Imagine a world without fire. Now, imagine a world without the match. It was only in the 19th century that English chemist and pharmacist John Walker accidentally came upon the idea of coating the end of a wooden stick with antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate, gum, and starch. Once the chemicals dried, he found he could start a fire just by striking the stick anywhere. He called his invention "Congreves" after the Congreve's rocket. On April 7,1827, Walker first sold his friction matches. Walker never patented the idea and someone else later marketed them as "lucifers."
source: answers.com Is there any invention you could live without? Use your space to write them here and practice your English!!!
Márcio Barbosa
2 comments:
I can't live without a washing machine. I love "her". I call her Maria. She never complains how much she works, I don't need to pay her, but I take care of her. She lives in a beautiful laundry (my house). After a hard day, I always thank her.
Above a little history explaining how she was "born".
Enjoy it.
Yara
Ancient peoples cleaned their clothes by pounding them on rocks or rubbing them with abrasive sands; and washing the dirt away in local streams. Evidence of ancient washing soap was found at Sapo Hill in Rome, where the ashes containing the fat of sacrificial animals was used as a soap.
Scrub Board
The earliest washing "machine" was the scrub board invented in 1797. American, James King patented the first washing machine to use a drum in 1851, the drum made King's machine resemble a modern machine, however it was still hand powered.
Rotary Washing Machine
In 1858, Hamilton Smith patented the rotary washing machine.
In 1874, William Blackstone of Indiana built a birthday present for his wife. It was a machine which removed and washed away dirt from clothes. The first washing machines designed for convenient use in the home.
Mighty Thor
The Thor was the first electric-powered washing machine. Introduced in 1908 by the Hurley Machine Company of Chicago, Illinois, the Thor washing machine was invented Alva J. Fisher. The Thor was a drum type washng machine with a galvanized tub and an electric motor. A patent was issued on August 9th 1910
Wow, how great this contribution is Yara! I loved the history of Washing machine and I'll have students study that as well.
That's awesome!! Thanks for sharing!!
Marcio Barbosa
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