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Inventions & Inventors
 Websites presented in alphabetical order African American Inventors 
 Brief annotated bibliography about African American inventors, covering general reference books, films and video, and works on specific individuals, including Benjamin Banneker (surveyor, astronomer, and inventor) and James Forten (abolitionist and maritime innovator). From Encyclopedia Smithsonian, a website of the Smithsonian Institution. http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/afinvent.htm Topics: Black Resources, Technology Last updated Oct 31, 2007 The Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers at the Library of Congress, 1862-1939
These online materials include over 50,000 images of "correspondence, scientific notebooks, journals, blueprints, articles, and photographs documenting Bell's invention of the telephone and his involvement in the first telephone company, his family life, his interest in the education of the deaf, and his aeronautical and other scientific research." Also includes a timeline, family tree, collection highlights, and related material. From the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bellhtml/ Topics: Notable People, Technology Last updated Dec 22, 2008 AT&T Technology Timeline
This timeline features descriptions of telecommunication, sound, and data technology developments starting with the birth of the telephone in 1876. Some of the of the events include fax service (1924), sound motion pictures (1926), synthetic speech (1936), the first mobile telephone call (1946), the first direct-dial transcontinental telephone call (1951), UNIX and the Internet (1969), and quantum computing (1999). From AT&T. http://www.corp.att.com/attlabs/reputation/timeline/ Topics: Technology Last updated Oct 31, 2007 Benjamin Franklin House
Introduction to the London house (near Trafalgar Square) that Benjamin Franklin occupied from 1757-1775, and which opened as a museum on Jan. 17, 2006, Franklin's 300th birthday. Includes a brief biography and a summary of his scientific discoveries from that period in his life. Also find newsletters and a guide for visitors. http://www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org Topics: Home & Housing, Notable People, Notable People: Government, Science, Technology Last updated Feb 20, 2006 The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
This website "[marks] the three-hundred-year anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth (1706-2006) with a celebration dedicated to educating the public about Franklin's enduring legacy." Find an exhibition on Franklin's life (also in French and Spanish), educational materials, a calendar of events happening in several states, and other material on Franklin. From a consortium of libraries, museums, and organizations. http://www.benfranklin300.org Topics: Notable People, Notable People: Government, Science, Technology Last updated Feb 8, 2006 Benjamin Franklin: Glimpses of the Man
This searchable collection from the Franklin Institute Science Museum features a chronology, family tree, and information about Franklin as "a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, a philosopher, a musician, and an economist." Includes recommended websites and books for adults and children. http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/ Topics: Notable People, Notable People: Government, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Jul 13, 2005 Best Inventions
Time Magazine picks the top new inventions in the categories of food, travel, home, and gadgets of all sorts. http://www.time.com/time/2006/techguide/bestinventions/ Topics: Business, Technology Last updated Nov 10, 2006 Bob Moog Biography
Biographical information about Robert Moog, who developed an electronic music synthesizer in the early 1960s, and who died in August 2005. Also includes links to information about the theremin (an early electronic instrument invented by Leon Theremin), current Moog synthesizer instruments, and a photo gallery. From the company that manufactures Moog synthesizers. http://www.moogmusic.com/?cat_id=82 Topics: Musical Genres, Musical Instruments, Notable People, Technology Last updated Aug 25, 2005 Buckminster Fuller Institute
This site is devoted to the "principles articulated by Buckminster Fuller," creator of the geodesic dome and design science. Full text articles and books on alternative living structures, natural resources conservation, and sustainable development are available. There are links to related Web resources on Fuller, design science, domes, energy, hunger, synergetics, international conferences on global ecological issues, and more. http://www.bfi.org/ Topics: Architecture, Environment, Notable People, Notable People: Arts & Humanities, Poverty, Science, Technology Last updated Apr 10, 2009 Buckminster Fuller: Thinking Out Loud
A collection of materials on the life of this American engineer, architect, poet, and philosopher who developed the geodesic dome. From the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) "American Masters" series. http://www.thirteen.org/cgi-bin/bucky-bin/bucky.cgi Topics: Architecture, Notable People, Notable People: Arts & Humanities, Science, Technology Last updated May 2, 2005 The Complete Lee de Forest
