Black History Month: Inventor George Washington Carver

Coined by Time magazine as the “Black Leonardo” of his time, George Washington Carver is much more than the man that created the most important ingredient to peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

Born into slavery in the 1860’s, Carver was introduced to the importance of reading and education early on. After the abolishment of slavery, he attempted to enroll in several colleges to no avail. While looking to be accepted to a college (many would accept then later reject due to his race), George began his interest in farming and agriculture by maintaining his own small conservatory. Later studies included art & music as well.

In 1896, he was appointed the first principle and president of Tuskegee University. Many of his accomplishments during his time there included: teaching generations of black farmers self sufficiency, designing a mobile classroom that came to farmers & improving soils that were depleted due to repeated plantings of cotton.

His fame was on the rise during that time. Before being publicly recognized, Carver’s influence shown through the hiring of many of his former professors that were appointed into presidential cabinets. Both President’s Roosevelt, Coolidge and the Crown Prince of Sweden came to him for advice. A deep friendship formulated with Henry Ford due to their interest in the regenerative properties of soil and the potential for soybeans and peanuts to create plastics, fuel and paint. In turn Ford donated generously to Tuskegee Institute and research.

Declining health led to limited mobility. A fall at home ultimately led to his death in 1943. His museum, The George Washington Carver National Monument was the first dedicated to an African American showcasing his work.

His work included roughly 300 reputed inventions for peanuts, paintings, patents, research & writings.

Awards & Honors:

1890 he was the first black student at Simpson University
1893 his paintings get honorable mention at Chicago World Fair
1894 he got a bachelor in agriculture degree
1894 he was appointed member of faculty, Iowa State College
1896 he achieved Master of Agriculture Degree, Iowa State College
1923 he won Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, awarded annually for outstanding achievement
1928 he received honorary doctorate from Simpson College
1939 the Roosevelt Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Southern Agriculture
1940 Carver established the George Washington Carver Foundation at the Tuskegee Institute
1941 The George Washington Carver Museum was dedicated at the Tuskegee Institute
1941 he was received recipient, Award of Merit by Variety Clubs of America
1942 Ford built a replica of Carver’s birth cabin at the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn as a tribute
1942 Ford dedicated a laboratory in Dearborn named after Carver
1943 Liberty ship SS George Washington Carver launched
1965 Ballistic missile submarine USS George Washington Carver (SSBN-656) launched
1969 Iowa State University constructs Carver Hall in honor of Carver– a graduate of the university
1990 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
1998 the second Carver stamp (32¢) issued
2007 the Missouri Botanical Gardens has a garden area named in his honor, with a commemorative statue and material about his work

Via Steve Harvey

Taming Gadget Cables: Idea Starter

It can be such a hassle to maintain an organized office space. This is especially true when there are many devices placed in close proximity of each other. But thanks to some creative inventions, we might be able to find just the right tool for the job.

If you’ve been struggling with cable management check out this gallery of brilliant solutions: cord tags, labels, clips, cable boxes, zip-ties, and a whole lot more. These are all fantastic products which have caused a buzz around the Internet community. And looking through this eccentric collection, you’re bound to find something cool for the home office, or spark a creative idea for something new!

Via Hong Kiat

Sneaky Storage Space-Savers

With our current active search for Kitchen and Storage items, we'd love to get you inspired by a few storage products that already exist we came across on the internet.  These teenage inspired products are as cute as they are functional!

Chair Pockets

Create extra space for your books and school supplies by slipping this cool storage pocket onto the back of your desk chair. From your calculator to your water bottle, it fits it all!

All-Purpose Hanger

No space for your jewelry on your dresser? No problem! Hang—and display—all your pretty jewels on this convenient hanger. Keep it in your closet or display it on a door or towel hook. You'll be inspired to accessorize!

Over-The-Door Hamper

Between your roommate's stuff and yours, space is going to be pretty tight. Don't take up much-needed space with your hamper—hang it over the door instead!

Pastel Command Hooks

Since nailing things into dorm walls is a no-no, use these little hooks instead. They won't leave marks on your walls, can hold up to a ton of weight, and the pastel colors will perfectly match your bedding!

Folding Stool

This tiny stool will come in handy when you're trying to reach something at the very top of your wardrobe—and trust us, since your room will be tiny, you'll need all the storage space you can get! 

Via Seventeen Magazine

Ingenious Cooking Inventions You Need in Your Kitchen Immediately

With our current active search for Kitchen and Storage items, we'd love to get you inspired by a few inventions that already exist we came across on the internet.  Take a look at a couple of our favorites, perhaps it might spark something!

