Who invented …

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Packard

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I am finding that the history of woodworking tools is interesting.  Indeed, I remember how “advanced” my dad was to get an electric drill.  Until then he used a auger and brace or a hand cranked drill for small holes. 

Circular saw:

In 1923 Edmond Michel invented the portable circular saw and marketed it as “Skilsaw”.
https://www.protoolreviews.com/who-invented-circular-saw-skilsaw-history/

Portable Electric Drill:

The first portable handheld drill, however, came from the minds of Wilhelm and Carl Fein in Stuttgart, Germany in 1895. Yes, the very same Feins whose company dominates the best oscillating multi-tool market today.
https://www.protoolreviews.com/what-is-a-drill/

Table saw:

In the United States, perhaps the first recorded patent for the circular saw was issued in 1777 to an Englishman, Samuel Miller; it refers to a circular saw that was created in Holland in the 16th or 17th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_saw#

Please add to this list.
 
Stillson wrench:

Three old “Stillson-pattern” wrenches (with pencil in photo to show scale)
Daniel C. Stillson (1826-1899), a mechanic at the Walworth Company, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, created the first such wrench.[1] On October 12, 1869, U.S. patent #95,744 was issued to Stillson.[2]

On 17 August 1888, the Swedish inventor Johan Petter Johansson (1853-1943) took out his first patent on the adjustable pipe wrench.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_wrench#

As a small child in about 1955, my Dad took me to the dentist in the Bronx.  The dentist was a very old man it seemed to me. 

In the corner of the room, leaning at the intersection of the two walls, was a huge stillson wrench.  If my mind is not playing games with me, it would have been about 3 feet tall. 

I asked my father what is was and what it was for.  The dentist answered, “I used to like to say to patients, ‘It looks like that tooth is going to have to come out.’, but one patient fainted when I hefted the wrench.  So I don’t do that anymore.”

An innovative use of a common plumbing tool. [big grin]
 
Packard said:
The other products evolved.  The combination square seems almost identical to what we see today.  I find that amazing.
Click to expand...

Yes, talk about hitting it out of the park.

That said, there is at least one company carrying the design forward:
https://bridgecitytools.com/products/combination-squares

Interestingly, it could arguably have been developed in response to the Stanley Odd Job, which had its patent applied for in 1866, though not granted until much later:

Odd_Jobs_tool_patent_drawings_cropped.png


 
I always thought some guy named “Crapper” invented the toilet.  Not true.  He marketed the first mass produced toilet.  He did invent the ballcock, the first successful bowl filling valve.

Alexander Cumming gets credit for inventing the toilet and most especially trap that prevents gas from coming up the pipes. 
https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-flush-toilet

In 1775 Scottish inventor Alexander Cumming was granted the first patent for a flush toilet. His greatest innovation was the S-shaped pipe below the bowl that used water to create a seal preventing sewer gas from entering through the toilet.
 
Linda Ronstadt's grandfather was a prolific inventor, and made a mint off his invention of the rubber ice cube tray.

[size=18pt][size=14pt]Lloyd Groff Copeman (December 28, 1881 – July 5, 1956) was an American inventor who devised the first electric stove and the flexible rubber ice cube tray, among other products. He had nearly 700 patents to his name, and he claimed that he could walk into any store and find one of his inventions.
His daughter, Ruth Mary Copeman Ronstadt, was the mother of recording artist Linda Ronstadt[/size][/size]
 
WillAdams said:
Packard said:
The other products evolved.  The combination square seems almost identical to what we see today.  I find that amazing.
Click to expand...

Yes, talk about hitting it out of the park.

That said, there is at least one company carrying the design forward:
https://bridgecitytools.com/products/combination-squares

Interestingly, it could arguably have been developed in response to the Stanley Odd Job, which had its patent applied for in 1866, though not granted until much later:

Odd_Jobs_tool_patent_drawings_cropped.png
Click to expand...

And then there are those who try to keep the past alive in basically their original form:

https://garrettwade.com/product/historic-odd-job

(And yes, I own two  [eek]).

Peter
 
Peter Halle said:
And then there are those who try to keep the past alive in basically their original form:
Click to expand...

I have the Rockler reproduction --- unfortunately, most of my work is small enough scale that a 4" Starrett combination square (and matching centering head) is a better fit for it --- I think that this defines why that design won out --- it's better suited to scaling up/down (yes, I know about the various XL models), and works on a greater thickness of stock for a given size.

That said, I'm kicking myself for not buying a 9" Starrett when I had the chance.
 
Steve1 said:
Linda Ronstadt's grandfather was a prolific inventor, and made a mint off his invention of the rubber ice cube tray.

[size=18pt][size=14pt]Lloyd Groff Copeman (December 28, 1881 – July 5, 1956) was an American inventor who devised the first electric stove and the flexible rubber ice cube tray, among other products. He had nearly 700 patents to his name, and he claimed that he could walk into any store and find one of his inventions.
His daughter, Ruth Mary Copeman Ronstadt, was the mother of recording artist Linda Ronstadt[/size][/size]
Click to expand...

His greatest accomplishment.

Tom
 
Nails.
The roman blacksmiths invented nails.  One of the greatest inventions of all time.  When the Romans were in Scotland (AD 83-87), they had their smiths making lots of nails.  When they got kicked out of the country, they buried the nails because there were to heavy to move.  This hoard was found in 1960.  875,428 nails from 2.5 inch to 15 inch.

In the 1600's, nails were so valuable, when people moved, they would burn down their houses, pick up the nails and move out.
 
I have no idea who or when but I think glass ranks as on of the all time most useful of human creations. Hard to think of life without it.
 
Glass will form sometimes from lighting strikes on a beach.  I imagine some genius from the Middle East back-engineered this thousands of years ago.  I believe ancient Egyptians had glass but do not know if they invented it. 
 
greg mann said:
I have no idea who or when but I think glass ranks as on of the all time most useful of human creations. Hard to think of life without it.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I'd vote for oxygen.
 
Cheese said:
greg mann said:
I have no idea who or when but I think glass ranks as on of the all time most useful of human creations. Hard to think of life without it.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I'd vote for oxygen.
Click to expand...

Very useful, but not a human invention. "Isolate and identify?" sure, but it was here before us and likely will be after, unless that's why we get gone?
 
There was a big legal to do over isolating and identifying dna.  Someone wanted to patent the find. 

I read an article about it.  It certainly was not resolved at that time. 

A google search seems to indicate that it is still not resolved.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/jun/13/supreme-court-genes-patent-dna

The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.
https://www.google.com/search?q=pat...a gene&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-m

I was wondering a while back if someone could copyright their appearance, thus denying paparazzi from making money off their images. 

I was also wondering if someone could sue the state of Florida for a shooting in another state using a gun legally purchased in Florida. 

(I do way too much wondering in my spare time.)
 
In 2013 in the United States, the Supreme Court ruled that naturally occurring DNA could not be patented. For more on this sort of thing see:https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/policy-issues/Intellectual-Property

A celebrity would use trademark to protect their image/likeness:https://www.natlawreview.com/article/protecting-image-and-likeness-through-trademark-law --- another effective technique is to own multiples of the same outfit and wear that outfit when wanting some privacy.

No, if the gun was legally sold, then anyone involved in the legal sale should be immune from prosecution --- same principle as a convenience store clerk selling gasoline to an arsonist --- so long as the gasoline was dispensed into an approved/safe container, and there was no indication of itent to use it illicitly, then the clerk, and the gas station, and the company which refined/delivered the gas should not be liable for it being used for arson.
 
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