Presidents’ Day has come and gone and just like there are no days off for the president of the United States, there are no days off in the world of inventions, too.
Every day, a new innovative invention is being developed by people from all walks of life.
But, since last Monday was Presidents’ Day, we thought we would stick with the presidential theme and take a look back at a few of the innovations that some of our fearless leaders invented!
Let’s start with the only president who’s held a patent. We’re looking at you, Abraham Lincoln!
Did you know that Abe Lincoln, our 16th president, became so frustrated with his own boats getting stuck on sandbars that he thought of a bellows-like mechanism that inflates to help lift the boat over obstacles? Though most of us might not be able to relate to this issue, Lincoln was definitely a forward-thinker and found a better way to overcome obstacles!
Among all of the presidents thus far, Thomas Jefferson is perhaps the most creative, despite the fact that he never patented his ideas. However, that’s beside the point. His idea of the wheel cipher, known as the Jefferson disk, was a standout. This invention allowed him to send coded messages back to his home, all the while he was serving as America’s minister to France. That sounds a lot like a precursor to texting if you ask us!
Have you ever thought while on a hike, “Wow, I really wish my walking stick had a microscope?” If so, you have the same mindset as America’s fourth president James Madison did when he came up with this unusual invention. This invention combined a microscope into a walking stick, which would allow nature lovers to get a closer, better look at the interesting things around them. Take a look at this invention in the image above from Mashable!
Last, but not least, although Theodore Roosevelt never actually invented anything, he did inspire a childhood classic, the teddy bear. In fact, Roosevelt gave permission to use his name to toymaker Morris Michtom, who then based his design off of the editorial cartoons of Clifford Berryman. So, the next time you snuggle up with your teddy bear, just think, you’re holding on to a piece of American history!
These are only a few U.S. presidents that have had an invention idea; and, we must admit that from an invention that solves the problem of a boat getting stuck to the classic childhood toy of the teddy bear, these presidents are definitely an inspiration for innovation!
Copyright Davison, 2015
Sources:
http://mashable.com/2015/02/16/presidential-inventions/
Media:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Lincoln_patent_drawings.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Jefferson%27s_disk_cipher.jpg
http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE1LzAyLzEyLzIwL3dhbGtpbmdzdGljLjQ0MWU0LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTg1MHg4NTA-CmUJanBn/a5fda4e4/936/walking-stick-microscope.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/231/493827383_4e113e6fd0_z.jpg?zz=1