COMPANIES ATTENDING INPEX 2012
Invention Trivia (Cont.)
Who invented the ice cream cone?
Italo Marchino, an Italian immigrant, produced the first ice cream cone in
1896 and was granted a patent in December of 1903. Although Marchino is credited with the invention
of the ice cream cone, a similar idea was introduced at the St. Louis World's
Fair in 1904. One very hot day, Charles Menches was selling ice cream in
dishes, but there was such a demand for ice cream that he ran out of saucers before noon.
After some quick thinking, Menches turned to his friend Ernest Hamwi for help. Hamwi was selling a
Middle Eastern confection called Zalabia, which consists of a wafer-like pastry sold with syrup. Menches rolled the Zalabia and scooped ice cream on top.
How did one grocery store owner give his business a boost?
Walter H. Deubner noticed that his customers were only purchasing the items
they were able to carry, so he began to brainstorm ways that would
enable his customers to carry more merchandise. After four years, he developed the grocery bag.
Inexpensive, easy to use, and strong enough to hold up to 75
pounds of groceries, the Deubner Shopping Bag was born.
How did a baker inspire the invention of an outdoor toy?
William Russel Frisbee, a baker, discovered a clever marketing tactic in the
1870s. He featured the family name in relief on the bottom of the
light tin pans that contained his company’s homemade pies. The pies were sold throughout
much of Connecticut, and sometime in the 1940s, Yale students began sailing the pie tins
through the air and catching them. Ten years later, Walter Frederick Morrison, a flying-saucer
enthusiast from California, designed a saucer-like disk for playing catch.
The disk was produced by a company called Wham-O, and on a promotional tour of college campuses,
the president of the company encountered the innovative Yale students.
Shortly after, the disk was renamed the "frisbee."
What chewy treat was originally produced using chicle from Mexican sapodilla trees?
After failed attempts to turn chicle into toys, masks, rain boots and
bicycle tires, Thomas Adams popped a piece of it into his mouth and
enjoyed the taste. He decided to add flavoring to the chicle, and shortly after,
he opened the world's first chewing gum factory. Adam's New York Gum went on sale in drug
stores for a penny apiece in February of 1871.
Who was the first woman to receive a U.S. Patent?
The Patent Act of 1790 declared that any individual, male or female, was
eligible to obtain a patent for an invention. On May 15, 1809, Mary Dixon Kies, a
Connecticut native, received the first U.S. patent issued to a woman. She invented a
process for weaving straw with silk or thread and was credited by First Lady Dolly
Madison for boosting the nation's hat industry. Unfortunately, the patent file was destroyed
in the Patent Office fire of 1836, along with all of the other patents issued up until that date.
What popular invention was sold in order to pay off a debt?
In 1849, Walter Hunt, an auto mechanic from New York, New York,
invented the safety pin by twisting a length of wire. Hunt received a patent for his invention
on April 10, 1849 and eventually sold the rights to his patent for $400 so he could
pay a debt in the amount of $15. Hunt is also credited with inventing an early sewing machine,
a new type of fountain pen and a new knife sharpener.
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