Strange Patents: Device for Producing Dimples

Ever wanted that adorable Shirley Temple look?  Apparently someone did…

United States Patent Office

Device for Producing Dimples

Patent dated May 19, 1896

“. . . The present invention consists of a device which serves either to prudce dimples on the human body or to nurture and maintain dimples already existing.

In order to make the body susceptible to the production of artistic dimples, it is necessary, as has been proved by numerous experiments, that the cellular tissues surrounding the spot where the dimple is to be produced should be made susceptible to its production by means of massage.  This condition is fulfilled by the present process as well as by the apparatus by which the process is worked, and which is represented in an enlarged form in the accompanying drawing. . . .

When it is desired to use the device for the production of dimples, the knob or pearl c of the arm a must be set on the selected spot on the body, the extension d, together with the cylinder f, put in position, then while holding the knob n with one hand the brace i must be made to revolve on the axis x.  The cylinder f serves to mass and make the skin surrounding the spot where the dimple is to be produced malleable. . . .”

I suppose this invention falls in the category of a vanity invention – we’ve got plenty of them today, don’t we?  I’m thinking of procedures like Botox, liposuction, etc.  Devices like the PedEgg (removes dead skin cells from feet) and countless new makeup products serve vanity on a smaller budget.  What’s interesting to me about this dimple device is what it reveals about the culture of vanity right before the turn of the century.  Not only do we learn from this patent that dimples (on the face, one can only hope, but I have read books in which dimpled elbows were considered attractive) were desirable, but also a general love for gadgets.  In this time, after the machines of the industrial revolution had drastically changed almost every aspect of life, there was a faith in invention that seems unrivaled by any other time, in American history at least.

So what do you think about this dimple device?  If every attractive person portrayed in the media had dimples, do you think you’d use it?  (I have to confess that I’d probably try!)

Designs from nature (mystery photo revealed!)

Ever been hiking and gotten those annoying little burrs stuck to your jeans?

In 1950, Swiss George de Mestral returned from a hike covered in the little buggers.  Instead of being frustrated, he asked himself what marvel of engineering let the burrs stick to his coat.  He pulled out his microscope and saw thousands of tiny little hooks that were able to individually snag the loops of fuzz on his jacket.  The idea for Velcro was born!

It was first manufactured tediously by hand in France, and has since undergone drastic improvements.

Some interesting facts about Velcro:

– The name comes from a combination of the words velvet and crochet.

– The “soft” side of Velcro is the loopy side, the “prickly” side is the hook side.

– Velcro has been instrumental in the space program, allowing astronauts to keep objects in place in weightless conditions.

– Super-strong steel Velcro can hold up to 35 tons with one strip.

– Velcro is actually a name brand.  The generic name is hook-and-loop fastener.

– About 10 to 15 pounds per square inch of force is required to pull apart an average-sized piece of Velcro.  It takes one ton of force to pull apart two hundred square inches of Velcro (that’s a piece a little less than 1′ x 2′)

Good job to all of you who guessed Velcro!

Mystery Photo: Take a guess!

Hello Readers!

Today I have a challenge for you – guess what common household item is pictured (at a microscopic level) below, and if you want, post your guess in a comment.

For those of you not familiar with commenting on blogs, you don’t need a username, just a valid email address.  I’ll post the answer tomorrow!

Strange and Wondrous Patents: The Plow-Gun

When the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, they included a small paragraph that established our patent system:

Article One, Section Eight, Paragraph Eight:

[Congress shall have the power] to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

What people have defined as useful Arts since then makes for great reading.

After writing about cast-steel plows yesterday (On Invention) I couldn’t resist sharing this novel innovation (quoted from Absolutely Mad Inventions by Brown and Jeffcott):

United States Patent Office

IMPROVEMENT IN COMBINED PLOW AND GUN

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,600, dated June 17, 1862

. . .The object of our invention is to produce a plow equal, if not superior, in point of strength and lightness to that implement as ordinarily made, and at the same time to combine in its construction the elements of light ordnance, so that when the occasion offers it may do valuable service in the capacity of both implements . . .

