Spinning MuleFew inventions on innowiki have inspired as much social unrest at the spinning mule. The mule is a minor innovation compared to most others on the list. However, it caused a massive freak-out. The Luddite movement, that still exists to this day, if often wrongly credited to the printing press but actually began with the … Continue reading "Spinning Mule"
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"
Genetic TestingGenetic testing identifies genetic patterns, including irregularities. In 2019, genetic testing is typically used to search for abnormalities and susceptibilities. However, new treatments under development target the specific traits of patients or disease. These treatments attack and cure at the genetic level. In addition, genetic testing is entertaining. People find unknown relatives or trace family … Continue reading "Genetic Testing"
Dishwasher“If nobody else is going to invent a dish washing machine, I’ll do it myself!” Josephine Cochrane Motive oftentimes matters to inventors. There are two origin stories about the invention of the dishwasher by self-described socialite Josephine Cochrane. In one version she is a wealthy socialite. Tired of servants nicking her dishes she wanted to … Continue reading "Dishwasher"
Blue Ocean Strategy Explained: What It Is & What It Isn’tBy the book, blue ocean strategy is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost? But what does that really mean? What Isn’t Blue Ocean Strategy First, let’s look at some conceptions of what blue ocean strategy is not. Redefine Market Boundaries Above all else, blue ocean strategy is not about accepting the status quo … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy Explained: What It Is & What It Isn’t"
Health InsuranceBackground Germany has the oldest health insurance system, the Sickness Insurance Law of 1883. Employers paid one-third and employees two-thirds. The insurance covered both medical treatment and sick leave. In 1911, the UK created basic health insurance. Russia followed in 1912, nationalizing all healthcare after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Most countries rolled out some … Continue reading "Health Insurance"
Aspirin1899 Arthur EichengrünFelix Hoffman Aspirin is often referred to as a miracle drug. The inexpensive medicine relieves pain without addiction, reduces fever, and even helps prevent heart attack. There is some evidence Aspirin even prevents cancer. Aspirin is the distilled and purified version of medicine known since ancient times. Hippocrates, he of the Hippocratic Oath, … Continue reading "Aspirin"
Magnetic Tape RecordingPoulsen, a Danish engineer, created and patented a machine that recorded onto magnetic tape. His called the invention a Telegraphone. There was no amplification and the recording quality was poor. In 1928, Pfleumer, a German, vastly improved the magnetic tape. He named his device a Magnetophone. During WWII the Germans used it for communications and … Continue reading "Magnetic Tape Recording"
Internal Combustion EngineFew innovations throughout history are as important as the internal combustion engine. In 1807, the Niepce brothers received a patent on an internal combustion engine but failed to commercialize it. The brothers also invented photography. The first known working internal combustion engine (ICE) belongs to Lenoir. He converted a steam engine to burn coal gas … Continue reading "Internal Combustion Engine"
Mass-Scale DesalinationReverse osmosis enables large-scale desalination of seawater, efficiently transforming it into drinking water. People have been trying to desalinate seawater into drinking water for millennia. Firstly, Aristotle and other ancient Greeks unsuccessfully attempted to desalinate seawater. Eventually, by the 16th century, ship-based evaporation desalination systems created potable water. In time, by 1955, the first multi-stage … Continue reading "Mass-Scale Desalination"
Personal Portable Music PlayerBattery operated portable personal music players are fun, enabling users to build a cocoon of their own music. Portable radios and stereos date back to the invention of the transistor. Over time, these grew in size and power. Enormous stereos run from batteries, “boom boxes,” were commonplace. However, boom boxes played music from speakers and … Continue reading "Personal Portable Music Player"
DynamiteDynamite blows up otherwise difficult to move things, like boulders, mountains, and bedrock. It lowers the cost of removing rocks to make level land and tunnels, railroads, roads, and enables foundations for skyscrapers. In 1847 chemists Théophile-Jules Pelouze and Ascanio Sobrero had synthesized nitroglycerin but the chemical was unstable and difficult to harness. Nobel encased … Continue reading "Dynamite"
Protease InhibitorsHistory They first called it gay men’s cancer. Then announced it affected intravenous drug users. People became skeptical when they added Haitians as a risk factor. Being gay, a drug user, or black was a death sentence? My openly gay high school English teacher became sick and quickly died in the middle of a semester. … Continue reading "Protease Inhibitors"
PasteurizationFrench scientist Louis Pasteur disproved the theory of spontaneous generation, the idea that certain organisms are ever-present in nature. For example, early scientists believed fleas came from dust and maggots from dead meat absent anything else. Pasteur theorized and later proved that all organisms come from something else, that nothing exists in a vacuum. He … Continue reading "Pasteurization"
Birth Control Pill“The church has ever opposed the progress of woman on the ground that her freedom would lead to immorality. We ask the church to have more confidence in women.” Margaret Sanger, Co-Inventor of the Birth Control Pill & Founder, Planned Parenthood Birth Control pills have an especially colorful history. Development of The Pill involved four … Continue reading "Birth Control Pill"
