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Albert J. Parkhouse, an employee of Timberlake Wire and Novelty Company in Jackson, Michigan, created a coat hanger in 1903, in response to co-workers’ complaints of too few coat hooks. He bent a piece of wire into two ovals with the ends twisted together to form a hook. Parkhouse patented his invention, but it is not known if he profited from it. Schuyler C. Hulett received a patent in 1932 for an improvement which involved cardboard tubes screwed onto the upper and lower portions to prevent wrinkles in freshly laundered clothes.
Harry Wasylyk was a Canadian inventor from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who together with Larry Hansen of Lindsay, Ontario, invented the disposable green polyethylene garbage bag. Garbage bags were first intended for commercial use rather than home use - the bags were first sold to the Winnipeg General Hospital. However, Hansen worked for the Union Carbide Company in Lindsay, who bought the invention from Wasylyk and Hansen. Union Carbide manufactured the first green garbage bags under the name Glad Garbage Bags for home use in the late 1960s.
In 1907, Scott Paper introduced the Sani-Towels paper towel, the first paper towels. They were invented for use in Philadelphia classrooms to help prevent the spread of the common cold from child to child.
Hubert became a multi-millionaire, Eveready became a huge company, and Joshua Lionel Cowen finally achieved the success he really wanted: he was the person who invented toy trains in 1900. As happened with the fuses and the flashlight, Cowen was actually trying to invent something else when he invented toy trains. He originally intended to create a store window display, a battery powered toy car that travelled on a circle of track. People wanted to buy the display more than the real merchandise for sale. Cowen started Lionel Model Trains.
No one got the idea and then stayed up nights to invent it. A man named Spencer Silver was working in the 3M research laboratories in 1970 trying to find a strong adhesive. Silver developed a new adhesive, but it was even weaker than what 3M already manufactured. It stuck to objects, but could easily be lifted off. It was super weak instead of super strong. No one knew what to do with the stuff, but Silver didn't discard it. Then one Sunday four years later, another 3M scientist named Arthur Fry was singing in the church's choir. He used markers to keep his place in the hymnal, but they kept falling out of the book. Remembering Silver's adhesive, Fry used some to coat his markers. Success! With the weak adhesive, the markers stayed in place, yet lifted off without damaging the pages. 3M began distributing Post-it ® Notes nationwide in 1980 -- ten years after Silver developed the super weak adhesive. Today they are one of the most popular office products available.
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10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America Massacre at Mystic – The first time the English settlers engaged in the slaughter of Native Americans after years of relative peaceful coexistence. Known as the Pequot War, this massacre in Mystic, Connecticut set the pattern of the taking of Indian land throughout the country.Shays’ Rebellion: America’s First Civil War – A violent protest against debt collection and taxation practices motivated George Washington to come out of retirement to help strengthen the fragile new nation. This was the spark that led to the writing of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.Gold Rush – The explosive effects of gold being discovered spurred tremendous financial and physical growth throughout the West. For the first time in history, individuals – not kings or sultans – could have gold for the taking, spurring tens of thousands of immigrants to make the arduous journey West.Antietam – The bloodiest day in American history, both sides paid a terrible price during this Civil War battle that resulted in 23,000 casualties. President Abraham Lincoln needed this victory to insure that no foreign country would support the Confederates and to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.The Homestead Strike – Harsh working conditions and long hours in Carnegie’s Homestead steel mill led to a union strike. The battle fought between management and labor signaled an end to workers believing they had an ownership stake in their jobs and widened the divide between management and labor.Murder at the Fair: The Assassination of William McKinley - Set against the backdrop of the 1901 World’s Fair and the dawning of the new century, the assassination of President William McKinley ushered in a new Progressive Era under the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt.Scopes: The Battle Over America’s Soul - The sensational courtroom battle between two giants – three-time presidential candidate and populist William Jennings Bryan and big city criminal defense lawyer Clarence Darrow – over the teaching of evolution in a small Tennessee town. The trial underscored a deep schism within the American psyche -- religion versus science, church and state, elitism versus populism.Einstein’s Letter – Albert Einstein’s letter to FDR that launched the development of the atomic bomb. The result, known as the Manhattan Project, brought government and science together in a project to build the bomb and change the world forever.When America Was Rocked - Elvis Presley’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956, signified a whole new culture that involved teenage independence, sexuality, race relations and a new form of music.Freedom Summer - There was a time when trying to register to vote in Mississippi could get one killed. When two white and one black Civil Rights workers went missing, national attention turned to the violence in Mississippi, which eventually led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.Play the 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America trivia game at:
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What do the following words have in common: DEFT, FIRST, CALMNESS, CANOPY, LAUGHING, STUPID, HIJACK? Answer: Each word has three consecutive letters of the alphabet.
I can only live when there is light; I die if the light dies. What am I? Answer: Next issue. (No prizes offered for correct answer.)
PS: If you make any money by winning bets on these brain teasers, a little commission would be nice :-) |
| March Contest |
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QUESTION: On July 4th, 1826, two founding fathers and former presidents died. Who were they?
ANSWER: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson |
Fifty-seven people entered the contest. Eleven were disqualifed due to an incorrect subject heading - they entered "Alternate Question" as a subject heading. This left forty-six people still eligible to win. Two prizes went unclaimed. |
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To enter the Grand Prize Contest, answer the question: Only one American president's image has appeared on an American stamp while still living. Who was it?
To enter the Alternate Contest, answer the question below and indicate which ONE prize you want if you win. (Only one of each is available.) |
| Alternate Contest Question: The Columbian Exposition was held in 1893 to observe the 400th anniversary of what? |
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(One winner will be selected) | |
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Includes:
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History Channel Polo Shirt Size Large Wine Red |
 Two double-sided DVD's 60 Vintage Cartoons Woody Woodpecker, Mighty Mouse, Baby Huey, Little LuLu & More |
 VHS Documentary Biography of John Glenn |
 Play By Yourself or Party Mode |
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| Original Historic Newspapers | |
 Original The New-York Columbian historic newspaper from 1813 | |
 Original Vermont Courier historic newspaper from 1833 | |
 Original The Union (Washington, DC) historic newspaper from 1833 | |
 Original The Daily Herald (Massachusetts) historic newspaper from 1863 | |
 Original The Commercial Bulletin (Boston) historic newspaper from 1867 | |
| That's it for this issue.
Rick Brown
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