cross-posted from blueoceanthinking.substack.com. The blue ocean strategy process includes the well-known “Four Actions Framework” where we eliminate, reduce, raise, and create key factors in search of a new offering. Eliminating and reducing features that add cost but not value is often key to creating a blue ocean megahit. Traditional marketers have a knee-jerk reaction; they … Continue reading "Featured Stupid Feature: Auto-Off Scales"
Ballpoint PenBallpoint pens are modern pens, where ink a tube coats a ball at the end which writes. Unlike fountain pens they are inexpensive and require no skill beyond the ability to write. Loud, an American Harvard-educated lawyer, invented and patented the ballpoint pen but failed to commercialize the pen. Other versions were released but none … Continue reading "Ballpoint Pen"
Surgical AnesthesiaAnesthesia enables modern surgery, reducing pain and risk. Before anesthesia, patients were held down and surgeons would have to operate quickly. Amputations were common because surgeons did not have the time to do more complicated work before a patient went into shock from the pain. Ether is the first anesthesia. William Morton, a dentist, is … Continue reading "Surgical Anesthesia"
Stock IndexStock indexes set objective benchmarks for how a stock should perform against peers. Reduces the risk of stock investing. Farmer turned reporter turned media mogul Charles Dow, with reporter Edward Jones, launched a stock newsletter in 1883. Titled the Customers’ Afternoon Letter, they tracked issues affecting the stock market. Dow’s letter gained a reputation for … Continue reading "Stock Index"
Automobile Assembly LineAssembly lines leverage standardized parts to break auto assembly into discrete components, each that can be done by a small number of people (often just one). Standardized parts evolved into standardized jobs. Ransom Olds, inspired by a musket factory that used standardized parts with workers each focused on one part, created the first auto assembly … Continue reading "Automobile Assembly Line"
InsuranceInsurance – paying to spread risk – is an ancient practice. Modern insurance, where businesses specifically focus on assuming the risk of loss for a third-party is a more modern practice. The Hamburger Feuerkasse (Hamburg Fire Office) opened in 1676. Fire insurance spread throughout Europe. Eventually, Lloyd’s of London popularized shipping insurance, where people willing … Continue reading "Insurance"
Electric Arc WeldingElectric arc welding lowered the price of joining metal pieces, eventually enabling the construction of much larger structures. Russians love to build giant things, bolshoya as they say in Russian. Therefore, it makes sense that it was a Russian, Benardos Nikolai Nikolaevic, who realized in 1881 that two metal pieces can be tightly joined together … Continue reading "Electric Arc Welding"
SCUBAEarly bell suits that contained air hoses allowed people to function underwater. These bell diving suits were heavy and dangerous. Later systems relied upon compressed air and regulators, yet these were still large and impractical. In 1942 Nazi-occupied France, Frenchmen Cousteau and Gagnan invented the first practical underwater breathing apparatus, Aqua-Lung. In their system, called … Continue reading "SCUBA"
Hydraulic Ram (Pump)Allows farmers to raise water from creeks upward, to fields, where it can be used for irrigation without a power source. In the early part of the Industrial Revolution, using a steam engine for farm water would have been prohibitively expensive and pumped far more water than is necessary. The hydraulic ram allows pumping water … Continue reading "Hydraulic Ram (Pump)"
Photocopiers“Xerography was an invention we didn’t know we needed until, suddenly, we didn’t know how we lived without it.” Carlson biographer David Owen Chester Carlson Chester Carlson had a childhood nobody would want to copy. His father was perennially ill and poor. Mom, dad, and young Chester lived in a leaky hut in Mexico until … Continue reading "Photocopiers"