Background about Lee de Forest (1873-1961), "an inventor who changed the world with electronics. His two major inventions were the vacuum tube and sound for motion pictures." Features an illustrated biography featuring a description of his audion (a three element vacuum tube), how he received an honorary Oscar in 1959, and litigation related to his work. From the chair of the Department of Television, Radio, Film and Theatre at San Jose State University. http://www.leedeforest.org/ Topics: Notable People, Technology Last updated Aug 2, 2007 Daisuke Inoue
1999 article about the Japanese musician and inventor who created the karaoke machine in the 1970s. This machine allows individuals to sing popular songs with the music and printed lyrics provided by the machine. From Time magazine. http://www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1999/990823/inoue1.html Topics: Music, Notable People, Performing Arts, Science, Technology Last updated Mar 28, 2005 Doodles, Drafts, and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian
See some amazing designs of inventions created before the computer technology of today. "This exhibition presents examples of industrial drawings in the collections of the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution Libraries." This exhibit walks you through the creative process for the industrial drawings of a variety of inventions, such as the bra, the shopping cart, and Crayola crayons. http://www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/doodles/ Topics: Arts and Humanities, Arts and Humanities, Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Jan 12, 2005 Edison's Miracle of Light
Explores the "web of personal, patent, and corporate battles" Thomas Edison encountered in forming a "new industry to provide electric power." Contains a historical essay, a complete list of Edison's patents, information on the AC and DC currents, recordings produced by the Edison company, a gallery of advertisements for Edison inventions, sources for further reading, and a timeline of the inventor's life. From the PBS American Experience series; features program transcript and teacher's guide. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/edison/ Topics: Electrical Energy, Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Apr 3, 2002 The Electric Ben Franklin
"The remarkable Benjamin Franklin, a printer by trade, a scientist by fame, and a man of action by all accounts, continues to shape American thinking and action. The Independence Hall Association has commissioned and assembled resources for you to explore the diversity that was Benjamin Franklin." Features biographical information, images, a timeline, articles, activities, interactive features (including panoramic views of historical buildings), quotes, and related links. http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/ Topics: Notable People, Notable People: Government, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Oct 4, 2004 Everyday Mysteries: Who Invented Electric Christmas Lights?
This essay explores the invention of electric Christmas lights, noting that "[w]hile Thomas Edison and Edward H. Johnson may have been the first to create electric strands of light in 1880/1882, it was Albert Sadacca who saw a future in selling electric Christmas lights [in 1917]." Includes historic images and links to related websites. From Science Reference Services, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/christmaslights.html Topics: Christmas, Technology Last updated Nov 7, 2008 The Fox Talbot Museum
William Henry Fox Talbot was a philosopher, classicist, Egyptologist, mathematician, philologist, and physicist but he is best known as the inventor of the positive/negative photographic process. This site includes a brief biography and a description of his work. There is also information about the museum at Lacock Abbey, in Wiltshire, England. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-lacockabbeyvillage/w-lacockabbeyvillage-talbotmuseum.htm Topics: Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Aug 12, 2008 Greatest Engineering Achievements of the Twentieth Century
Each achievement is presented with a brief introduction, timeline, and historical essay. The "top 20" are: electrification, automobile, airplane, water supply and distribution, electronics, radio and television, agricultural mechanization, computers, telephone, air conditioning and refrigeration, highways, spacecraft, Internet, imaging, household appliances, health technologies, petroleum and petrochemical technologies, laser and fiber optics, nuclear technologies, and high-performance materials. From the National Academy of Engineering. http://www.greatachievements.org/ Topics: Business, Business, Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Feb 11, 2004 How Stuff Works
Explains simply, with excellent diagrams or pictures, how many common appliances, machines, and technologies work. Also covers health, animals, and the home. A small sample of topics covered includes: smoke detectors, remote controls, UPC bar codes, bread, digital clocks or watches, compasses, microwave ovens, fuel cells, hybrid cars, Boolean logic, lock picking, and more. Many have links to Web sites or related articles for further reading. Some of these articles might be useful for background for science projects. http://www.howstuffworks.com/ Topics: Business, Science, Technology Last updated Jun 11, 2005 International Chindogu Society
"Every Chindogu is an almost useless object, but not every almost useless object is a Chindogu." Presents the ten tenets for these inventions and ten examples by Kenji Kawakami, plus some submissions from readers. An eccentric page for an eccentric subject. http://www.chindogu.com/ Topics: Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Sep 16, 2009 Inventing Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies
