Who invented kickball?
Kickball was invented by Nicholas C Seuss and the early form of the game was called “kick baseball,” which it is sometimes still called today. It was invented in Cincinnati, Ohio where Seuss was the Supervisor of Cincinnati Park Playgrounds. A few years later it entered the public school system where it was adopted by physical education teachers as a way to teach young children about baseball. During the early days of the game it was usually played on the same field as baseball.

Did you know?
It has been reported that some US soldiers played kickball in their down time during World War II.

Kickball is played in many other countries, although the rules can be quite different.

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Who invented Dr Pepper?
Dr Pepper was created in the 1880′s by pharmacist Charles Alderton. He created the formulation while working at a Drug Store in Waco, Texas. He offered the drink to Wade Morrision, the owner of the store, who thought that there would be a market for it. It was soon being sold and was referred to by the customers as a “Waco.” The formula was given to Morrision and he officially named it Dr Pepper.

Did you know?
The first record of Doctor Pepper being served is in 1885 and it was introduced on a national scale in 1904. This means that it was first introduced a year before Coca-Cola.

The origin of the name is a subject of much debate. Some people think that it is named after an actual doctor and others believe that the name comes from pepsin, which is a digestive enzyme.

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Who invented the roller coaster?
The history of the roller coaster dates back to the 17th century when the Russians would construct hills of ice supported with wood for sled rides. It is thought that the first wheeled cart and track design was built in Paris in 1804 with the name Les Montagnes Russes (English: Russian Mountains). However, this is disputed by some historians who believe the Russians themselves were the first to have such a track.

The next stage in the development of the roller coaster occurred in 1827 after a mining company in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania constructed a gravity railroad, which was used to deliver coal. It didn’t take long for the company to open up the track, known as “Gravity Road,” to thrill-seekers. This provided the basis for the first roller coaster.

LaMarcus Adna Thompson began work on the Switchback Railway at Coney Island in 1881. This amusement ride opened in 1884 and was the first roller coaster in the United States. In 1885 LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented his invention. It was the same year that Phillip Hinkle created a full circuit coaster. In 1919 John Miller developed the first underfriction roller coaster. These developments led to the modern roller coaster, which opened in amusement parks all over the world.

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Who invented ranch dressing?
Ranch dressing was invented by Steve Henson. Steve and his wife, Gayle, operated a dude ranch called Hidden Valley Ranch in California. When guests ate their home cooked meals the salad was dressed with a dressing that Steve had created. It quickly became popular and guests began requesting jars of the dressing to take home with them. As more people became familiar with the ranch dressing the demand for the product increased and the Henson’s began a mail-order service. They opened a factory that sold packets of ranch seasoning that was designed to be mixed with mayonnaise and buttermilk. In 1972 the Henson’s sold the brand to Clorox and they have owned and manufactured the Hidden Valley products since this time. In 1983, Clorox developed a non-refrigerated version of bottled ranch dressing, which has become very popular.

Did you know?
Since the late 1980′s the “ranch” flavor has been added to many snack foods. The first product to use this flavor was Cool Ranch Doritos.

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Who invented Gatorade?
Gatorade was invented by a team of researchers at the University of Florida due to a request from Dewayne Douglas, who was an assistant coach of the Florida Gators football team. He wanted a way to quickly replace the lost body fluids and avoid the players suffering dehydration from practicing and playing during hot weather. The research team was led by Robert Cade and they soon learned that the players were losing up to 8.2 kg (18 lbs) during a game of football, which was mostly water.

The research team included Robert Cade, Dana Shires, Harry James Free, and Alejandro de Quesada. This research team began trialling different electrolyte replacement formulas containing water, sugar, salt, potassium and phosphate. Initially 10 players tested the formula during football practice and it was deemed a success. Flavors and artificial sweeteners were added to the drink to make it more palatable. The drink, originally known as “Cade’s Ade” and “Cade’s Cola”, was tested during a game in 1965 when the temperature reached 39 °C (102 °F) with positive results. It wasn’t until the Gators won the Orange Bowl in 1967 that the drink began to be recognized as a competitive advantage. The losing coach is known for famously telling reporters “We didn’t have Gatorade; that made the difference.”

Robert Cade patented the formula and setup his own business to produce the drink, after initially being turned down by the University. The company has undergone many acquisitions over the years and today Gatorade is currently owned by PepsiCo after they purchased the parent company of Gatorade in 2001.