Never cook too much pasta again with the help of this measuring wheel:

JIF? Goodbye, sir:

Never suffer from uneven herb distribution again:

Corn, eh? It’s nice on the cob but you need it for a salad… Is it too much to ask for both?

And finally, this board that weighs as you chop:

Via The Daily Edge

Why the best inventions are never finished

The best inventions are never finished. When the German engineer Karl Benz invented the first petroleum-powered automobile, he did not just create an engine with wheels; he set in motion an industry that revolutionized the way society was structured. Similarly, the English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee did not only build the world’s first Web site. He laid the groundwork for the World Wide Web. Neither could have anticipated the impact of what he was doing.

If there is one lesson that economic policymakers should heed in 2015 and beyond, it is this: Just as invention is dynamic, so are the industries it creates. As we learned in 2014, it is a lesson that has yet to sink in entirely.

When Google was launched, people were amazed that they were able to find out about almost anything by typing just a few words into a computer. The engineering behind it was technically complicated, but what you got was pretty rough: a page of text, broken up by ten blue links. It was better than anything else, but not great by today’s standards.

So our co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin – like all other successful inventors – kept iterating. They started with images. After all, people wanted more than just text. This first became apparent after the 2000 Grammy Awards, where Jennifer Lopez wore a green dress that, well, caught the world’s attention. At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen. But we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: J­Lo wearing that dress. Google Image Search was born.

Maps are another great example. When people search Google for an address, they do not want a link to Web sites that mention the street. They usually want to know how to get there. So we built a map that was clickable, draggable, and easy to explore. Maps have become such an integral part of Google that most users probably cannot imagine it without them.

It has been the same with many of our changes. Our searches have gotten better over time. Google the weather where you live and you will get the forecast for the next few days as the top result, saving you time and effort.

But Google’s efforts to provide direct answers to questions have fueled complaints at the European Commission. Companies like Expedia, Yelp, and TripAdvisor argue that Google searches are depriving their Web sites of valuable traffic, putting their businesses at a disadvantage. Instead of us providing you with images, maps, the weather, news, or translated versions of foreign-language sites, they would rather go back to ten blue links.

A few years ago, a lawyer for one of our competitors drew a picture of a coastline with a little island offshore. He added a dotted line, explaining that this was the only ferry connecting the island to the mainland. His point was that Google was just like the ferry: the only way to navigate the Internet.

In reality, there are many ways to get around on the Web. For news, you might go directly to your favorite news service. If you want to buy something, you might go directly to Zalando or Amazon, where you can research models and prices, get reviews, and pay for your purchase all at once.

The real point is that the economic landscape in which we are operating is not only competitive; it is changing constantly. This year, our industry reached an important milestone. For the first time, people are spending more time on mobile devices than on their desktop computers. Time spent on desktops has now fallen to just 40%. And people use mobile devices very differently from the way they use desktops. Seven out of every eight minutes spent on a mobile phone is spent within an app, and the most popular app in the world is Facebook.

Many people look at Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon, among others, as companies that no competitor could ever beat. I am less certain. History is full of examples that show that size and past success guarantee nothing. Great companies can be surpassed swiftly. Just a few years ago, companies like Yahoo, Nokia, Microsoft, and Blackberry seemed unrivaled. They have all since been disrupted by a new wave of tech companies – Google among them.

Google works very differently from other companies that have been dubbed “gatekeepers” and that are regulated accordingly. We are not a ferry, a railroad, a telecommunications network, or an electricity grid with only one line serving you and no competitors allowed. No one is stuck using Google. People have choices, and they exercise them all the time. We know that if we cease to be useful, our users will leave. The barriers to entry are negligible, because competition is just one click away.

Someone in a garage somewhere is gunning for us, and 2015 could be the year that they make their move. I know, because not long ago we were in that garage. And I know that the next Google will not do what Google does, just as Google did not do what AOL did.

The upheavals resulting from momentous technological change are rarely expected. The telegraph disrupted the postal service. Radio and television shook up the newspaper industry. Airplanes ended the age of ocean liners. Inventions are always dynamic; that is why the future will always be as exciting as the past.

Written by Eric Schmidt is Executive Chairman of Google, Reposted via Agenda

The end of Google Glass and other bizarre inventions that never took off

Google Glass is over! At least in its current incarnation. In its brief time on shelf, it became the subject of many muggings, a symbol of the tech gentrification of San Francisco, and a surprisingly great prop for an FKA TWIGS video.

But, ultimately, the creepy face computer failed to capture the public’s imagination, inspiring, instead, many lolz and something of a revolt against ‘Glassholes’.

