Week 23 Summary Essay

                This week I learned about four inventions and five inventors. The inventions and inventors were Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, inventors of riveted blue jeans, Henry Parmalee, the inventor of the fire sprinkler, Christopher Latham Sholes, who invented the QWERTY keyboard, and finally, George Green, and how he invented the dental drill (or the hand piece). Here is a paragraph of each of them in order.

                The first invention in Week 23 was riveted blue jeans. They were invented by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis. Many industries demanded strong pants from Davis’ company. Davis made and sold his pants and he finally decided to patent this invention. The problem was, he didn’t have enough money to patent it. So, he made a deal with one of his workers: Levi Strauss and they both patented the invention of riveted blue jeans in 1873. Today, these pants are worn all the time and are used in almost every industry.

                The next thing I learned about this week was the fire sprinkler. It was invented by Henry Parmalee, who was born in Ohio in 1846. He owned a piano factory and pianos set fire easily because they are made of wood, and insurance was charging more than other companies and factories. So, he invented the fire sprinkler in 1874. Parmalee’s invention was improved, which gave way to the NFPA in 1896.

                Lesson 113 was about the QWERTY keyboard, invented by Christopher Latham Sholes, in Wisconsin, in 1878. He invented this because the letters on the typewriter that he had invented before had jamming problems. The QWERTY keyboard is the best-known keyboard, and it is responsible for the smartphone market.

                The last invention this week was the dental drill. The dental drill, or the hand piece, was invented in the United States of America by George Green, who was a dentist. He invented the dental drill because the drill for filling cavities hurt the patient; they didn’t have anesthesia yet. Also, they needed a new drill design. With the help of anesthesia, this invention changed dentistry forever!

                 The most interesting thing I learned about this week was riveted blue jeans. They were mainly designed for work in dangerous factories, but today they are not only worn in factories and other similar industries, but music, construction, cowboy, and even the fashion industry! Now, blue jeans are worn every day, and are a big part of our lives. I can’t wait to see what inventions I am going to learn about next week that are a big part of our lives also!