GREAT INVENTIONS (GOOD IDEAS)

Everyone benefits from the ideas of the inventors. The simplest inventions, such as can openers and folding umbrellas, help us solve some of life's problems with simplicity and speed. Inventors develop their ideas in different ways. Some inventions are the result of years of effort and experimentation, others are an occurrence of the moment. The invention of the "Velcro" was inspired by the plants, while the Post-it annotators were the result of an accident: an experiment that did not seem to work. Some inventions, such as the hook pin, are based on long forgotten ideas that are reused with current materials and technology.

The Velcro, which serves to fasten things quickly and easily, was invented in 1957 by the Swiss engineer George de Mestral, who studied with a microscope the seeds of the mole and saw how they adhered to the legs of an animal by means of tiny hooks. He copied the idea and created the Velcro. The Velcro is designed to be used again and again. It consists of two nylon bands: one with hooks and another with ties. The bands adhere firmly and detach easily.

The Post-it annotators were invented by accident, when an American company developed a new paste paste. At first, the rubber did not stick permanently and nobody knew what to use it for. A choir singer, Arthur Fry, used it to mark the pages of his hymn book and showed how useful it could be. The Post-it sticks, they take off and they stick again in other places.

In 1855, the British inventor Robert Yeates solved the problem of how to open food cans. His new can opener had a pointed pincer to pierce the can, a sharp blade to cut the edge and a curved handle decorated with the face of a bull. It was given with the cans of meat.

The Norwegian Johann Waaler invented the paper clip in the 1900s. He prevented others from copying his idea by taking out a patent that gave him only the right to make and sell his paper clips for 20 years.

In 1849, Charles Rowley and Walter Hunt invented the hook pin, which quickly became known throughout the world. However, these pins have a much older history. To fasten their clothes, the ancient Egyptians used pins with a bishop inside. This idea inspired the modern hook pin.