Invention Stories

“Technology knows no international boundaries . . . great engineers create for the progress of all mankind.” (Lili Réthi, Radio Salzburg Broadcast...

Eggs come in six sizes—jumbo, extra-large, large, medium, small, and peewee—and in three grades—AA, A, and B (grades are United States classifications...

On July 31, 1790, the inventor Samuel Hopkins was awarded the first US patent for a new method of making potash and pearl ash. Potash, later termed...

I stared at the search results, unable to make heads or tails of the metal contraptions on my screen. I wanted to be an archivist, not an engineer. I...

John McMullen (1791-1870) and Joseph Hollen, Jr. (1798-1874), both of central Pennsylvania, patented a machine for knitting stockings in 1831. This...

In 1776, Adam Smith began his famous text, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, with what sounded like an anecdote...

Where does ice come from? The refrigerator door, most of us would answer. But the technology to create the kind of “artificial” ice we take for...

In 1847, Charles Clarenbach (circa 1820-1877) and Leopold Herder (circa 1825-1874), both German immigrants, founded Clarenbach & Herder (634 Arch...

I like boxes. They’re useful for containing, organizing, and moving “stuff.” Sometimes they hide the “stuff” you don’t want seen. Boxes can also be...

Brightly colored wires tipped with connectors of all sorts are not uncommon in Spark!Lab. When Draper Spark!Lab opened on July 1, 2015, we seeded it...

In 2011 I was managing the Explore More Stuff Lab at Discovery Place in Charlotte, North Carolina. As part of an upcoming lab unit we had received a...

The need for a skilled and educated work force is a frequent topic in current discussions about revitalizing the economy. This is not a new concern...

Color shapes our view of the world. It enriches our lives and surprises us with its endless variety. Color mirrors our moods and probably has more...