Random Access MemoryRandom Access Memory (RAM) is a type of fast memory. The Central Processing Unit (CPU), the brain of a computer, relies on RAM. RAM exists to this day. Every computer, including smartphones, contains RAM. The “random” in RAM refers to its ability to access memory anywhere, instantly, unlike a disk drive that must search for … Continue reading "Random Access Memory"
Vacuum Tube (Diode)Working for the Edison Electrical Light Company of England, Sir John Fleming invented the diode, a vacuum tube at the heart of all early electronics. Radios, television, telephones, computers – virtually every electronic we’re familiar with today – was first built with diodes. Diodes are typically vacuum tubes, though some have specialized gasses in them. … Continue reading "Vacuum Tube (Diode)"
Mass Manufactured Soft DrinksBackground John “Doc” Pemberton was an Atlanta chemist. After the Civil War he, like many chemists of the time, used coca-derived “wine” as a prescription for various ailments, real and imagined. Some of the wines contained distilled coca leaves, which cocaine is made from. Others contained the less expensive already distilled cocaine. Cocaine during this … Continue reading "Mass Manufactured Soft Drinks"
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"
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"
Chlorofluorocarbons “Freon”Freon is the brand name of a Chlorofluorocarbon gas. It replaced other refrigerant chemicals that were more toxic or volatile, including ammonia. Throughout the 20th century, Freon became the dominant refrigerant gas. The team that invented Freon was led by Thomas Midgley, Jr., who earlier had invented leaded gasoline. It was a joint venture between … Continue reading "Chlorofluorocarbons “Freon”"
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"
DefibrillatorClear! Defibrillators are the electric paddles that restart hearts. In 1957, Dr. Pantridge and Dr. John Geddes invented cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Eventually, he went on to innovate a portable defibrillator that weighed 70kg and ran from car batteries, installing it in a Belfast ambulance. No sooner did the devices prove effective then, by 1968, they … Continue reading "Defibrillator"
- Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Value Innovation
An introduction to the core of blue ocean strategy Blue Ocean Strategy is a strategic framework and the name of a bestselling 2005 book written by Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne published by Harvard Business Review. The book is based on a series of articles published in Harvard Business Review starting in the 1990s. This … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Value Innovation"
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"
Wind-Driven SawmillCornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest invented a sawmill driven by a windmill. It cut wood about 30 times faster than sawing by hand. Corneliszoon received a patent for his wind-driven sawmill. Workers found the mill during a 2004 excavation. The windmill used a crankshaft to convert the steady wind into the up-and-down motion necessary to saw … Continue reading "Wind-Driven Sawmill"
Management ConsultingIn 1886, Arthur D. Little, of MIT, founded the first management consulting company. Despite a 2002 bankruptcy, it still exists today. Little consulting tended to focus more on technology than management or strategy. Booz started his firm in 1914, focused on management. In 1933, Bower, a Harvard lawyer and MBA, went to work for McKinsey’s … Continue reading "Management Consulting"
Discount AirlineAs the airline market developed, the US found it necessary to regulate interstate air transport as a “public utility.” Significantly, the “Civil Aeronautics Board” (CAB) regulated fares, routes, and schedules. The benefit of regulation was predictability and widespread routes. For example, a carrier that wanted to fly from New York to Chicago might be required … Continue reading "Discount Airline"
Light Emitting Diode (LED)“New York City and you’re flying in an airplane and you see all these lights. And you think lights, lights, lights, lights, lights.” Nick Holonyak Nick Holonyak Jr.’s mom was an orphan. His dad was a coal miner. After a stint in the mine’s, Nick decided school sounded like a fine idea. Holonyak was the … Continue reading "Light Emitting Diode (LED)"
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"