This searcable and browsable site showcases the life and work of Thomas A. Edison, the "Wizard of Menlo Park," who patented 1,093 inventions, including the phonograph, the incandescent bulb, and some that became the basis for today's motion picture and sound recording industries. Features early motion pictures and sound recordings, photographs, a biography, and a timeline of significant events. From the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edhome.html Topics: Film, Movies, & Video, Internet, Music, Notable People, Science, Technology Last updated Oct 2, 2004 Invention Dimension
Web site devoted to American inventors and information related to past and current inventors. Equally interesting are the Hotlist sections: sites for children, research and development labs, the invention extension -- an eclectic collection of invention sites including the "Wacky Patent of the Month," and links to related resources. http://web.mit.edu/invent/ Topics: Business, Notable People, Science, Technology Last updated Sep 29, 2003 InventNET - The Inventor's Network
Run by a nonprofit group of independent inventors, this site has advice on everything from patent law and software to marketing your invention: classified ads, a newsletter, an online forum, Web links, and inventions for sale. http://www.inventnet.com/ Topics: Business, Business, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Jun 21, 2006 Inventor of the Week Archive: George Ferris
Profile of George Ferris, who "conceived, designed and built an engineering marvel [the Ferris wheel], which astonished the world at its debut and became a mainstay of American recreation." Topics include the design, which was based on a bicycle wheel, and the debut of the Ferris wheel at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. From the MIT School of Engineering. http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/ferris.html Topics: Notable People, Recreation, Technology Last updated Jun 27, 2006 Inventor of the Week: Marion Donovan (1917-1998): Disposable Diaper
Profile of Marion Donovan, who "helped revolutionize the infant care industry by inventing the prototype of the disposable diaper." Topics include Donovan's development of a waterproof diaper cover, her work on the disposable paper diaper, and her other inventions that earned her over a dozen patents. From the Lemelson-MIT Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/donovan.html Topics: Notable People, Notable People: Women, Technology Last updated Apr 8, 2008 Inventors
Find information about inventions and inventors: where to take an idea, marketing an invention, avoiding scams, getting funding, history of computers and the Internet, and lengthy alphabetical and chronological lists of people and creations. An About.com site. http://inventors.about.com/ Topics: Business, Business, Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated May 28, 2003 Karaoke's Creator Wins Ig Nobel Prize
Audio of National Public Radio (NPR) story about "Daisuke Inoue, the inventor of karaoke, [who] was awarded the 2004 Ig Nobel Peace Prize ... 'for inventing karaoke, thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other.' The Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded annually for achievements that 'celebrate the unusual' and 'honor the imaginative,' according to its organizers, The Annals of Improbable Research." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4057291 Topics: Music, Performing Arts, Technology Last updated Mar 28, 2005 Land, Air & Sea
Website for this virtual museum dedicated to alternative vehicles, including "flying cars, amphibious aeroplanes, amphibious cars, hovercraft, submarines and ATV's." The exhibits section features descriptions and images of vehicles such as the "Yellow Submarine," and the "Amfibidiver," a "twin seat machine, that drives on land, floats like a boat and dives like a submarine." http://www.landairandsea.com Topics: Automobiles, Technology, Transportation Last updated Jan 24, 2007 The Lemelson Center: Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
Created to "document, interpret, and disseminate information about invention and innovation" and "to encourage inventive creativity in young people," this site focuses on the U.S. "Invention at Play" has learning activities and applications interspersed with inventors' stories and historic documents. Special resources for students, teachers, inventors, historians, and museum visitors are gathered under "Short Cuts." Searchable. Part of the National Museum of American History. http://invention.smithsonian.org/home/ Topics: Business, Notable People, Science, Technology Last updated Feb 4, 2005 Leonardo
This site presents a collection of models and drawings of machines designed by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as architectural models. Includes important events in Leonardo's life; background on his manuscripts, with links to where they are housed; and related links. Searchable. http://www.museoscienza.org/english/leonardo/ Topics: Artists, Business, Business, Notable People, Science, Technology Last updated Feb 9, 2005 Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist, Inventor, Artist
