90 Years Young
| Jean Clause – 90 years young – June 3, 1920 Last night we spoke to MOM on Skype – amazing technology (this picture of Mom was taken off the computer screen). When Mom was born, they were driving Model-T’s. Today, we see each as we speak in South Africa and Spokane, Washington (9 time zones away)! Band-Aid (1920) Earle Dickson, husband of Josephine Dickson, was employed in a company that made gauze and tape called “Johnson & Johnson”. Ironically, Josephine was extremely accident-prone; she seemed to be cutting herself every day. Finally, Earle came up with the idea of having a piece of tape with a small slice of gauze in the middle to have on hand for when Josephine “struck” again. He later sold these strips and four years later, “Johnson & Johnson” installed machines for mass-producing this new medical product, which they called the “Band-Aid.” |
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Hair Dryer (1920)
Prior to 1920, woman dried their hair by inserting a hose in the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner and blowing themselves dry. But in 1920, the hair dryer went public. Although this devise was extremely large and overheated easily, it was better than a vacuum! The hand-held hair dryer was not invented until 1951.
 | Automobile with Combustion Engine (~1920) The automobile was probably the most significant invention in the 20’s. Although an automobile, which was powered by steam, was invented in 1866, this car was moved by a fuel powered combustion engine. Invented by Henry Ford, these cars were more affordable to the public and were made by the hundreds to sell. The ‘Model-T’ was the first car to roll off the assembly line, and into the hearts of the Americans. The people could even pick any color they desired, “as long as it’s black”. By 1927, the ‘Model-T’ was found on the streets across America. The coming of the automobile created more jobs, better transportation, and more significantly, cultural changes. Suddenly people were dating more often and going on vacations. Henry Ford later founded the famous Ford Company. |
Kool-Aid (1927)
In many of the Americans’ hearts, Edwin Perkins of Omaha, Nebraska created the most important invention of history: Kool-Aid. Perkins was a chemist who owned a company called “Perkins Product Company” which sold perfume and calling cards. His inventions of Kool-Aid was originally called “Fruit Smack”, and then later “Kool-Ade’ until the well known Kool-Aid was released. The original flavors were: Cherry, Lemon-Lime, Grape, Orange, Root Beer, Strawberry, and Raspberry.
Q-Tips (~1920)
Polish-born American Leo Gerstenzang took his wife’s innovation and put it on the market. His wife used to cotton swabs each end of a stick to clean their baby’s ears. Then called ‘Baby Gays”, the wood was replaced by white cardboard, and Gertenzang started the “Infant Novelty Company” to sell these Q-Tips which are still used in the same fashion today.
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