"Greatest discoveries and inventions of the 20th century" by Class 3º Polimodal I Natural Science- Normal School

The safety pin   

 

Walter Hunt (1796-1859) had come up with numerous other inventions before he created the safety pin in 1849. None of them, however, had made him any money! Owing fifteen dollars to a friend, he decided to invent something new to make enough to pay back the debt. He took a piece of wire, coiled it in the centre, shielded one end and – hey presto – he’d created the world’s safety pin. He took out a patent on his invention, sold the rings to it for four hundred dollars, paid his friend back and had 385 dollars to spare. Then he watched his latest brainwave go on to become a million dollar earner for someone else!

By Karen Canale.

 
 

The Tin Oponer  

   

Strangely enough, the first practical tin opener was developed more than forty years after the metal tin was produced. Tinned food was developed for the British Navy in 1813. Made of solid iron, the tins usually weighed more than the food they held! Although the inventor, Peter Durand, successfully figured out how to seal food into this, he gave little thought as to how to get it out again. The instructions read: ‘Cut round the top with a chisel brought out that the tin opener was invented. The first was devised by Ezra Warner in 1858. This type never left the shop, as a shop assistant opened all this before they were taken away! The more modern tin opener, with a cutting wheel, was invented by William Lyman in 1870. Pull-open tins, which do not need a tin opener at all, were introduced in 1966.

By Maria Eugenia Alonso