PlasticAs described in the post about rubber, Charles Goodyear created the vulcanization plastic making mass-market rubber possible. Goodyear’s durable rubber enabled an entire field of new products from tires to raincoats. However, rubber is both thick and spongy, giving it limited utility. Nobody is going to create a rubber telephone and a rubber water bottle … Continue reading "Plastic"
Social NetworkWhen they’re not rigging elections, sowing discord, or amplifying hate social networks are a fun, simple, and convenient way to stay in touch. However, they suffer serious privacy issues under current implementations. Electronic social networks, in various forms, are older than Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. The first online bulletin-board enabling people to chat and hang … Continue reading "Social Network"
Turing Complete Mechanical Computer (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4)The Z-series computers are notable as the first recognized as the first “Turing complete” (modern) computer. The Nazis did not see the computer as strategically important and invested little in it. The company survived the war but there was little demand for their machines. They eventually sold the patents to the Americans. Zuse worked for … Continue reading "Turing Complete Mechanical Computer (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4)"
Frozen FoodFather of frozen food Clarence “Bob” “Bugs” Birdseye was first and foremost a naturalist. Birdseye collected countless insects, opened a taxidermy service in his teens, and worked at the United States Agriculture Department through his early years. While working with the Inuit in Canada he learned that fish in -40C weather would almost instantly freeze … Continue reading "Frozen Food"
Prefabricated Housing ComponentsHistory Limited amounts of prefabricated components date back to ancient times. Mesopotamian’s used burnt clay bricks. Romans utilized concrete molds for aqueducts and tunnels and William the Conqueror conquered the concept. There were movable modular buildings for industry, defense, and even hospitals. However, hand construction was the norm for the vast majority of houses and … Continue reading "Prefabricated Housing Components"
LaparoscopyFor centuries surgeons have been purposefully cutting holes in people trying to heal them. Background Before anesthesia, antibiotics, and Lister’s germ theories surgery often meant a slow and painful death from infection. Putting things into perspective, more people died in the US Civil War from infection than from direct strike of a weapon. Purposefully cutting … Continue reading "Laparoscopy"
- 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"
SpreadsheetSpreadsheets simplify calculations and basic database work. Background During a lecture at Harvard Business School, in 1978, student Dan Bricklin watched his professor struggle to erase and rewrite cells in a blackboard-based ledger. Thinking about the newly popular Apple II computer Bricklin thought of a better way, a program that allowed users to enter and … Continue reading "Spreadsheet"
Stainless Steel1913 Harry BrearleyW.H. Hatfield Stainless steel is strong and has high heat resistance, just like ordinary steel. It resists corrosion, it’s formable and weldable and, unlike regular steel, does not rust. It lowered the cost of everyday items. For example, rather than silver, tableware could be made from stainless steel. Stainless steel also lowered the … Continue reading "Stainless Steel"
Microwave OvenPercy Spencer is a self-taught engineer who did not finish even primary school. He self-taught himself math, science, and electrical engineering while standing guard on ships in the Navy. Before, during, and after WWII, Spencer worked on top-secret magnetrons, the high-powered electrical devices at the heart of a RADAR system. One day he noticed that … Continue reading "Microwave Oven"
Metric SystemThe metric system standardized weights and measures enabling trade and improving communication. Before the metric system, every country and also countless regions, used different forms of measurement. This vastly complicated international trade. Metric The metric system derives from the natural world and uses a decimal counting system for simplicity. Length derives from the meter, a … Continue reading "Metric System"
- Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Noncustomers
Blue Ocean noncustomers aren’t just new customers; they’re a new type of customer. It’s your first week of MBA school. You’re excited, psyched, and vaguely hungover. A professor walks to the front of the class and asks “should you focus on existing customers or new customers?” Every hand in the room shoots up. “Anyone knows … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Noncustomers"
Audion TubeThe Audion acts as an amplifier, transforming quiet electric signals into loud ones. Background In 1906, Lee de Forest invented the “three-electrode Audion” vacuum tube. In 1906, Lee de Forest invented the “three-electrode Audion” vacuum tube. The Audion acts as an amplifier, transforming quiet electric signals into loud ones. Originally de Forest wasn’t quite sure … Continue reading "Audion Tube"
Electronic Maps – Geographic Information Systems (GIS)Electronic maps simplify planning and routing. They lower the cost of transportation by sharply reducing the cost of getting lost. Furthermore, they allow optimization of store and advertisement placement. The reason Starbuck’s always seems to be “on the way” is due to the use of GIS. Dangermond found Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) in 1969 … Continue reading "Electronic Maps – Geographic Information Systems (GIS)"
Shareholder Value Theory: Milton Friedman ReduxOn September 13, 1970, Milton Friedman published one of the most arguably economically destructive articles in history, “The Social Responsibility Of Business Is to Increase Its Profits,” in the New York Times. The article is available, in PDF form, for subscribers from the New York Times website. Friedman advanced the idea that managers are agents … Continue reading "Shareholder Value Theory: Milton Friedman Redux"
Is there a source of Newcomen engine models for sale anymore? I have a future event/opportunity to explain and educate students about early steam. There used to be working tabletop models from the UK available for about $250 US, perhaps 8 to 12 years ago.
I’d suggest trying the Trevithick Society of England – they may know where to find something like that. http://www.trevithicksociety.info/