Category Science

            Glass was accidentally discovered around 3000 BC by Middle Eastern nomads while camping on a lake-side.

            They found chips of glass in the soil, which were actually created by the chemical reaction between silica content in the soil, and sodium carbonate deposits from the waters of the lake during higher temperatures.

            The oldest-known glass artefacts of consistently high quality date back to approximately 1500 BC when Egyptians made hollow glass by forming a core from a bag of sand or a lump of clay, attaching it to a metal rod and then covering it in molten glass. When the glass cooled, the clay was removed.

            However, glass vessels and utensils came into being nearly three centuries later. A glass maker in Syria discovered that a blob of glass at the end of a tube could be blown into a vessel of almost any shape.

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            Different forms of adhesives were used by primitive men. Many excavations have revealed that early humans used bitumen, a natural glue, to attach stones and wooden blocks. Bitumen is used even now for surfacing roads and waterproofing roofs. Bitumen’s waterproofing qualities were utilized by shipwrights in Babylon and Mesopotamia as early as 2400 BC, in order to caulk their ships.

            The Egyptians produced a variety of glues by boiling animal skin, bone and sinew, which are used by traditional carpenters even now. Other natural adhesives used since earliest times include beeswax, egg white, gum, resin and starch pastes etc.

            Natural rubber-based sticky adhesives were first manufactured by Henry Day in 1845. Interestingly, Eastman Kodak’s researchers discovered Super-glue accidentally in the 1950s. They were first sold in Britain in the mid-1970s. Superglue is well known for its tighter grip.

            Varieties of synthetic adhesives are still being developed, with the ever evolving, new technologies.

            It was in 1901 that Hubert Cecil Booth, a London engineer, tried something different in order to dislodge trapped dust and dirt. He placed a handkerchief on a dusty couch, and then proceeded to suck air through it. By thus depositing grime on his handkerchief, he proved that suction could dislodge, and trap dirt. Inspired by this result, booth developed the first machine to combine a power-driven suction pump with a dust collecting bag attached to it. His innovation was named Puffing Billy.

            Later, more convenient and smaller vacuum cleaners evolved for domestic use. However, they were soon overtaken by the electric suction sweeper patented in the US by James Murray Spangler, in 1907. Unable to capitalize on his invention, he sold it to a leather goods maker, William Henry Hoover. A catchy slogan ‘it beats as it sweeps as it cleans’ was delivered while marketing it.

            The vacuum cleaners predecessor, the carpet sweeper was introduced in the market in 1811. Melville Bissell patented a more efficient version in 1876, which revolutionized housework.

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            Even as early as 2000 BC, the Ancient Egyptians used to find pleated clothes fashionable. They achieved this effect by starching their clothes and pressing them continuously with wooden rollers.

            Another interesting fact is connected to the Vikings, who invaded Europe in the 9th century and used to spread their clothes on whalebone plaques. Ironing, similar to what is done in our modern age, was initially introduced in the Far East during the 8th century, when small pans were filled with hot coal, and used. However, this method became popular in Europe only in the 15th century.

            Gas irons were developed in France at first. However, the earliest patent for an electric iron was taken out by an American, Henry Seeley, in 1882.

            Dryers have a comparatively modern origin. People started using hand-operated dryers to dry clothes only in the 17th century. It was from the 1860s onward that steam powered dryers became popular. The first electric tumble driers were installed in ships of the P&O Line in 1909.

            However, they became household equipment only during the 1930s.

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               In 1908, a Swiss chemist, Jacques Brandenberger invented cellophane, a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and water made it useful. But it was really expensive, and was used mostly to wrap luxury items. Later in 1927, the American company Du Pont patented another excellent version of cellophane, which was used to encase packaged goods such as cigarettes.

               Going forward, in 1934, the earliest form of hygienic food wraps named Pliofilm were manufactured and marketed in the US. They were made from rubber based hydrochloride.

               The invention of adhesive cellophane happened in the 1920s, at the height of the American fashion for two-tone cars. The Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company introduced a sticky, but not too sticky, adhesive tape for auto pointers to use on two-tone paint Jobs. Later in 1934, sticky tapes became popular in the British market, Cello tape; a brand of adhesive tape was commercialized in 1937.

               The very fast reference to nails can be traced back Mesopotamia about 3500 BC. Nails were found on the statue of a bull made out of copper sheets, which were nailed on to a wooden frame.

               During the Middle Ages, nails were made by hammering rods through a series of holes of decreasing size.

               Later, artisans known as nailers or nailors, who became popular around 1800, started making a variety of handmade nails.

               It was in 1786 that the very first nail making machine was developed in the US by Ezekiel Reed. Later, in 1790, Thomas Clifford introduced another machine in England. Though the wrought-iron nails continued well into the 19th century, they lost their demand gradually as harder cut nails were preferred, considering their various uses. This was when wire nails came into being. By 1913, ninety percent of manufactured nails were wire nails. Thus nails became cheaper. Today, almost all nails are manufactured from wire, and instead of bronze or wrought iron, steel is used to make them.

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