On May 13th, 1930, Jacob Schick, an american inventor and entrepreneur, invented the electric razor. This invention created a way for men and women to dispose of unwanted body hair without accidentally getting cuts, gashes, and other unwanted injuries. This invention would be highly regarded as an important invention in modern history.
The idea of the electric razor came to Jacob Schick while recovering from an injury he got while doing a gold expedition in Alaska and British Columbia. Jacob found that because of his injury, it was much more difficult to shave with his hands. This was the inspiration for the electric razor. After Schick recovered, he started his own company, “Schick Dry Shaver Inc.” However, plans to perfect the electric razor’s design where put on hold due to Schick being drafted into the
In 1925, when Schick returned from war and invented the “Repeating Razor”. This invention was inspired by the repeating rifle. Despite the repeating razor’s relative success in the marketplace, Schick did eventually go back to developing the dry electric razor and it was ready to be sold in 1927. Over time, the repeating razor continued to grow more and more successful. In spite of these facts, Schick saw potential in the dry electric razor and sold the assets of his razor company to profit from his new invention. In 1930, Schick incorporated his firm as “Schick dry shaver inc.”. In the following year, Jacob Schick sold each razor for $25.00 a piece. In that year, Schick dry shaver Inc. sold 3,000 more razors than usual. Although the electric dry shaver initially wasn't as successful as the repeating razor, like Schick had hoped, he was able to open a brand new factory in Stamford, Connecticut . This factory employed over 100 workers. Over the course of years, the business slowly grew, with new models being
Samuel Morse also developed a marble-cutting machine, but he was unable to patent it due to it conflicted with the 1820 design by Thomas Blanchard.
Shaving during the late 1800 to early 1900 is a complicated task for every man. It is an activity that needs a lot of preparation and materials. Some who have the luxury of time and patience can do the job at home, while others who have the luxury of money choose to spend some at their local barber shop. Shaving mugs are used to hold the hot water used for shaving. Every single man during that period might have owned one at home and another one at their barber shop. With the advent of new inventions for shaving such as the shaving cream, these shaving mugs are displaced and rendered useless. Present time collectors have found their interest hunting and collecting thousands of displaced shaving mugs from that era. If you wish to join in this venture here’s how to get started:
From this invention Edison started the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company in 1878. Edison had received $10,000 for the sales and manufacturing rights plus 20% of the profits from this company. The machine had a variety of uses including dictation, creating listening books, a sort of a “family record” which had precious recorded memories of the family like last words, teaching elocution, adn other uses as well
Philips’ major rival, Matsushita, started as a small electrical house-ware manufacturer in 1918. The company expanded rapidly and soon introduced a flood of new products. By the end of the century, Matsushita grew into a global player with powerful brand names such as Panasonic, Quasar Technics, and JVC.
Seabrook, John. "Annals of Invention The Flash of Genius." The New Yorker 11 January 1993. web.
...late 17th century, and beginning of the 18th century, transportation was favored by American society so much, the wealthier would hire chauffer’s to take people places. So not only did the motor produce a better and more efficient life style, it also created a huge business industry, as we know it today called, “valeting”. The actual motor worked like this. “Two cups filled with mercury would contain a magnet and a wire with one being fixed and the other free to move. Whenever a current was passed through the wire, the free moving magnet or wire would revolve around its fixed partner due to the electromagnet forces being produced.” (History of Innovation). This first motor was a prime example of the fact that movement could be created by electricity and electricity could be created by friction. This motor was the most useful and applicable invention in the 1800’s.
John Kay, an English weaver invented the flying shuttle, a product that could cut cotton twice as fast. When other inventors saw what Kay had made, they wanted to do the same. One problem still remained. Yarn was not being fed fast enough through the weaver, but in 1769, two new inventions solved the problem. The spinning jenny and the water-powered frame, both of which fed yarn through the flying shuttle faster. Cleaning the cotton was a boring and time consuming job, so in 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. The gin cleaned cotton up to 50 times faster than a human could.