This site provides a biography and background of some of Leonardo da Vinci's work, as well as images of his art, scientific drawings, and inventions. Includes classroom activities and a glossary. "Appropriate for students in grades four through eight, many of the activities can be adapted for younger or older students as needed." From the Museum of Science, Boston. http://www.mos.org/leonardo/ Topics: Art by Region, Artists, Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Dec 7, 2004 Lighting a Revolution
"This web site accompanies an exhibition at the National Museum of American History exploring the process of invention. The story is told in two parallel sections comparing Thomas Edison's light bulb invention with several electric lighting inventions of a century later. Objects and graphics from both sections of the exhibition can be viewed on this site, as can the complete exhibition script." From the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/ Topics: Technology Last updated Apr 14, 2007 Made in Chicago: The Ferris Wheel
Brief description of the Ferris wheel, which "debuted at Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition. ... 'The World's Greatest Ride' was reused at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904, then dynamited and sold for scrap metal." Includes links to related articles about the Columbian Exposition and the Coney Island entrepreneur who saw the Ferris wheel and ordered a smaller version. From an American Experience documentary about Chicago. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/chicago/sfeature/sf_made_18.html Topics: Recreation, Technology Last updated Jun 27, 2006 Making the Modern World
This site "brings you powerful stories about science and invention from the eighteenth century to today. It explains the development and the global spread of modern industrial society and its effects on all our lives." Includes a timeline, background about dozens of icons of invention in technology and medicine and dozens of "everyday" inventions. Also include learning modules on topics such as DNA, textile production, and stress management. From the Science Museum, U.K. http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/ Topics: Technology Last updated May 6, 2008 Medieval Technology Pages
This website provides information on "technological innovation and related subjects in western Europe during the Middle Ages." Agricultural tools, silk, windmills, and the horizontal loom are among the subjects covered. The articles are organized by subject and in chronological order with 200-year intervals. From a chemistry and history professor. http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/Technology.html Topics: Business, History, History By Place, Notable People, Regions of the World, Science, Technology Last updated Nov 25, 2006 The Mind of Leonardo: The Universal Genius at Work
Companion to a 2006-2007 exhibit that explores Leonardo da Vinci's "very mode of thinking and his unitary conception of knowledge." Features essays and images of associated works on topics such as portraits of Leonardo, Leonardo's studio and library, the "grammar of forms," motion, and the science of painting. In English and Italian. From the Italian Institute and Museum of the History of Science, Florence. http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/menteleonardo/ Topics: Artists, Notable People, Technology Last updated Jul 10, 2006 MIND: Modern Inventors Documentation Program
This site "promote[s] the advancement and diffusion of knowledge about American inventors" by providing a database that "identifies the locations and contents of invention-related archival materials in the United States." The database is browsable by subject (such as agriculture, air and space, maritime, and medicine) or searchable. From the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, Smithsonian National Museum of American History. http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/MIND_Search_Basic.aspx Topics: Notable People, Technology Last updated Jun 26, 2006 Museum of Ancient Inventions
This online exhibit contains photos and descriptions of reproductions of forty-six inventions, including devices for early brain surgery (a trepanation kit) from 2000 BCE, a tumbler lock from 1000 BCE, a battery from 250 BCE, and devices from ancient Greek theater. The method of construction is described for each reproduction. From Smith College. http://www.smith.edu/hsc/museum/ancient_inventions/hsclist.htm Topics: Business, Notable People, Science, Technology Last updated Nov 25, 2001 National Inventors Hall of Fame
Hundreds of inventions and inventors, biographies, pictures, indexes of inventions and inventors. Searchable. http://www.invent.org/ Topics: Business, Business, Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Feb 6, 2004 NerdTV
"NerdTV is a new [2005] weekly online TV show from PBS.org [with] technology columnist Robert X. Cringely. NerdTV is ... a one-hour interview show with a single guest from the world of technology." The site features an archive with full shows (video and audio) and transcripts for guests such as "Andy Hertzfeld, the original Macintosh systems programmer" and Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive. From the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). http://www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv/ Topics: Computers, Technology Last updated Dec 1, 2005 North Side: George Ferris
