CosmicBills Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Okay, so my internet research skills are coming up short ... I'm doing some research for work and need a little help from the kind folks here. Basically, without boring you with the details, I'm working on something set in the 1870s (US) and have a character who's unabashedly modern. He likes all the newest gizmos and gadgets -- even if he's not good with them. And I need to find something that he can use that demonstrates this. I've toyed with using photography and the typewriter (neither really did what I wanted though). It can really be anything that a single person would use (either at home or in a city). I know that's vague and weird, but just taking a shot that the collective brain powers here will have a far better answer than I've been able to find on google. ha! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Can I get an executive producer credit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Can I get an executive producer credit? If they give me one! Deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeviF Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Heroin was synthesized for the first time in 1874 How about the manual vacuum cleaner? Linky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Heroin was synthesized for the first time in 1874 How about the manual vacuum cleaner? Linky Oooh -- the vacuum is nice! Thanks! Really, really appreciate it! (Keep more coming if ya'll find any.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Here's a few. MOTORCYCLE The earliest motorcycle was a coal-powered, two-cylinder, steam-driven motorcycle that was developed in 1867 by the American inventor Sylvester Howard Roper. A gas-powered motorcycle was invented by the German inventor Gottlieb Daimler in 1885. His mostly wooden motorcycle had iron-banded wheels with wooden spokes. This bone-crunching vehicle was powered by a single-cylinder engine. POTATO CHIPS The potato chip was invented in 1853 by George Crum. Crum was a Native American/African American chef at the Moon Lake Lodge resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. French fries were popular at the restaurant and one day a diner complained that the fries were too thick. Although Crum made a thinner batch, the customer was still unsatisfied. Crum finally made fries that were too thin to eat with a fork, hoping to annoy the extremely fussy customer. The customer, surprisingly enough, was happy - and potato chips were invented! STRAUSS, LEVI Levi Strauss (1829-1902) was an entrepreneur who invented and marketed blue jeans. Trained as a tailor in Buttenheim, Bavaria, Germany, Strauss went to San Francisco, USA from New York in 1853. Strauss sold dry goods, including tents and linens to the 49ers (the people who came to the California gold rush, which began in 1849). In 1873, Strauss and Jacob Davis, a Nevada tailor, patented the idea (devised by Davis) of using copper rivets at the stress points of sturdy work pants. Early levis, called "waist overalls," came in a brown canvas duck fabric and a heavy blue denim fabric. The duck fabric pants were not very successful, so were dropped early on. His business became extremely successful (and still is), revolutionizing the apparel industry. TOILET PAPER Joseph Gayetty invented toilet paper in 1857. His new toilet paper was composed of flat sheets. Before Gayetty's invention, people tore pages out of mail order catalogs - before catalogs were common, leaves were used. Unfortunately, Gayetty's invention failed. Walter Alcock (of Great Britain) later developed toilet paper on a roll ( instead of in flat sheets). Again, the invention failed. In 1867, Thomas, Edward and Clarence Scott (brothers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) were successful at marketing toilet paper that consisted of a small roll of perforated paper . They sold their new toilet paper from a push cart - this was the beginning of the Scott Paper Company. Close to the years anyway........ Edited February 23, 2011 by erynthered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Okay, so my internet research skills are coming up short ... I'm doing some research for work and need a little help from the kind folks here. Basically, without boring you with the details, I'm working on something set in the 1870s (US) and have a character who's unabashedly modern. He likes all the newest gizmos and gadgets -- even if he's not good with them. And I need to find something that he can use that demonstrates this. I've toyed with using photography and the typewriter (neither really did what I wanted though). It can really be anything that a single person would use (either at home or in a city). I know that's vague and weird, but just taking a shot that the collective brain powers here will have a far better answer than I've been able to find on google. ha! Thanks! OK, ya owe me... 1840 Englishmen, John Herschel invents the blueprint. 1841 Samuel Slocum patents the stapler. 1842 Joseph Dart builds the first grain elevator. 1843 Alexander Bain of Scotland, invents the facsimile. 1844 Englishmen, John Mercer invents mercerized cotton. 1845 American, Elias Howe invents a sewing machine. Robert William Thomson patents the first vulcanised rubber pneumatic tire. 1846 Dr. William Morton, a Massachusetts dentist, is the first to use anesthesia for tooth extraction. 1847 Hungarian, Ignaz Semmelweis invents antisceptics. 1848 Waldo Hanchett patents the dental chair. 1849 Walter Hunt invents the safety pin. 1850 Joel Houghton was granted the first patent for a dishwasher. 1851 Isaac Singer invents a sewing machine. 1852 Jean Bernard Léon Foucault invents gyroscope. Henri Giffard builds an airship powered by the first aircraft engine - an unsuccessful design. 1853 George Cayley invents a manned glider. 1854 John Tyndall demonstrates the principles of fiber optics. 1855 Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine motor. Georges Audemars invents rayon. 1856 Louis Pasteur invents pasteurisation. 