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The Zipper
as we now know it was developed by Gideon
Sundback, who patented the "Separable
Fastener" on March 20, 1917. The word
"zipper" was coined by the B.F.
Goodrich company when it used the device on a
line of rubber galoshes marketed under the trade
name "Zipper Boots." |
Joseph
Bramah held patents for a diverse
range of items, including: flushing water closet,
burglar-proof lock, hydraulic press, rotary
motion pump, wood planing machine, automatic bank
note printing, and penmaking machine. |
The Grand
Coulee Dam stands across the
Columbia Rivewr about 90 miles northwest of
Spokane, Washington. It is 4,173 feet long,
stands 550 feet high, and is the third largest
producer of electricity in the world. |
Joshua
Lionel Cowen got his inspiration for
what are now known as Lionel Trains when he saw a
wind-up toy train in a toy store window. |
Joseph
Baermann Strauss built some 400
drawbridges across the United States over the
course of his career, as well as the world-famous
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. |
The
Law of the Conservation of Energy
Energy can be changed in
form, but cannot be created or destroyed; this is
the basic law of the conservation of energy. |
Samuel
Finley Breese Morse struggled for
many years to gain recognition as a painter, but
became better known for the telegraph, which he
successfully demonstrated on May 24, 1844. |
Soichiro
Honda began manufacturing piston
rings in 1936. He began manufacturing motorcycles
in 1948, and by 1952 Honda accounted for 70% of
Japan's motorcycle production. He began
manufacturing automobiles in the early 1960's,
and Honda race cars were winning races by 1965. |
Abraham
Darby and the Bristol Iron Company of Coalbrooke,
England Abraham Darby patented the
process of making cast iron pots using molten
metal poured into molds made from sand. He then
established a company to make higher-quality
iron, which in turn led to improvements in the
making of wrought iron, and to the building of
the world's first iron bridge. |
Whiskey
(Whisky) is an
alcoholic beverage distilled from grain and malt.
It is distinguished from other distilled
alcoholic beverages by being aged in wood barrels
a minimum of two years and by not being flavored
by anything other than the grains used to produce
it and the wood in which it is aged |
Mathew
B. Brady opened a daguerreotype
gallery in New York City in 1844. By 1850 he had
gained a reputation as one of America's greatest
portrait photographers, and by the time of his
death had photographed every President from John
Quincy Adams to William McKinley. He also gained
considerable fame for his photographic record of
the Civil War. |
Daniel
Burnap was a Connecticut clockmaker
whose clocks were well-known for their fine
craftsmanship and incredible timekeeping
accuracy. |
Ice
Cream is a frozen
concoction that, by law, contains at least 10%
milk fat and 20% milk solids by volume. It is
made by slowly mixing a mixture of milk, sugar
and flavorings using a solution of briny ice
water. |