Week 21 Summary Essay

                I have been waiting to have this week with some inventions that people use almost EVERY SINGLE DAY! The inventions were the airbrake system, traffic lights, the tape measurer, and finally, the pipe wrench. These inventions have had major impacts on history, so here is a little bit about them.

               The first invention I learned about this week were air brakes. George Westinghouse, born in New York in 1846, invented the air brake system for trains at twenty-two after experiencing the tragedy of a train crash in 1866. The air brake system is a safe and secure way to stop trains quickly without anyone getting badly injured or even killed. Conductors weren’t that interested at first when Westinghouse started selling his brake system, but when he first built a model with his machine on it, and then had his brake put on a real train, they started buying it. When the air brake started being used, it saved many people’s lives. The air brake system has had a big impact on history and is still used today.

               Next, I learned about an invention that we use every day: traffic lights. J.P. Knight, born in England in 1828, and a talented railroad traffic manager, invented traffic lights in 1868. Traffic lights provide a safe way to know when to drive and when to stop. However, Knight’s traffic lights were lamps, and the first electric traffic lights were invented in Ohio, by a police officer after the lamp spread to America. Traffic lights have many impacts on history, one of which is the traffic volumes on the roads! Finally, the most important impact of all, they save so many more lives every day, compared to before they were invented.

                The third thing I learned about this week was the tape measurer. It was invented by Alvin J. Fellows in 1868. Tape measurers are simple devices that are basically flexible rulers. No one really knows much about Fellows, or how he advertised his invention, but we do know that he patented it, and when his patent expired, it spread. Today, they are used in the sewing industry and especially in construction.

                Finally, the last thing I learned about this week was the pipe wrench. Daniel Stillson, born in New Hampshire in 1826, developed the pipe wrench in 1869. The pipe wrench was mainly supposed to turn iron pipes, which it still does, and the design hasn’t really changed. Stillson sold his patent and made about $80,000 in his lifetime! $80,000 in 1870 would be about $1.4 million in 2017! The pipe wrench made it possible to build longer oil and gas pipelines, and like I said before, it is still used today.

               My favorite invention that I learned about this week were traffic lights. I think it is awesome how these little signs and lamps could lead to such a smaller number of traffic deaths every year. This invention is truly lifesaving! I am so excited to learn about more inventions and inventors next week! 

Bonus Question: Think about the accident that almost happened during Westinghouse’s test trial of his air brake. The wagon being on the tracks wasn’t planned, yet it was crucial to the success of the air brakes. What role do strokes of fortune like this play in the success of inventions? How can an inventor or entrepreneur be prepared for them?

               When an unplanned situation forces an invention to work in the way it is supposed to work, the outcome can affect what comes next. If the invention does not work when put to the test, then the inventor has to go back and fix the problem. If it does work as it is supposed to work, then the unplanned situation can help in the advertising process of selling the invention. To plan for this, the inventor must find all the weaknesses of their invention and fix them. The inventor must be honest and think of everything bad that could happen to or with the invention.