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November 13, 2002
A: FROM MENTEE KATHRY T. IN VA
I think the greatest invention in the past fifty years is
underarmour. As an athlete I wear this all of the time. It
either keeps you warm in cold weather or allows you to be
cool in hot weather. It is incredible in being able to figure
out how to accomplish both tasks. It is a fabric that operates
under the same principal as a thermos. As a matter of fact
many new fabrics are incredible inventions particularly all
of the wash and wear items.
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November 13, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN
RI
Source:
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blxerox.htm
the Xerox machine almost qualifies, but even it was invented
in 1937
and became commercially available in 1950. (My own first access
was
not until 1965, and what a miracle it was!) Here's a question
(or
two or three): how long does it take a typical invention to
become a
widespread commercial item? And if patents are relatively
short-lived, how can inventions take so long to commercialize?
With
drugs, tinkering with minor modifications is commonplace to
extend
patents, but in other fields is that so common?
right before "photocopyier" came "panty hose,"
invented in 1959. At
last something truly "modern." :-)
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November 12, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR GENAH BURDITT
IN CO
Minus electronics and motors I think you'll have a tough time
choosing--but I think you mean to exclude, computers, vehicles,
etc. In that case I can narrow it down to two choices:
(1) Hubble telescope, which has allowed us to see into galaxies
and nebulas millions of light years away.
(2) Underwater ROV's like those used to find titanic and study
extreme life forms like hydrothermal vent worms.
We can learn a lot about ourselves, our origins, our impacts
by reaching out into the universe and delving into the depths
of our oceans.
November 12, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN
RI
I don't mean to be uncooperative - a time restriction is a
good help to focusing the question! But this weekend I read
a review by Michael John Gorman of a book (Glass: A World
History, by Alan Macfarlane and Gerry Martin) that claims
that Western civilization became so far advanced compared
to Eastern (China, Japan) because glass "is, in [the
authors'] view, a powerful 'invisible force' in Western culture
so transparent that it has frequently escaped the attention
of historians. where would science be without glass?"
Glass vessels were vital to early chemistry and physics, lenses
vital to astronomy and microscopy, etc etc. The review is
in Science, vol 298 p 970, Nov 1, 2002.
Now: 50 years... 1952 on... non-electronic or motorized...
What about frozen foods? They were pretty new around 1952,
and they've revolutionized our diet and agricultural processes
and freed women from lengthy cooking procedures. Alas, the
invention itself dates to the 1920's. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfrfood.htm
http://www.affi.com/factstat-history.asp
gives a capsule history. No cigar, by maybe you'd be interested
anyway. I'll keep trying!
But first let me give you girls a hint: back up on the first
URL above to
http://inventors.about.com/
and you can look up all sorts of inventions!
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