Reprints of two newspaper articles from 1893 about George Ferris, inventor of the Ferris wheel. One discusses the building of the Ferris wheel for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and the other talks about the debut and first riders of the Ferris wheel. From the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/northside/nor_n105a.html Topics: Notable People, Recreation, Technology Last updated Jun 27, 2006 The Official Rube Goldberg Web Site
This Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author was best known for his crazy, convoluted "inventions." They were his "symbols of man's capacity for exerting maximum effort to accomplish minimal results." Included is a biography, a gallery of the "inventions," and information about the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest held at Purdue University in Indiana. http://www.rubegoldberg.com/ Topics: Notable People, Notable People: Arts & Humanities, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Oct 4, 2004 PatentCafe
A large site for intellectual property, patent, and invention resources. Includes links to how-to information, patent searching, invention groups, government agencies, and copyright, chat groups, magazines, and book sources. Searchable. http://www.patentcafe.com/ Topics: Business, Business & Consumer Law, Intellectual Property, Science, Technology Last updated Jan 25, 2006 Re-Living the Wright Way
Allows students and teachers to follow the Wright Brothers' invention process with links to lesson plans, simulations, videos, and activities. Features an overview of the Wright Brothers' discoveries, biographies of Wilbur and Orville Wright, a contemporary photo gallery, and extensive information about aerodynamics. From the NASA Glenn Research Center. http://wright.nasa.gov/ Topics: Business, Notable People, Science, Technology, Transportation Last updated Oct 4, 2004 Robert Hooke
This site has biographical material and describes some of the contributions of this 17th century experimental scientist, architect, and inventor of (among many things) the conical pendulum, the universal joint, and the balance spring. From the School of Mathematics, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Hooke.html Topics: Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Oct 2, 2004 Rube Goldberg Contest at Purdue
Details about this competition inspired by cartoonist Rube Goldberg, in which "college students nationwide compete to design a machine that uses the most complex process to complete a simple task," such as screwing in a light bulb, in 20 or more steps. Provides a FAQ, results of past competitions (back to 1999), photos of some of the machines, and background about Rube Goldberg and the contest. From Purdue University. http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/rube/rube.index.html Topics: Technology Last updated Apr 10, 2007 Samuel F. B. Morse Papers at the Library of Congress
This collection documents Morse's invention of the electromagnetic telegraph, role in developing telegraph systems, "career as a painter, his family life, his travels, and his interest in early photography, religion, and the nativist movement." Includes correspondence, diaries, notebooks, maps, drawings, and material from various publications. Also features a biographical timeline and a family tree. Searchable. From the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sfbmhtml/ Topics: Correspondence, Electrical Energy, History, Nonfiction by Genre, Notable People, Photograph Collections, Photograph Collections: Nature & Wildlife, Science, Technology Last updated Nov 28, 2004 Sydenham Town: John Logie Baird: TV Inventor
This website describes the work of John Logie Baird, an inventor of television who "helped the BBC begin the first public television service in 1932" and who "moved to Crescent Wood Road on Sydenham Hill and established the world's first major TV Studio and Broadcasting Complex at the Crystal Palace." Includes photos and links to articles about Baird and his work. From the community website for Sydenham Town, the SE26 district of London. http://www.sydenham.org.uk/john_logie_baird.html Topics: Notable People, Technology, Television Last updated Jan 15, 2008 Teaching With Documents: Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin
This lesson plan provides materials about the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney, in the context of learning about U.S. patent law. Features an essay about the invention and its effects on industry and on slavery, images of the patent documents, and classroom activities. From the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/cotton-gin-patent/ Topics: Black Resources, Business & Consumer Law, Crops, Intellectual Property, Notable People, Technology Last updated Apr 4, 2006 Technology in America
This site explores some technology history in the U.S. Specifically, the development of the telephone, the New York subway, and television, as well as the U-2 CIA spy plane and its pilot, Gary Powers. In addition, there is a technological timeline that provides brief information on many other American inventions, as well as a section called Forgotten Inventors with brief information on seven inventors. Also available are bibliographies, teacher's resources, and transcripts of the programs. Based on the PBS American Experience documentary series on Technology in America . http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/technology/ Topics: Business, Business, Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Nov 28, 2004 Tesla: Master of Lightning
