Inventions, per se

Pillows Throughout The Ages (Guest Post)

Date: April 13, 2013 Author: bravodeluxe Comments: 1 Reply
Ancient-Egyptian-Pillow

Ancient Egyptian Pillow

A quick Google search for “pillows” will return almost a billion page results and over 30,000 shopping results. Pillows are a universal part of our lives and there are more options than there have ever been, each with its own claim of support and comfort. While the idea of pillows being a soft place to rest your head is not a new concept, it certainly wasn’t its original purpose.

So far as we know, the earliest pillows date back over 9,000 years to Mesopotamia, or modern day Iraq. Formed from stone, the top was carved in a half-moon shape to support the neck. The idea obviously wasn’t comfort, at least not immediate comfort. The basic function of the pillow was to keep the head off the ground and prevent insects from crawling into mouths, noses, and ears. Ancient Egyptians and Chinese also used similar pillows, though each culture had its own reasons for them.

The Egyptians believed that the head was an important spiritual and life center for the body, so pillows and headrests were created to hold and protect it. Most of these pillows, while similar to the Mesopotamians in their curved top, were carved out of wood and reserved mainly for wealthy individuals.

chinese-porcelain-pillow

Chinese porcelain pillow, Song Dynasty (960–1279)

The Chinese on the other hand, created ornately decorated pillows from many materials including wood, stone, bamboo, and even porcelain, bronze, and jade. Though they had the knowledge and ability to create soft pillows, they believed that such pillows stole energy and vitality from the body while one slept and were ineffective at keeping demons away.

Ancient Greeks and Romans used pillows more similar to those we know today–cloth filled with materials such as feathers or straw. By the Middle Ages in Europe, however, pillows had fallen out of favor with many. Many men viewed pillows as a sign of weakness, and their use was primarily limited to pregnant women.

While they did make a resurgence after the Middle Ages, pillows did not become nearly as universal as they are today until the industrial revolution. The improvements in technology made mass production of textiles possible, meaning everyone could sleep with a pillow at night and could even afford decorative pillows for chairs and couches, something that earlier would have been seen as a symbol of high status.

pillow-fight

Pillows were created for children to use as weapons.

For such a simple idea, it’s amazing to see that the pillow is still changing – new materials and shapes arise constantly, claiming to provide more support and a better night’s sleep than your old pillow. Though few people likely base their purchases on how well a pillows protects their ears from insects anymore, the pillow has been an important piece of human culture throughout much of our history and continues to be today.

Eric Palmer is a writer and designer living in Denver, CO, he writes on various topics including health and tips on how to fall asleep.

The (Hardcore) History of Rubber

Date: February 26, 2013 Author: Grant Comments: 2 Replies
rubber-latex

Natural Rubber latex from a Para Tree

Rubber bands, rubber ducks, and the tire are the first things that come to mind when some people consider the extensive uses of rubber—yes, some rubber ducks are still made from rubber. While most people are familiar with rubber as a commodity, they are not familiar with how it is produced. If I told you that rubber was grown, like a crop, you probably would not believe me; however, this is the case. While Brazil’s main exports are now manufactured and semi-manufactured goods, they were once basic raw goods: sugar, gold, and rubber.

Rubber, like most global-impacting inventions, has a history that goes back further than most would imagine. The first known use of rubber dates back to 1800 B.C. It was during this time period that Mesoamerican culture participated in a team sport—much like today’s version of racquetball—which consisted of a round rubber ball.  This, however, was not just a sport for fun, but was believed to have an impact upon one’s survival. Bernardino de Sahagun, a 16th-century Spanish priest, wrote, “These wretches played for stakes of little value and since the pauper loses quickly, they were forced to gamble their homes, their fields, their corn granaries, their maguey plants. They sold their children in order to bet and even staked themselves and became slaves, to be sacrificed later if they were not ransomed.”

Road-to-el-dorado-ball-game

You may remember this scene from DreamWorks’ The Road to El Dorado.