In 1877, Edison created his favorite invention of all; the phonograph. Edison actually created this by accident while trying to make a telephone, but after he finally perfected it, everyone wanted to know about how it worked. It became popular so quickly, that he was even invited to the White House to show off his new and unusual machine that mimicked sounds
Thus began a long period of imitation, manufacturing products that were invented elsewhere. Sharp operated in industries in which products were easy to imitate and followed a dominant design. In addition to making refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, Sharp also manufactured televisions licensed from RCA and microwaves licensed from Litton. Though Hayakawa promoted innovation, “the company remained primarily an assembler” of consumer goods (Noda 2). Sharp’s relatively small size and limited capital prevented it from developing a vertically integrated business and forced it to contract with other companies for significant portions of the value chain. This meant that it could not maintain control over its intelle...
The Electric Franklin. "Benjamin Franklin's Inventions." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 4 July 1995. Web. 23 May 2014.
Early electric vehicles may have appeared as early as 1830. Scottish inventor Robert Davidson constructed the world's first prototype electric vehicle in 1837, but historians generally credit J.K. Starley, an English inventor, and Fred M. Kimball of Boston with building the first practical electric cars in 1888. Later in the in the decade, William Morrison of Des Moines, Iowa, constructed his version of the electric vehicle in 1891. His vehicle required 24 storage battery cells, took 10 hours to charge, and could run for 13 hours. It could carry up to 12 people and had a 4-horsepower motor. His car could reach speeds up to 14 miles per hour. Morrison, however, never mass-produced his vehicle. The first commercially produced electric vehicle was the Electrobat. It was manufactured by Philadelphia-based Morris and Salom Company. In 1896, the Woods Motor Vehicle Company of Chicago became the first American manufacturer of electric cars.
The history of engineering goes back into the 19th century when Alexander Volta (1745-1827) made a remarkable discover regarding the nature of electricity (Cosgrove 749). He discovered that electrical current could be controlled and could flow from one point to another. By the time the mid-19th century came about the rules for electricity were being established. During this time electromagnetic induction was discovered by Michael Faraday who lived from 1791 to 1867 (749). Also during this time Samuel Morris invented the telegraph in 1837 which relies on the principles of electromagnetic induction (749). Alexander Graham Bell, who lived from 1847 to 1922, created the telephone which also uses electricity in order to operate (749). Through the success of the telephone, Bell Telephone Company was established. In 1878, the light bulb was finally invented by Thomas Edison who lived from 1847 to 1931 (749). Off the principles of Faraday’s electric motor from 1821, Nicholas Tesla invented a more efficient and powerful electric motor in 1888 (749). To make these inventions be more significant, effort was expended to make better motors and transformers and to enhance the power needed to make them function. Through these inventions during the middle 19th century, it led to the capability of lighting homes and cities through the use of electricity, and it also led to the creation of the telephone communication system (750).
17 Williams, Trevor I. A History of Invention: From Stone Axes to Silicon Chips. pg
The first telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. Telephones have increased their capabilities since they were invented. Today’s phone are portable, digital, small, and can be used for emailing or texting. The first gasoline-powered American automobile was created in 1893. Automobiles gave people personal transportation and freedom. The incandescent light bulb, patented by Thomas Edison, is used to give homes, buildings, streets, cars, and a number of other things, light. Light bulbs were revolutionary because people could use them in the dark without having to light candles or an oil lamp. Technology has evolved since industrialization, but it has been providing freedom and convenience to people for many
In the early years, England and France were the first nations to experiment with electric vehicles with the United States showing some interest in about 1895. The general perception of the electric vehicle was that it had many advantages over gasoline powered cars. It was clean, silent, free from vibrations, thoroughly reliable, easy to start and control, and produced no dirt or odor. The disadvantages were short range and high initial cost. It was not as cheap to run as other forms of transportation and could average only about 18 miles per day, but this met the needs of much of the population in the larger cities. Electric vehicles outsold all other types of cars in the year 1899 and 1900. A wide variety of automobiles were built when designers experimented with different body styles and engine