The shopping cart was invented in the mid-1930s by Sylvan N. Goldman (1898-1984). Goldman ran a grocery store chain called Humpty Dumpty, and he observed that shoppers struggled with the […]
Who Invented the Shopping Cart? Read More »
The ice cream cone is said to have originated at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904. But that leaves out an important part of history: the
Ice Cream Cones: The True Story Read More »
Bubble gum was introduced in Philadelphia in 1928 where it was invented by a 23-year-old named Walter Diemer (1905-1998). Diemer was not a chemist—he was an accountant who worked for
Bubble Gum: How Dubble Bubble was Invented Read More »
To read this patent application today is to be transported to a time before the name, Abraham Lincoln, carried such import—before he was the President who led our country through a war that literally could have torn the country in two.
Abraham Lincoln’s Patent: The Only President-Inventor Read More »
The lie detector—or polygraph machine–was first created by John Augustus Larson (1892-1965), a part-time employee of the Berkeley Police Department who was earning his Ph.D. in physiology at the University
The Invention of the Polygraph Read More »
Inventions are the ultimate result of successful problem-solving.
But how on earth did people come up with the first ideas for luxuries (and now necessities) as disposable diapers, the dishwasher, the cell phone, and blue jeans?
Recently I have been asked to speak on this topic to various audiences, including the Larchmont (NY) Historical Society. The Society was kind enough to arrange to have the presentation recorded so I can share it with readers.
American Inventors: The Stories of Men and Women Who Devise Answers to Vexing Problems Read More »