It is symmetrical and pleasing to the eye.  As a piece of light ordnance its capacity may vary from a projectile of one to three pounds weight without rendering it cumbersome as a plow.  Its utility as an implement of the twofold capacity described is unquestionable, especially when used in border localities, subject to savage feuds and guerrilla warfare.  As a means of defense in repelling surprises and skirmishing attacks on those engaged in a peaceful avocation it is unrivaled, as it can be immediately brought into action by disengaging the team, and in times of danger may be used in the field, ready charged with its deadly missiles of ball or grape.  The share serves to anchor it firmly in the ground and enables it to resist the recoil, while the handlevers A furnish convenient means of giving it the proper direction.

This combination enables those in agricultural pursuits to have at hand an efficient weapon of defense at a very slight expense in addition to that of a common and indispensable implement, and one that is hardly inferior as regards the means of moving, planting, and directing to that of expensive light ordnance on wheels. . . .

 

This patent is dated 1862, right after the start of the Civil War, and in that context it makes complete sense.  Farmers, especially in the bloody border states, needed to keep working their farms and also needed to protect their families and livestock.  What better way to do that than a small cannon that could be with them at all times in the field, and serve as a highly maneuverable firearm at the same time?  Once again, invention provides a solution!

For further reading see:

This Day in Tech’s article on the plowgun

Bleeding Kansas at the New World Encyclopedia

– Ally Blaschke

 

On Invention

An invention is a new composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. (1)

Is necessity the mother of invention, or is it the other way around?

In some cases, invention seems to be driven by a demand for a better product, a more efficient method, or an improved formula because the current model is obviously lacking.  For example, John Deere (of green and yellow fame), is credited with inventing the first steel plow.  In Grand Detour, IL, as in all the midwestern states, the rich soil has one unfortunate trait – it is sticky.  The wooden and iron plows that farmers used would quickly become caked with soil and lose groundbreaking effectiveness.  The farmer was required to stop moving and laboriously scrape the plow clean every few rows.  This was an obvious problem, and one that could be improved by a simple change – a plow that was “non-stick.”  Deere saw his opportunity, and acted.  Soon he was meeting this need with his cast-steel plow, and  the sticky soil problem was greatly reduced.  The necessity of a better plow led to his invention, which led to more efficient farming in America (and to the great proliferation of green and yellow deer – preschoolers are still confused.).

On the other hand, some inventions seem to create necessity.  Take cell phones, for example.  The first mobile phones were improvements upon existing technology that allowed two-way calls to be made, or even limited movement around an established base.  Researchers pushed forward, enabling handheld devices to connect with the telephone network, and to maintain calls from a variety of locations by employing “cells” of coverage from local towers.  By the early ’90’s, the next major development, a digital instead of analog signal, transformed the cell phone from a science-fictionish niche product to a highly marketable tool.   Companies marketed, and people bought.  Fast-forward a decade and a half, and according to CTIA (a nonprofit observer of the wireless community), as of June 2010, 292.8 million cell phones are in use in America.  That’s 94% of our population.

Like plows, were cell phones invented to meet a crucial need?  Perhaps to some people, yes.  Military operations and decision-makers have always need the very best means of communication, and early cell phone technology definitely met their needs.  I think there’s another critical factor – the cool factor.  “Man, it would be so cool if…”  I think the researchers were acting out of natural curiosity and a desire to create, to improve, to advance.  And their invention has become a necessity.

I don’t want to imply that one should come first.  If invention is prompted by necessity, society is served.  If invention is prompted by curiosity, society is served.  In short, invention is great!  I would even say that invention is part of being human.  As Genesis 1 says “God created man in His image.”  As God created us, so we create.

This blog will explore invention and the history of invention – the people, the ideas, and the products.  Why?  Because human history is the history of invention.