Trivia 15:
Inventors and Inventions



A flying automobile was successfully flown in the U.S. in 1947, but crashed because the pilot had forgotten to fill the gas tank.

In 1896, Alvary Templo built an underwater bicycle. Air carried in a submarine and piped to Templo's helmet enabled him to stay underwater for up to six hours.

In the 1600s, a bicycle was featured in a stained-glass window in Stoke Poges, England - nearly 200 years before it was invented.

In 1826, a light carriage pulled by kites won a race against the Duke of Gloucester, who drove an ordinary carriage pulled by four horses.

The sandwich was named after the Earl of Sandwich, who invented it so he could eat a meal without interrupting his card game.

In 1760, Joseph Merlin, a Belgian musician, invented roller skates. He demonstrated them by skating across a ballroom while playing the violin.

A children's railway in Harbin, Manchuria, has an engine and four coaches. It runs on seven miles of track through a public park and is operated entirely by children under the age of 14.

Used by General George Washington in the Revolutionary War, the first American submarine was called the Turtle.

A California mechanic built an eight-foot-high metal unicycle from a design drawn 500 years ago by Leonardo da Vinci.

In China, heavy wheelbarrows are equipped with sails to make them easier to push.

George Washington Carver, inventor of more than 300 uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, was kidnapped as a baby and ransomed for a horse.



Home