Quiz | Easy as Sunday morning: Popular patents
Professor Eric Laithwaite at the Royal Society of Arts in London.
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1/10 | On June 2, 1857, James Gibbs of Virginia received a patent for his invention. The original machine was invented by Elias Howe, but it was cumbersome and slow. Gibbs patented his technique called the ‘chain stitch’, which was based on the craft of using looped stitches. This made the machine much easier to create designs. What was this machine that changed the livelihood of millions of women?
2/10 | This man made the first sound transmission on 2 June 1875. With both his mother and wife being deaf, he was inspired to explore ways of communication. He began experimenting with acoustic telegraphy and eventually developed a device. Although Antonio Meucci had already applied for a similar patent, he did not have the $10 needed to complete the process. Who was this man who patented his machine before Meucci?
3/10 | On June 2, 1896, this man applied for a patent for his wireless telegraph which led to him winning the Nobel Prize in 1909. He was the first to make modern, mass communications truly global. It all started when he learned to send signals in his parents’ attic. Who was this man, thanks to whom any two people in any two places on the planet could communicate?
Answer: Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi
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4/10 | On June 2, 1903, Japanese American chemist Takamine Jokichi received a patent for a hormone he had managed to isolate from certain glands above the kidneys. This hormone plays a big role in the regulation of blood pressure and is responsible for increasing both blood flow to muscles and cardiac output. People who are allergic to certain things (such as shrimp) need it in an emergency. What is this hormone that is responsible for our survival?
5 / 10 | Eric Laithwaite had invented full-size linear induction motors, and he recognized that they did not require physical contact with a metal track to work. In 1967, two researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory applied for a patent for a ‘maglev ____’, which generated “a suspension force to float a ____ above the ground.” What was the patent for?
Answer: Train (magnetic levitation train)
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6/10 | The patent for one of the most recognisable modern devices is very simple. The 2007 document simply states ‘ornamental design of an electronic device, as shown and described’. It was not the first device of its kind, nor was it a revolutionary technological breakthrough. The basic design and simplicity made it unique. What is this device, now in its 15th edition?
7/10 | The earliest version of this device was invented in 1890 by Nicholas Yagin, who called it a ‘walking assistive device’. Over the years, it has evolved to the ReWalk patent in 2014, which is used in rehabilitation centers, and helps people with lower extremity paralysis to walk and even climb stairs. What is this device, which gives strength and strength to the body from the outside?
8/10 | In 1962, Edward Vanderlip, an engineer at Piasecki Aircraft, patented a mechanism that allowed a helicopter’s instruments to continue working even in the event of a power failure. He then incorporated the same system into a remote-piloted aircraft. This led to the first patent for a device that could be used as both a fun toy and a dangerous military weapon?
9/10 | This patent, issued in 1986, was for a device that produced objects by stereolithography, or photo-solidification of resin. Liquid resin is solidified layer by layer with UV light to form shapes. What is this technology, which is used to make everything from pens to houses?
10 / 10 | Jaap Haartsen invented this technology, whose patent is titled, “Peer to Peer Information Exchange for Mobile Communication Devices”. It is named after an ancient Scandinavian king who brought Norway and Denmark together, and who was given a certain nickname because of a dental problem. What is this technology, which we all face on a daily basis?
