Inventor Of The Steam Engine

Age will have its day - again

THE BEAR'S LAIR
Age will have its day - again
By Martin Hutchinson

A Wall Street Journal article, "The Terrifying Truth of New Technology", on June 11 suggested that discomfort with novel applications of technology such as Twitter was a function of age. By refusing to sign on to Facebook or buy the latest expensive gadget one was merely confessing to being old. (The author claimed to be 33, and seemed worried about the symptoms of aging - he should get out of Manhattan more!)

It set me to wondering: has new technology always been unattractive for older people, or was there a period in which they truly benefited from it? And if there was such a period, has it


disappeared forever, or will we see a return to it as the population ages?

Without going back to ancient history, we can imagine that in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution technology was not kind to the old. A Newcomen or Boulton and Watt steam engine, for example, required huge amounts of coal shoveled into it to make it function and was itself an enormously heavy piece of machinery - thus those who had passed their first peak of fitness would have found it difficult either to operate or to repair.

Has anyone else noticed how black people are so bitter and ...

The thought of a blood bank was pioneered by Dr. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950). Dr. Drew was an American medical doctor and surgeon who started the thought of a blood bank and a logic for the long term preservation of blood plasma (he found that plasma kept longer than whole blood). His dreams revolutionized the medical profession and saved many, many lives. Dr. Drew set up and operated the blood plasma bank at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, NY. Drew’s project was the model for the Red Cross’ logic of blood banks, of which he became the first director. George Washington Carver (1865?-1943) was an American scientist, educator, humanitarian, and former slave. Carver developed hundreds of products from peanuts, sweet potatoes, pecans, and soybeans; his discoveries greatly improved the agricultural output and the shape of Southern farmers. Previous to this, the only main crop in the South was cotton. The products that Carver invented included a rubber substitute, adhesives, foodstuffs, dyes, pigments, and many additional products.

For more information on Carver, click here. For a cloze (fill-in-the-blank) activity on Carver, click here. The potato chip was invented in 1853 by George Crum. Crum was a Native American/African American chef at the Moon Lake Lodge resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. French fries were well loved at the restaurant and one day a diner complained that the fries were too thick. Although Crum made a thinner batch, the customer was subdue disgruntled. Crum finally made fries that were too thin to eat with a fork, hoping to annoy the extremely fussy customer. The customer, surprisingly enough, was pleased – and potato chips were invented!

For more information on George Crum and potato chips, click here. Dr. Charles Richard DrewDr. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950) was an American medical doctor and surgeon who started the thought of a blood bank and a logic for the long-term preservation of blood plasma (he found that plasma kept longer than whole blood). His dreams revolutionized the medical profession and have saved many, many lives.

For more information on Dr, C. R. Drew, click here. Sarah E. Goode was a businesswoman and inventor. Goode invented the folding cabinet bed, a space-saver that folded up against the wall into a cabinet. When folded up, it could be used as a desk, complete with compartments for stationery and writing supplies. Goode owned a furniture store in Chicago, Illinois, and invented the bed for people living in small apartments. Goode’s patent was the first one obtained by an African-American woman inventor (patent #322,177, approved on July 14, 1885). Light BulbLewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928) was an African-American inventor who was a member of Edison’s research team, which was called “Edison’s Pioneers.” Latimer improved the newly-invented incandescent light bulb by inventing a carbon filament (which he patented in 1881).

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