While this quote depicts one view, this blood-sport was so much more. Winners were heroes, praised and showered with treasures; losers were sacrificed, it was believed that their bloodshed ensured rain; and the game of ōllamaliztli lived on for thousands of years. While this sport has changed considerably, versions of it—like ulama—are still played today. (You can watch a short clip of ulama here,)

The major source of natural rubber comes from the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), in the form of rubber latex. These rubber latex producing trees were originally found in South America, predominately Brazil. The way that the rubber latex is extracted from the tree is comparable to the process used to obtain maple syrup from maple trees.

One of the first inventions using rubber was the eraser, invented by Joseph Priestley. It was found to erase pencil marks when rubbed over them, hence the name rubber. Due to the multiple applications of rubber, specifically for waterproofing materials, creating shoe soles, and its part in the mass production of tires, there were time periods called “Rubber booms” (1879-1912 and 1942-1945) where rubber was needed and Brazil profited greatly from their enormous supply of Pará rubber trees. The popularized concept of the American Gold Rush would apply perfectly as a correlation to Brazil and the attempts of those to strike it rich because of this country’s abundance of Pará rubber trees.

rubber-boom-slaves

Slaves of Rubber Barons during the Rubber Boom.

Because of the Industrial Revolution and Charles Goodyear’s ability to vulcanize rubber to produce car tires, the regions that had Pará rubber trees to harvest prospered. Unfortunately, the indigenous population in Brazil and its surrounding countries were taken advantage of. Rubber barons, those who owned rubber plantations, rounded up all the men and women and forced them into slavery. This was not sweatshop factory type slavery, but brutal and inhumane slavery. One described the sight of how slaves were treated as “…so much violence, so much ignominy, egoism and savagery and so little appreciation of human life.”

Much to the dismay of Brazil (and its economy), seeds from the Pará rubber tree plantations were smuggled out, in 1876, and taken to England. While the climate was not tropical enough to grow these trees in England, the seeds grew well in areas, such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia. As these countries started to produce rubber (and the fact that people did not like the cruelty of rubber barons), the amount of rubber latex coming out of Brazil declined drastically. It would not be until World War II, when Japan invaded Malaysia and cut off America and Europe’s rubber supply, when Brazil would become a player in the natural rubber trade again.

Once World War II ended, rubber exportation all but ended in its original origin of South America. Today, 94% of natural rubber comes from Asia. That being said, natural rubber production, in all countries, has dropped. With improvements in the creation of synthetic rubbers, the need for natural rubber has declined. Estimates from 2001 and 2005 approximate that 60% of rubber produced was synthetic rubber.

 

“Ancient Mesoamerican Team Sport Examined in New Art Exhibit.” Art Business News Sept. 2001: 116. Academic OneFile. Web. Feb 26, 2013.

“The International Natural Rubber Market, 1870-1930.” Frank, Zephyr. 2010. Economic History Association. Web. Feb 26, 2013

“Why do they hide?” Web. Feb 26, 2013

The Convict and the Currents (Guest Post)

Date: February 12, 2013 Author: Guest Post Comments: 2 Replies

On March 29th, 1889, William Kemmler murdered his common-law wife, Matilda Ziegler, with a hatchet. He wasn’t a good guy.

If you’re a believer in a well-balanced universe, or maybe just sort of a gross person, you’ll be delighted to know Kemmler himself was put to death in a congruent, disgusting manner. A year or so later, Kemmler was tried, convicted and slated for the death sentence by means of the New York prison system’s newest form of capital punishment: electrocution.

Thomas-Edison

Thomas Edison

At the very same time, two of America’s most powerful minds were engaged in an ongoing battle that would eventually shape our country’s infrastructure: Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were viciously competing to popularize their rival forms of electricity distribution. Edison, the patent holder for the incumbently-used direct current (DC), held a serious contempt for Tesla, the creator of the newer, more dynamic alternating current (AC), and vice-versa.

