Great Inventions

Most inventors strive for weeks, months, or years for their inventions but sometimes, brilliance strikes by accident. Here are some short stories of a few great inventions.

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In 1952, John Hetrick, a retired industrial engineer, avoided an accident at the last minute while driving his car. He spent the rest of his trip wondering how he could soften the effects of a car accident. One year later he registered a patent for an array of pillows built in a way that they would inflate in case of a sudden stop or slowing down. Afterwards, he invented a cheap sensor or a magnet that holds a metal ball that is released under specific forces to create an electric circuit and make the pillows inflate. 

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The first money giving machine was installed in New York in 1939. Its inventor, Luther George Simian, imagined a machine in a hole in the wall that would allow customers to withdraw money without going inside a bank. To discourage thieves the machine was covered with thick iron. It took approximately 8 hours to make the machine. 4 years later there were already 2,000 of them around the USA. The cost for building and installing one was $30,000. These days there are over 400,000 machines spread around the USA

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Earl Dickinson’s inspiration for his invention was his wife. He was looking for an efficient way to protect her from house accidents. He took a piece of gauze and put it on the sticky side of surgery plaster so that his wife had a piece of readymade band aid. That led to one of the biggest inventions ever.

Adapted from interestingthings.info