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Who invented the eraser?
People had been finding ways to remove writing for many years, but it wasn’t until 1770 that the first rubber eraser was sold. English optician and scientific instrument maker, Edward Nairne, began selling cubes of rubber for the purpose of erasing pencil markings. Nairne is now credited with the invention of the rubber eraser. The early rubber erasers were perishable and they didn’t become commonly used until after 1839, when Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization to make rubber more durable. The pencil eraser was invented by Hymen L. Lipman in 1858.

Did you know?
Before the invention of the rubber eraser people used breadcrumbs or crusts of bread for this purpose. The inventor of the eraser accidentally picked up a piece of rubber instead of the bread and discovered it could remove pencil markings! Nairne sold his rubber erasers for 3 shillings, which was considered to be a very high price at the time

The patent for the pencil eraser was deemed invalid in court because it was simply a combination of two inventions without any new use.

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Who invented the telescope?
Most people attribute the invention of the telescope to the famous scientist and astronomer Galileo Galilee. However, this is not the case even though Galileo was the first to use the telescope to observe the sky and he made huge improvements on the original telescopes. The invention of the telescope is credited to a number of people who are thought to have developed the telescope or a version of the telescope around the same time. In the early 1600’s Hans Lippershey and Zacharias Janssen, who were spectacle makers in Middelburg, and Jacob Metius of Alkmaar all created versions of what we now know as the telescope.

Most historians credit the invention to Hans Lippershey who filed the first patent for the telescope in 1608. Lippershey combined a number of curved lenses to create a magnification of up to 3 times and also created sets of binoculars for the government of the Netherlands. Jacob Metius of Alkmaar a city in the northern parts of the Netherlands filed for a patent only weeks after Lippershey so it is possible that he created the telescope first. Zacharias Janssen could have also invented the telescope during his work with curved lens during the early 1600’s.

Galileo heard about these inventions and fashioned his own version of the telescope without even seeing the original. He improved upon the design by using a series of lenses that increased the magnification up to 30 times. These telescopes are known as refracting telescopes. Many of the smaller telescopes that are used today still use this principle.

The large telescopes that are used today make use of a mirror to help reflect the light. These types of telescope are called reflecting telescopes. This is combined with an eyepiece that allows the viewer a much clearer view of the object under study. The inventor of this system was Isaac Newton in 1668.

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Who Invented the Cordless Phone?
The first cordless phone model was developed by a Jazz musician named Teri Pall. In 1965 she invented a version of the cordless phone with a range of two miles. It operated using low radio frequencies. Unfortunately she could not sell her invention because the radio signals interfered with aircraft. She sold her idea and rights for the cordless phone to a manufacturer who could modify it for practical use.

The cordless phone was further developed by George Sweigert, an amateur radio operator and inventor from Cleveland, Ohio. In 1966 he submitted a patent for a cordless phone (“full duplex wireless communications apparatus”) with The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and was awarded the patent in 1969. It was further developed by Douglas G. Talley and L Duane Gregory during the early 1970’s so that it connected the handset with the base and included the tones for connection and disconnection. In the 1980’s a number of electronic manufactures begin to sell the cordless phone to the general public.

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Who invented the kaleidoscope?
The kaleidoscope was invented by Scottish scientist and inventor Sir David Brewster. It is believed that he invented the kaleidoscope sometime around 1815 when conducting experiments, but he didn’t patent it until 1817. He decided to work with the well known optical instrument maker, Philip Carpenter, to produce the device. Amazingly, in the first 3 months over 200,000 kaleidoscopes were sold in London and Paris. Carpenter was the sole manufacturer of the kaleidoscope, but the high level of demand for the product meant that Brewster asked to allow others to being making them. It was originally designed to be a scientific tool, but it was copied and made into a toy not long after it was released.

Did you know?
Unfortunately, there was a mistake in Brewster’s patent application. This meant that people were free to copy his invention and he was unable to make lots of money from his invention!

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Who invented intermittent windshield wipers?
One of the most important developments in windshield wiper technology was intermittent wipers. These wipers are particularly useful for light rain and in modern cars the rate at which these wipers work can be set specifically to match the rate of rainfall. This type of windshield wipers were invented by Robert Kearns in 1963 who came up with the idea after the constant movement of the blades disturbed his vision. He showed his invention to many motor companies, but none took up the idea. Ford offered a similar design in 1969 and Kearns launched a court battle that he eventually won. This story is told in the 2009 movie “Flash of Genius.”

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