At a young age, Tesla had immigrated to America to work under the tutelage of Edison himself. Quickly defining himself as a young starlet in the scientific community, Tesla refashioned many of the projects Edison had already posited and developed. After making significant improvements to Edison’s generator and motor systems, Tesla left to start his own company (it’s claimed Edison offered a massive cash prize for Tesla’s innovation, but then claimed it to be a joke and instead proposed a $10 per week pay raise – that was a serious insult to Nikola).

Soon enough, Tesla was up and running with the monetary support of George Westinghouse, a Pittsburgh-based entrepreneur who was looking for an inventive, updated vehicle for electrical power. Tesla secured an American patent for the AC system, and furthered its development while working as a contractor for Westinghouse. The perks of AC distribution were pretty evident from the get-go: it facilitated power delivery over longer distances and at greater speeds. Edison’s direct current, however, still owned merit. Not only was it the preferred choice of the era’s metropolitan hubs, it was also a fair bit simpler for the average consumer.

Kemmler, however, wasn’t your average consumer. He was a murderer who was probably less than concerned over two currents’ discrepancies once he found out he was to be removed from society on a permanent basis. As part of a smear campaign, Edison promoted Kemmler’s electrocution to be carried out via alternating current, rather than his own direct current, as a way to prove that Westinghouse and Tesla were creators of murderous, unsafe electrical current which couldn’t stack up to his own.

Thanks to a few connections and financial backers who involved themselves with the New York justice system, Edison got his wish. On August 6th, 1890 Kemmler was put to death by AC in one of the most painstaking, inhumane executions from modern history. It lasted eight minutes and required two attempts, since the first bout had only used enough voltage to do little more than slowly burn his flesh and leave him unconscious, but still breathing.

Nikola-Tesla

Nikola Tesla

Westinghouse, repulsed, commented, “They would have done better using an axe.” But in spite of seeing his name attached to the botch, the American public soon adopted the AC system as its preferred mode of power transmission thanks to its viability over long distances. DC, however, is still employed today in smaller, closed systems which are better served by its attributes. In fact, much of our current-day focus centers on using the two in tandem, or converting one to the other in order to maximize efficiency.

It’s a shame Tesla and Edison couldn’t live to see the maturation and partial reconciliation of their duel. As for Kemmler, he shouldn’t have to worry much about electric currents anymore. I’m relatively sure that hell is powered by furnace.

Sandy Moore

Blogger at PennsylvaniaEnergy.org

Illuminating War: The Advent of Night Vision During World War II (Guest Post)

Date: February 11, 2013 Author: Guest Post Comments: Leave a reply

night-vision-warfare

Throughout periods of war, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the ongoing War on Terror, there have always been impressive technological advancements. Designed with combat superiority in mind, the US is at the forefront of those advancements, constantly equipping its various forces with weapons and gear designed specifically to give them the advantage over the enemy. While many of them are notable, night vision is one of the more interesting pieces of technology that not only has proven extremely useful and advantageous, but is becoming increasingly more advanced over time.

Tacticians and battlefield generals are always looking to give their troops a way to crush the enemy. Using the cover of darkness during the nighttime hours could give them that advantage, and through the centuries they made various attempts to use it. The problem is, it’s incredibly dangerous. Navigation is difficult and traditional means of illumination, such as fire, easily ruin much of that advantage by giving away positions and alerting the enemy to oncoming attacks. It wasn’t until World War II that nighttime combat could truly become a precise tool of war. While night vision technology during this period was rudimentary, it quickly proved itself and showed tacticians it was something that needed to be further exploited and developed.

Although the first practical night vision device was created by Dr. Vladimir K. Zworykin, who was working for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), in America, his invention was intended for civilian use. The country that took advantage of this technology, with intentions of use on the battlefield, was Germany. They put considerable effort into research and development of infrared systems for their tanks and scopes for soldiers. The first night vision devices intentionally created for warfare were developed by Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), in 1935. For soldiers, the units were bulky, consisting of a gun-mounted “dish” or spot light above the scope and a large, heavy battery packs work over the shoulders. The dish emitted infrared light, rather than visible light, allowing the user to see a very limited distance in low light conditions. Similar, larger units were mounted on Panther tanks as well.

