Week 14 Summary Essay
In Week 14, I learned about other interesting inventions. These inventions were the safety elevator, the syringe, the Bessemer process, and the eggbeater. The inventors were Elisha Otis, Alexander Wood, Henry Bessemer, and Ralph Collier. Here is a paragraph about each of these inventions in order.
The first thing I learned about in Week 14 was the safety elevator. Its inventor’s name was Elisha Otis. Last name sound familiar? He is the cousin of William Otis, the inventor of the steam shovel. Anyway, elevators have been around since before Christ, however, they were not safe for people to ride in. You see, if the cable snaps, the elevator falls. If there were to be people in that elevator, everyone would either die or be badly injured. All this changed when Otis invented the safety elevator. Otis put barbs on the bottom sides of the elevator and cut ditches in the part of the elevator that it uses to move. Because of this, if the cable snapped, the barbs would get caught in the ditches, so it wouldn’t fall. He presented this at the World’s Fair multiple times and was successful. Without this invention, many of the skyscrapers we have today could not have been built. The safety elevator is one of the most useful and appreciated inventions, and I am very grateful for it.
The next lesson was about the syringe. Alexander Wood invented it, after being inspired by a bee’s stinger. The syringe allows measurement of how much medicine is injected into the body. Syringes are mostly used in medical purposes, but can also be used in other ways as well. For example, they are used in baking and cooking. The syringe is very helpful and can save lives every day.
The next thing I learned about this week was the Bessemer process. It was invented by Henry Bessemer. His father was an inventor who was born in London but moved to Paris at the age of 21. He invented some of the parts of the Paris mint, which was associated with money-making, made some improvements to the optical telescope when he was 26, but he eventually had to leave France, because of the French Revolution. He returned to England, invented the process for made gold chains, got married, and his wife gave birth to their son, Henry. Henry was also an inventor, taking after his father, who invented many things. During the Crimean War, he turned his mind to making weapons. He later had a conversation with Napoleon III. He wanted more steel for better weapons, so Bessemer went out to solve this problem. Fortunately, he invented it by accident. He was working with a standard iron furnace, trying to figure out how to make steel more effectively. During one of his many tests, a few pieces of pig iron were accidentally left out of the pile inside the furnace. He noticed after a while, and when he went in to grab them, he tried to push them into the furnace. Well, when he did, he discovered, that they had been converted into very hard, steel, shells. The hot air alone had done the trick. In 1856, he patented his new invention. Because of this, enough steel was able to be made to make into weapons. The Bessemer process is designed to convert raw iron (usually pig iron) into steel. Steel is stronger and doesn’t rust as easily as iron does. This process is very important and has been very useful throughout history.
The last thing I learned about this week was something I wouldn’t really think about as an invention: the eggbeater. Baking supplies and mixing materials have been around since before Christ. The ancient Egyptians invented the baking oven, as well as many of the other cooking and baking inventions. However, it was very difficult to mix eggs and other foods that needed to be mixed. The eggbeater was invented and patented in 1856 by a man named Ralph Collier. The eggbeater is basically what we call today, a kitchen mixer. It spins two utensils, called beaters. The beaters are spun using a gear system and an electric motor, or by hand if it is a manual mixer. The eggbeaters primary benefit is that it more or less automates the repetitive nature of stirring. Probably the most common mixer (at least is houses) is the stand mixer. All you have to do is plug it into the wall, put your ingredients in the bowl, make sure it is down and locked, and turn it on. After Collier patented his invention, others soon followed his ideas. They invented and patented their own versions. The eggbeater has made a huge impact on history and people use it almost all the time today.
As you can see, all these inventions were very interesting to me. However, I think the one I like the most was the safety elevator. I like how Otis presented his elevator in the most dramatic way several times every hour, and survived. I believe that if someone wants to sell something then they need to show the benefits of whatever they are trying to sell. I like all these inventions, and I can’t wait to see what other ones I will learn about next week.