PBS presents the life, times, and legacy of Nikola Tesla, scientist, inventor, and visionary. Attributed to his genius were the inventions of radio, alternating current (AC), electricity, neon, remote control, hydroelectric power, wireless electricity, death ray, particle beam weapons, and the Tesla coils (high frequency electricity). The program recounts Tesla's intense rivalries with contemporaries Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi. http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ Topics: Electrical Energy, Energy, Notable People, Science, Technology Last updated Oct 2, 2004 They Made America
Companion to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series that "examines America's evolution over two centuries." The site features images and profiles of the "extraordinary innovators whose ideas and entrepreneurial spirit gave birth to landmark advances like the steamboat and the 747 jetliner, and cultural touchstones like the Barbie doll and CNN. Profiles of each innovator can be viewed chronologically, geographically, and by category." Also includes resources for teachers and an "Innovators Tournament" game. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/ Topics: Business, Business, Notable People, Science, Technology Last updated Nov 16, 2004 Thomas A. Edison Papers
This ambitious project on the prolific American inventor contains a searchable document database of the microfilm and book editions of Edison's papers, some of the editorial materials from those publications, a timeline, a list of the major Edison companies, and copies of his 1,093 patents. A portion of the developing digital edition is available, combining the images of the microfilm and the text of the print volumes into an integrated body of information. http://edison.rutgers.edu/ Topics: Notable People, Science, Science, Technology Last updated Oct 2, 2004 Totally Absurd Inventions: America's Goofiest Patents
Enjoy the humorous and absurd inventions featured at this site, which is updated weekly with new material and offers an archive that contains dozens of illustrated inventions, each cited with its official patent number and year. Includes links to Golf's Goofiest Gadgets , inventor services, the Rothschild Petersen Patent Model Museum, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office with information on patents, trademarks, copyrights, and more. http://www.totallyabsurd.com/ Topics: Humor, Science, Technology Last updated Mar 19, 2003 United States Patent and Trademark Office Kids Pages
This U.S. Patent and Trademark Office site features puzzles, freebies, games, links, and other activities for children. The site is divided into three sections: "Twinkle Lights" (grades K-6), "Bright Lights" (grades 6-12), and "Guiding Lights" (parents, teachers, and coaches). "Guiding Lights" features curriculum guides, contest announcements, and advice on "assisting minor children with patent applications." Searchable. http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/kids/ Topics: Business, Intellectual Property, Internet Guides & Search Tools, Mysteries and More, Notable People, Science, Technology Last updated Oct 16, 2009 USDA-ARS Cotton Ginning Research Unit
The highlight of this government website for cotton ginning research is an extensive overview of the cotton gin, the device used to separate cotton lint from seed. Includes a diagram of the cotton ginning process and illustrations of the machinery. The site also provides technical publications, a list of cotton ginning patents (since 1984), and details about the unit's research activities. From the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS). http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/site_main.htm?modecode=64-02-30-00 Topics: Crops, Technology Last updated Apr 4, 2006 Western Union Telegraph Company Records, 1820-1995
This listing of Western Union Telegraph Company records begins with a concise history of the telegraph, including Samuel F.B. Morse's invention of the early telegraph, the Morse Code system, further developments that allowed Roman letters to be sent in addition to dots and dashes, early commercial telegraph services, the 1860 Pacific Telegraph Act, and the history of Western Union Telegraph Company. From the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, Smithsonian Institution. http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/fa_wu_index.aspx Topics: Business, Industries, Technology Last updated Feb 8, 2006 Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company
This virtual museum seeks to "tell the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the invention of the airplane, and man's first flights." The site includes history, stories, activities, information on building replica airplanes, historical photographs, bibliographies, related links, and more. Search the site, or browse using the Museum Guide. From "a non-profit organization of aviators, historians ... [and] educators." http://www.first-to-fly.com/ Topics: Business, Notable People, Science, Technology, Transportation Last updated Oct 4, 2004 Wright Brothers Digital Photographs
This searchable and browsable collection of over 400 photographs and cards "provides thorough coverage of the Wrights’ early inventive period documenting their experimental gliders and flight testing in both North Carolina and Ohio." From Ohio's Wright State University Libraries. http://dmc.ohiolink.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?page=index;c=wbc Topics: Notable People, Science, Technology, Transportation Last updated Dec 2, 2008 |
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