Offshore Oil DrillOffshore Drilling Units allow drilling for oil underwater. History Early patents describe over-water drilling wells that never worked. Thomas Rowland filed an 1869 patent for a “submarine drilling apparatus.” There are limited records showing submerged oil wells in 1891, in Grand Lake in Ohio. However, it wasn’t until 1894 that offshore exploration started in earnest. … Continue reading "Offshore Oil Drill"
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"
WikiSearch, a Wikipedia Search EngineIts origins were deceitful, duplicitous, and downright dumb but Google needs a competitor and maybe it’s not such a bad idea. I’ve been focused on Wikipedia lately, after my article published by the Institute of New Economic Thinking, INET, Wikipedia’s Ties to Big Tech, here. That put me in touch with lots of senior Wikipedia … Continue reading "WikiSearch, a Wikipedia Search Engine"
Weather ForecastThe development of the telegraph in 1835 made weather forecasting possible. Before that time, people used various methods to guess changes in the weather. Some observations were accurate. For example, the correlation of barometric pressure to weather changes. However, there was not enough geographically widespread data to methodically forecast weather. The Britsh government charged Francis … Continue reading "Weather Forecast"
Cathode-ray Tube (CRT)Cathode ray tubes are a vacuum tube with an electron gun at the back. The gun shoots electrons through the vacuum onto a screen which creates images. Thick screens that predate flat-screen televisions and computer monitors are cathode ray technology. Background German scientists Julius Plücker and Johan Hittorf discovered cathode-ray tubes. Hittorf noticed a negative … Continue reading "Cathode-ray Tube (CRT)"
Graphic User InterfaceComputers “must be learnable in private… Kindness should be an integral part.” Alan Kay The Graphic User Interface (GUI) consists of windows, folders, icons, mice, etc… It enables ordinary people to use computers. Xerox PARC’s GUI vastly simplified computer use and increased productivity by making computers easy and fun to use. Like the internet itself, … Continue reading "Graphic User Interface"
Human Genome ProjectThe Human Genome Project mapped the human genome, the DNA map of human life. It enables future genetic technologies that can cure disease, preemptively find problematic genes, or even allow genetic manipulation (designer babies). Francis Watson was the initial lead. He is the Nobel Prize winning co-discoverer of DNA sequencing. As the project gained in … Continue reading "Human Genome Project"
AirshipSporting both bodacious name, mustache, and title of nobility, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin forever changed air travel. Zeppelin wasn’t the first to try making hot air balloons more maneuverable. That honor belonged to Frenchman Henri Giffard. Basically, a big cigar-shaped balloon, Giffard’s airship was the first aircraft that enabled navigation. In 1882, with declining health, … Continue reading "Airship"
Portland Cement1843 Joseph AspdinWilliam AspdinWilliam Beverley Portland cement is modern cement. It’s admittedly dull — unless being used on dilapidated ships by mobsters for shoes — but extremely useful with more mainstream uses. Portland cement is used to make buildings, stadiums, stairs, sidewalks, foundations, and shares the unfortunate honor of being the enabler of brutalist architecture. … Continue reading "Portland Cement"
Cash RegisterCash registers help deter theft and led to modern bookkeeping. Ritty was a saloon owner who had problems with employee theft. He invented and patented the cash register, calling it the “Incorruptible Cashier” and created a company to sell it. There was little interest and he tired of simultaneously running two businesses, one manufacturing and … Continue reading "Cash Register"
Franchising & Cross-MarketingBefore McDonald’s King Ray Kroc was born Martha Harper built an enormous franchise empire. At a time few women worked in business, much less founded and owned them, she developed two vital strategic moves. Harper created cross-marketing, the concept where that stores with one purpose can sell related products. Specifically, she created hair salons to … Continue reading "Franchising & Cross-Marketing"
Stock Ticker / Ticker TapeBoth the ticker and ticker tape lowered the cost of transmitting stock prices by eliminating the need for a person to translate them to and from Morse Code. Subsequently, this innovation served as a bridge from specialists required to send and receive telegraph messages to plain-text transmissions. Edward Calahan saw people rushing from the floor … Continue reading "Stock Ticker / Ticker Tape"
ChemotherapyChemotherapy refers to a group of drugs that fight cancer. Surgery and radiation were the two common anti-cancer therapies before the discovery of effective chemotherapy. Immunotherapy was also studied but showed little promise. Background In the 1800s, scientists thought drugs might be able to fight cancer. However, none of them worked well. In the 1910s, … Continue reading "Chemotherapy"
Windshield WiperWindshield wipers are a vital component of a car. Inclusion Criteria However, countless other components in cars are also important. Excluding the vast majority of auto components from innowiki is a purposeful decision. Undoubtedly, these components are oftentimes enormous markets. However, they do not teach us about anything especially important. They are components in a … Continue reading "Windshield Wiper"
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"