1857 George Pullman invents the Pullman Sleeping Car for train travel. 1858 Hamilton Smith patents the rotary washing machine. Jean Lenoir invents an internal combustion engine. 1861 Elisha Otis patents elevator safety brakes, creating a safer elevator. Pierre Michaux invents a bicycle. Linus Yale invents the Yale lock or cylinder lock. 1862 Richard Gatling patents the machine gun. Alexander Parkes invents the first man-made plastic. 1866 Alfred Nobel invents dynamite. J. Osterhoudt patents the tin can with a key opener. Englishmen Robert Whitehead invents a torpedo. 1867 Christopher Scholes invents the first practical and modern typewriter. George Westinghouse invents air brakes. Robert Mushet invents tungsten steel. J P Knight invents traffic lights. 1872 J.S. Risdon patents the metal windmill. A.M. Ward issues the first mail-order catalog. 1873 Joseph Glidden invents barbed wire. 1874 American, C. Goodyear, Jr. invents the shoe welt stitcher. 1876 Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone. Nicolaus August Otto invents the first practical four-stroke internal combustion engine. Melville Bissell patents the carpet sweeper. 1877 Thomas Edison invents the ylinder phonograph or tin foil phonograph. Eadweard Muybridge invents the first moving pictures. 1878 Sir Joseph Wilson Swan was the first person to invent a practical and longer-lasting electic lightbulb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Dynamite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) There were a shitload of patents submitted during the civil war. Most were ways to kill people so those should be fun to put in there. My favorite was a weapon that was two cannons that shot simultaneously two cannon balls with a chain attached to the two. The plan was to have the chain mow down the approaching line of enemy. Seeing they could never get the two cannons to fire at exactly the same time it never worked. The tests I bet however were a blast (no pun intended) to watch. Edited February 23, 2011 by Chef Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dib Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 There were a shitload of patents submitted during the civil war. Most were ways to kill people so those should be fun to put in there. My favorite was a weapon that was two cannons that shot simultaneously two cannon balls with a chain attached to the two. The plan was to have the chain mow down the approaching line of enemy. Seeing they could never get the two cannons to fire at exactly the same time it never worked. Test I bet however were a blast (no pun intended) to watch. It was supposed to work at sea also to take down rigging and masts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 You guys f'ing rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Being a food guy here are some more: Fish and Chips 1860 Breakfast Cereal 1863 Tabasco Sauce 1868 California Raisins. 1870 Kobe Beef 1870 Margarine 1870 Heinz Ketchup 1876 (a year too late for you timeline but a good one none the less) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booster4324 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 List Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 It was supposed to work at sea also to take down rigging and masts Was widely used before and during the Napoleonic era for just that, albiet fired out of a single barrel. It became largely obsolete before the Civil War with the invention and use of shell over shot. Never heard of it being fired as an anti-personnel weapon out of two barrels, though. Rather silly. Tgreg...try to dig up a mail order catalog from the era, that should have lots of "didn't know I needed it" goodies in it. Of course, the mail order catalog was invented in 1872...which, being full of "didn't know I needed it" goodies, would make it a good prop... PVC was also invented in the 1870s...if you want to dress a character like Carrie Ann Moss in The Matrix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopsGuy Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 OK, ya owe me... Man, people used to be awesome. 1876 Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone. Antonio Meucci needed an angel investor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I don't mean to be nosy (OK, I do) but is this connected to CC's new Civil War-era project? Still at BR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Was widely used before and during the Napoleonic era for just that, albiet fired out of a single barrel. It became largely obsolete before the Civil War with the invention and use of shell over shot. Never heard of it being fired as an anti-personnel weapon out of two barrels, though. Rather silly. Tgreg...try to dig up a mail order catalog from the era, that should have lots of "didn't know I needed it" goodies in it. Of course, the mail order catalog was invented in 1872...which, being full of "didn't know I needed it" goodies, would make it a good prop... PVC was also invented in the 1870s...if you want to dress a character like Carrie Ann Moss in The Matrix. I misunderstood. It was actually a single cannon with double barrels. Still didn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 If they give me one! Deal! How about a Research Dept line in the credits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 I don't mean to be nosy (OK, I do) but is this connected to CC's new Civil War-era project? Still at BR? Naw, it's for something different. No longer at BR ... I'll give ya more deets in a PM if you want:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDS Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Tgreg...try to dig up a mail order catalog from the era, that should have lots of "didn't know I needed it" goodies in it. Of course, the mail order catalog was invented in 1872...which, being full of "didn't know I needed it" goodies, would make it a good prop... yeah, try and find an old SkyMall catalog... you should be golden then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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