It isn’t clear exactly how many of these made it to the battlefield, but they weren’t used by German soldiers in any large, discernible number in combat situations. Plus, they didn’t appear until later in the war, so any tactical advantage they might have given the Germans was likely very small in the overall scope of the fighting, though increased lethality, especially at night, was apparent. Not only was the use of the infrared systems useful from a tactical standpoint, but a psychological standpoint, as well. When your enemy knows you can effectively kill in the dark, that is something to fear.

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German ZG 1229 Vampir on StG 44 Assault Rifle

On the other side of the globe, the US began to equip some of its troops in the Pacific Theater with night vision tech. This night vision was very similar to the German infrared scopes and included their shortfalls, such as excessive weight and limited effective range. Regardless, the Americans put them to the test and racked up a considerable number of Japanese casualties, proving their usefulness. Once the war ended, American powers that be were determined to advance the technology to ensure their superiority in the art of war, in the light and in cover of darkness.

Craig Pearson is an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and adventurist. His main passions are hog hunting in Texas and writing about his many adventures. He currently blogs for Night Vision 4 Less, a supplier of high quality night vision equipment.

The History of the Chainsaw (Guest Post)

Date: February 5, 2013 Author: bravodeluxe Comments: 1 Reply

doctors-invented-chainsawsBig, bushy beards, red flannel shirts, and suspenders. The stereotypical image of the lumberjack is something that many people know. The lumberjack has two standbys in his arsenal of tree removal: the ax and the chainsaw.

The evolution of the ax makes enough sense just by looking at it – the wedge with its sharpened edge can easily be placed at the end of the long line of primitive carving tools from centuries and millennia before. But what about the chainsaw? How did such a strange tool come about?

Believe it or not, the modern chainsaw actually has its beginnings in medicine. John Aitken and James Jeffray were both Scottish doctors who independently invented the same basic tool in the 1780′s for the purpose of cutting not wood, but bone.

The hand saw consisted of a chain with serrated links on one side, running between two handles. One handle would be replaced with a curved needle, passed through the soft tissue around the bone, at which time the handle would be replaced and sawing could begin.

It wasn’t until the 1830′s that this design was expanded on into something more closely resembling a modern chainsaw. Bernhard Heine, a German doctor, closed the loop of the serrated chain and created a hand-cracked bone saw. Despite having created a basic, hand powered version of our modern-day chainsaw, it took nearly another century before the chainsaw as we know it was created.

Andreas-Stihl

Andreas Stihl

Naturally, the idea was then applied for other solutions and used for more common applications, like cutting down trees.  The patent for the first electric chainsaw was awarded to Andreas Stihl in Germany in 1926. His first chainsaw weighted 140 pounds and required two men to operate it and because of the onset of the Great Depression, adoption of chainsaws was slow.

In 1927 another German, Emil Lerp, introduced the first gasoline powered chainsaw (Stihl followed with his version in 1929), though it suffered many of the same problems as Stihl’s, weighing in at 125 pounds and only usable by two men at a time.

Both men started companies to produce and sell their inventions. Lerp started his company, Dolmar, and Stihl started his company STIHL. STIHL still produces chainsaws to this day, though it was acquired by the Japanese company Makita in 1991.

Andreas Stihl’s company, despite the slow start in the 20′s, remains the top producer of chainsaws in the world to this day. Stihl’s invention is undoubtedly used by flannel-wearing lumberjacks and arborists everywhere. Today, the chainsaw is still the most dependable tool in the logging and tree care service industry.

Chainsaw-German-1920

Early Two-Man Chainsaw

Eric Palmer is a writer and designer in Denver, Colorado. He writes for the Boulder tree service Reinholt Tree Care.