Week 28 Summary Essay

             In week twenty-eight, there was the diesel engine, the mousetrap, the radio, and last, but not least, the semi-automatic shotgun. The inventors’ names were Rudolph Diesel, William C. Hooker, Guglielmo Marconi, and finally, John Browning. As always, here is a paragraph about each of them.

             The first lesson this week was about the diesel engine. It was invented in 1893 by a man named Rudolph Diesel, born in 1858 in France. He became an engineer and started experimenting with different types of engines. This led him to invent the diesel engine, which is an internal combustion engine. It uses compressed heat as energy for whatever machine this type of engine is running. He improved his invention (which led him to become a millionaire in the 1800s). The diesel engine is about 20% more efficient than gasoline engines today.

             Next, I learned about the mousetrap. It was invented in 1894 by William C. Hooker. The mousetrap is a device that uses bait on a trip connected to a spring-loaded bar. The mouse eats the cheese or whatever bait is used, trips the spring-loaded bar, and is trapped once the bar flips over onto the mouse. Many times, it is so quick that the bar kills the mouse instantly. Either way, the mouse is usually trapped and cannot get away. This invention has prevented mice spreading more sickness and the design remains the same today.

              In Lesson 138, I learned about the radio. It was invented by Guglielmo Marconi, who was born in Italy in 1874. He wanted people to be able to receive telegraph messages anywhere, even if there were no telegraph cables (wirelessly), so he invented the radio in 1895. The radio is a device that transfers sound wirelessly using radio waves. The higher the antennas are, the farther the radio waves can go. The radio has given way to the broadcasting industry, and it is still used all the time.

             Lastly, I learned about the semi-automatic shotgun. John Browning, who was born in Utah in 1855, invented it in 1898. The semi-automatic shotgun is designed to automatically load the next shell after firing the previous one. This makes it a lot easier to fire rapidly. This invention did not only lead him to improve his shotgun and invent other guns, but it led other people to do the same as well.

            My favorite invention this week was probably the radio. This invention has led to some of the biggest industries in the world. I think it is incredible that someone brought together so many different inventions and discoveries and made something that would change the world forever.

Bonus Question What does the invention of over four thousand mousetraps, with only a handful having any commercial success, teach you if you wanted to become an inventor?

            The people that invented the best and most popular mousetraps probably found flaws with the other mousetraps before them and fixed those problems. Also, they could have put more work, money, and time into advertising their mousetraps. I learned not to be discouraged just because the invention before mine is similar. I know that if I discover something better than other inventions that came before it, my