Inventions of the 18th century to the early 19th century

The battery

1800

With the rise of electricity, people need a lightweight, portable and compact power source (the best at that time was a large generator). Count Alessandro Volta, was the inventor of the battery. At first, it was a relatively cumbersome device and was quite dangerous as it had a it’s wires sticking out. But in the coming years, it became a very useful tool, it made other inventions like portable electric lamps and electromagnets possible.

The "improved" printing press

1810

Back before a brilliant German inventor came up with the improved printing press, people had to rely on large, unwieldy and complex printing press. A German by name of Frederick Koenig, made to printing press in order to support the growing business of newspapers. The new printing press allowed for more efficient printing, some companies took advantage of this and bought more printing presses and hire more people. This lowered the unemployment rate slightly.

The first steam engine

1814

The first steam locomotive was a strange sight, it would have looked nothing like steam engines we know today. At first, the prototype was so heavy it dislocated and bent the tracks! After a lot of trial and error (with the assistant of lighter parts) the first steam locomotive was up and running. George Stephenson (the inventor) said his new invention would quote "revolutionary". I must say it was quite revolutionary, allowing people to travel vast distances with just using coal.

The electromagnet

1825

This invention was a step closer to creating electronic systems, the electromagnet was a man made magnet using a power source and a piece of conductive material (iron). The first electromagnet prototype was made by William Sturgeon. This was a way to harness seemingly all nature occurring power into something that humans have control over. It is also to mention that without the invention of the battery, would wouldn’t have this unique invention.

The typewriter

1829

The American invention was the pinnacle of its time, no more bulky printing presses or writing for a extremely long time, now you have a portable way to write down entire paragraphs. Although not exactly the most portable device for writing, it was a gift for those who didn’t have the fastest writing speed or the neatest hand writing. It was the predecessor to the modern keyboard and keyboard layout.

The refrigerator (not really)

1834

Back then, if you left a piece of meat or fruit out for too long it would start to go bad. Before this invention came out, you preserved fruits and meat by either drying out the fruit or meat by covering it with salt or drying it with the heat of the sun. Either way, the food wouldn’t really taste good anymore so, a inventor by the name of Jacob Perkins decided that if the food was kept cold it would last longer. So he made the refrigerator, it was a large insulated box with a section for ice.

It’s high noon (the revolver)

1836

Long story short, back then handguns took a very long time to reload (30-60 seconds depending on how skill you were). This problem came to the attention of Samuel Colt who invented the revolver. With this invention you take down 2 robbers and still have enough rounds left to deal with even more. Reloading was also a cinch, as you just had to put a new paper cartridge and bullet in chamber. This gave a leg up for the law enforcement and mischief makers alike.

Morse code

1838

Morse was a new form of long distance communication, this form of communication was most commonly used during World War One. The soldiers on the battlefield used it as a way to direct artillery strikes to their intended target. The Morse code device and alphabet was developed by Samual Morse and was named in his honour. Morse code is very important to rescue teams as if coms (radios) are down they can use Morse code to communicate.

The telephone

1876

The famous Canadian inventor Alexander Graham Bell, created a revolutionary way of communication. By using electronic signals to transmit sounds he created the first telephone, he also is the first human being to speak through a telephone say this very famous sentence, quote: “Mr. Watson--come here--I want to see you." End quote. Without this amazing invention, we wouldn’t have our high tech smartphones and long distance radios. The human world would truly be disconnected.

Four stroke internal combustion engine

1876

Inventor Nicolaus August Otto, created the first reliable petrol combustion engine. The engine uses a combination of petroleum, air and a spark to turn an axle that rotates the wheels. Without this very important invention we wouldn’t have cars to go long distances or our fast super cars or hand crafted luxury cars. Now these early cars couldn’t reach the average speeds of cars today, they often reach a meager 5-10 kilometres per hour so pretty slow.

Coca-Cola

1886

To end this presentation on a “sweet” note (quite literally) we have Coca-Cola, the classic carbonated soft drink. Dr. John S. Pemberton (Yes a doctor created Coca-Cola) started mixing different spices in water, sugar and then carbonated it. Unknowingly, he created the most infamous and American product ever, and created a product leading to obesity. Surprisingly, Coca-Cola was a big hit for American soldiers during World War Two.