So, in the spirit of failed inventions, we’ve curated some of our favorites from history.

The Sound Burger

The Audio Technica AT-727 Sound Burger was a portable record player that failed to take off in the 1980s. There can’t have been many situations – apart from walking slowly with the Sound Burger held in front of you like a sacrifice – that this record player would have actually worked but I can really see this having an Urban Outfitters-funded comeback. Perhaps even as a necklace.

The Speech Jammer Gun

Okay this one never really went into production but imagine! Apparently some Japanese inventors developed this censoring machine using theDelayed Auditory Feedback phenomenon to interrupt speech, rendering the speaker silent. The logical conclusion of such a device would surely be mass-silencing hysteria, like when The Simpsons try to engage in family Electric Shock Therapy and semi nuke each other.
[speech-jamming-gun-640x353]

The Eating Machine

In one of his more political films Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin – the great actor, filmmaker and social commentator – anticipated the rise ofexploitative capitalism and created this ‘Eating Machine’ as a satire on increasing worker productivity. Chaplin’s genius was delivering these salient observations on culture and society in hilarious sketches that showed the ridiculousness of much ‘progress’ without preaching about it. Despite everything he did for American cinema he was too radical for the land of money and he was eventually exiled, slyly, in the McCarthy years. The Eating Machine is still here as a warning.

The Sporthock (for extreme sitting)

We witnessed the launch of the Sporthock one year at action sports trade show Ispo in Munich, Germany, and no, it is actually not a joke. Described as “a cross between skateboarding and sitting down”, the Sporthock is a plastic stool that you can chuck around and also sit on. There is literally nothing else to say about this other than, SITTING DOWN IS NOT A SPORT GUYS. And also, that stool is just a stool. Unbelievable scenes.

Via Shelley Jones at Huck

Ralph Baer, The Grandfather Of Gaming, Dead At 92

Public Domain Image from Wikimedia Commons

On weekends, my basement could be considered a shrine and church to Ralph Baer. It is there that my children congregate and play video games for hours, a pastime now as familiar as gathering around an open flame was to our early forbears. Ralph Baer, who died on December 6 at the age of 92, lit a thousand digital fires in a thousand cozy living rooms. He was the grandfather of gaming.

A German immigrant, Baer dreamed up the first “game box” while lounging outside of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. His invention, eventually dubbed the Magnavox Odyssey and launched in 1972, pulled video games out of grimy bars and smoky pinball halls and into the home where it has stayed for over four decades.

Baer’s vision was of a “brown box” that would connect to the television and send signals over the RF connection. Essentially a tiny electronic TV studio in a plastic case, he and Magnavox came up with an ingenious solution for giving children (and adults) an interactive home gaming experience. The system, when launched, included a version of football, a target shooting game, and an early version of tennis that predated Atari’s Pong. Sales were slow at first but quickly exploded. By 1974 Magnavox had sold three hundred and fifty thousand Odyssey at about $100 each.

Baer was born in Cologne and fled to New York with his family in 1938. He returned to Europe during WWII where he worked as a radio technician and intelligence officer. Upon returning to New York he began working on defense-related radio projects but the dream of a game-playing television hounded him. The key, he discovered, was to separate the television display from the game, thereby making it easy to upgrade rather than buy a whole new set.

His were not the first video games in existence – there were glimmers of a digital future on the horizon as early as 1958 – but the “brown box” was the first to capture the imaginations of countless proto-hackers. By bringing gaming into the home he was able to breed countless programmers, endless computer graphics artists, and countless game designers who were all draw to his soundless box like moths to a flame. Baer went on to build Simon, a battery-powered color matching game, as well as pioneer the musical greeting card. With over 150 patents to his name he was essentially an invention engine with an eye towards play and every time we fire up our iPads or turn on our wireless controllers we owe him – and his flash of inspiration – a debt of gratitude.

Via John Biggs at Tech Crunch

Play-Doh, The Accidental Invention That Changed The World

Image Courtesy of Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Inventor: Joseph McVicker, head of a Kutol Products Company, a soap manufacturer in Cincinnati, Ohio

What he was trying to make: In the early 1950s, Kutol created a doughy clay to take off soot in coal-burning homes. But as the Christian Science Monitor reports, people soon switched from coal to gas to warm their homes, and company was headed toward bankruptcy. 

How it was created: McVicker learned that his schoolteacher sister was using the "dough" as a modeling clay in her classes. Eureka! It was a toy, not a cleaning product. By 1957, colored Play-Doh was sold at Macy's and hawked on kids' TV shows — turning its creators into millionaires.

Via Drake Baer at Business Insider