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Invention Trivia (Cont.)

Who was the first U.S. President to sign a Bill establishing the American Patent System?
On April 10, 1790, President George Washington signed the Bill that laid the foundations of the American Patent System. Since that time, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patents for the electric lamp of Thomas Edison, the telephone of Alexander Graham Bell, the flying machine of the Wright brothers, and the inventions of countless other inventors. More than 6 million patents have been granted, and that number will likely double in less than 50 years.

How was the toy train set invented?
Joshua Lionel Cowen originally designed a miniature train set as a retail window decoration. When people asked to buy the train instead of the window merchandise, he decided to go into business selling train sets. In 1900, Cowen founded Lionel Toy Trains, which still produces the staple American toy.

Why do we save our coins in "piggy banks"?
During the Middle Ages, dishes and pots were commonly made of a clay called pygg, and the jars were often used to store spare coins. People called this their pygg bank or their pyggy bank. Hundreds of years later, people forgot that pygg referred to the clay. As a result, when nineteenth century English potters received requests for pyggy banks, they produced banks shaped like actual pigs.

Which automobiles were the first to include air conditioning?
Air conditioning in automobiles began as a luxury and was originally introduced in luxury cars. The first car that offered an optional air conditioning system was the 1940 Packard. Car buyers would have to wait another seventeen years before Cadillac made it a standard feature in its 1957 Eldorado Brougham.

Who invented the first pea-less whistle?
During a 1984 pre-Olympic Basketball game between Argentina and Brazil, referee Ron Foxcroft saw a foul and blew his whistle. But nothing happened! The pea in the whistle chamber malfunctioned, nearly causing the fans to riot. Foxcroft had to be protected by uniformed policemen. It was then that he decided to come up with a more reliable whistle. Now, almost two decades later, his Fox 40 whistle enjoys use by referees in all sports at all levels, including the NFL, NBA and NCAA, and it sells in more than 100 countries. Inventor Ron Foxcroft recently appeared at InventHelp's INPEX® Inventors University™, both as a speaker and as a sponsor.

Ever wondered how telephone on-hold music and messaging were invented?
Alfred Levy owned a factory next door to a radio station. In 1962, he noticed his telephone system's on-hold line was picking up the station's signal. He later discovered it was because an exposed wire came in contact with a metal girder. Instead of fixing the problem, Levy took the idea and ran with it. In 1966, Levy patented "Music On-Hold."

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