Prizes Awarded at the InventHelp-INPEX Inventor's Corner at the Home & Housewares Show Learn More >>
COMPANIES THAT HAVE ATTENDED INPEX®
Inventing in the Rain: Windshield Wipers, Umbrellas and Other Wet-Weather Inventions
Sometimes, April showers bring new inventions instead of flowers. Whether we're trying to predict the weather or protect ourselves from it, rain clouds often prove to be a great inspiration for innovations. Today, when soggy weather thunders into town, people enjoy the convenience of weather forecasts, umbrellas and windshield wipers. Have you ever thought about what life was like before these inventions?
Read more articles
from the April 2006 issue of InventHelp's free newsletter for inventors |
The Man Who Named the Clouds
Prior to 1800, clouds had no names and were not well understood. Observers spoke of clouds only in general terms. This all changed with Englishman Luke Howard's invention of the cloud classification system we use today.
Howard noticed that there are three basic shapes to clouds – large, fluffy cloud masses with flat bottoms (which he called "cumulus" after the Latin word for "heap"); blankets of wide, layered clouds ("stratus" for the Latin word "layer"); and strand-like, wispy swirls of clouds ("cirrus", Latin for "curl of hair"). Howard coined clouds generating precipitation "nimbus" (Latin for "rain"). Based on the pioneering work of this "Godfather of the Clouds," meteorologists are better equipped to provide accurate forecasts (although they're still sometimes off the mark!)
Umbrellas: Past and Present
As people got better at predicting rainy weather, they also got
better at keeping themselves dry and comfortable in it. But it
was still no easy task – the invention of the umbrella, one of
the most important rain-protection inventions, took several hundred
years to perfect. Ancient umbrellas, or parasols, were first invented
to provide protection from the sun. The Chinese were the first
to waterproof umbrellas for use as rain protection.
The rainy weather in northern Europe proved to be a great setting to popularize the use of umbrellas. In the beginning, it was an accessory that was considered suitable for women only, until Persian traveler and writer Jonas Hanway carried and used an umbrella publicly in England. English gentlemen, who caught on to the trend, often referred to their umbrella as a "Hanway."
Umbrella makers crafted their inventions from wood or whalebone covered with oiled canvas. Artisans carved handles from ebony and other fine materials, making the business a lucrative one.
In 1852, Samuel Fox invented the steel-ribbed umbrella design as a way of using up excess stocks of farthingale stays, the steel used in women's corsets. African-American inventor William C. Carter patented an umbrella stand in August 1885. Over a century later, collapsible umbrellas were the next major invention breakthrough.
Rain Wear and the Windshield Wipers Invention
The raincoat, another crucial weather-protection invention, developed through the experiments of Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh. While he was trying to find uses for the waste products of gasworks, Macintosh invented a way to cement a rubber mixture and wool together to create a waterproof garment.
This first waterproof fabric had its drawbacks – it was easy to puncture during the seaming process, and the natural oil in wool caused the rubber to deteriorate. Plus, the fabric became stiff in cold weather, and sticky in hot weather. Two decades later, vulcanized rubber, invented by Charles Goodyear, made rubber more resistant to temperature changes and improved Macintosh's fabrics.
Braving rain on foot is no walk in the park, but driving in torrential downpours can be even more nerve-racking. A woman inventor named Mary Anderson changed the ways of the road in 1903 when she invented the windshield wiper to help streetcars operate safely in the rain. Two years later she patented her invention, which included a mechanism to enable the car operator to control the swinging arms from within the car. A decade later, the windshield wipers invention became standard equipment on cars. Without the ingenuity of Mary Anderson, the inventor of windshield wipers, commuting in the rain would be next to impossible.
We at InventHelp® hope you stay dry during the April showers. As you bundle up in raincoats, open your umbrellas and tune into your local weather forecasts, remember that without the extraordinary vision of these inventors, rainy days would be a real washout.
Back to Articles for Inventors | Back to April 2006 Newsletter
|
|
home | about InventHelp | services | resources | contact | offices | site map | InventHelp Store | InventHelp's Invention & Technology News | InventHelp Blog | Avoiding Invention Scams