Iced tea
At the 1904 World Expo in St. Louis, Missouri, British tea merchant Richard Blechynden was trying to sell black tea from India. Unfortunately, though, it was summertime, and no one wanted to try hot tea in the searing heat. A frustrated Blechynden poured the tea he had steeped over a handful of ice cubes, and his “iced tea” was gratefully received by Expo visitors. Today it is an international success.
Popsicles
11-year-old Frank Epperson was thirsty and mixed himself a glass of water, sugar and fizzy powder – and then left the whole concoction on a windowsill with the spoon still in it. It stayed there the whole winter night long. The next morning the mixture was frozen and could be pulled out of the glass by the spoon. 17 years later, when he was 28, Epperson remembered his water-ice-on-a-stick when he made some for his children, and in 1925 he first marketed “popsicles.” He sold his company for millions three years later.
Tea bags
In 1904, New York tea merchant Thomas Sullivan was sending samples to potential clients, and in an effort to save money on postage, he packed his wares in attractive thin silk bags instead of tins. His new clients were flummoxed by what they received and hung the tea, bag and all, in cups of hot water – and quickly ordered more. The first double-chamber paper tea bags were produced in 1929.
Matchbox cars – Collector's items and toys all in one © ExQuisine - Fotolia.com / The water-ice-on-a-stick was invented by Frank Epperson / In some countries, ball-point pens are still commonly known as “biros” after their inventor © Rene Wechsler - Fotolia.comBall-point pens
His father wanted him to study dentistry, but Laszlo Biro (1899 – 1985) chose instead to work as an insurance agent, journalist, race-car driver and inventor. While a Hungarian printing company, Biro observed the print roller and thought it would be a good idea to develop a mini roller for writing purposes. But how? Biro saw the solution when his daughter's pants pocket tore and the marbles she was carrying rolled through a puddle and left streaks on the asphalt. He then designed a pen featuring a ball that picks up ink on one side and transfers it to paper on the other. He received a patent for his pens in 1938. In some countries, ball-point pens are still commonly known as “biros” after their inventor.
Nylon
The stretchability of polyamide 66, better known to us as nylon, was first encountered while playing around. Chemist Dr. Wallace Hume Carothers was looking for synthetic forms of rubber and silk. In 1934 he discovered nylon, which was first put to use in (painfully hard) toothbrush bristles. While toying around in the lab with cold polyamide 66, Carothers and his assistant stretched it like chewing gum and found that when cold, it can be drawn out to 400 percent its original length. Carothers did not live to see what a success his nylon became, especially nylon stockings, a top-selling item from 1940 onward. he committed suicide in 1937, thinking that his discovery was useless.
Matchbox cars
Collector's items and toys all in one. In 1952, a British law was passed regulating the size of toys that children could take with them to school. Englishman Jack Odell built a little toy for his daughter, a steamroller which could fit in a matchbox. All of her classmates wanted one too, and after they were patented in 1953, the first Matchbox cars went into serial production.
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