Legend even links Racine to crude attempts at the telephone and light bulb years before others rode the devices to fame and fortune. In the early part of this century, Racine spawned so many conveniences based on household electrification that many local and national manufacturers still feel the benefits of local inventors. Horlick's famous mixture started as a food for babies and the ill. Maybe Racine should be called Invention City instead of the Belle City. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Admission is free, but donations are accepted.
The concept of the wide-view photograph is almost 100 years older than the popular throwaway panoramic cameras of today. The Al-Vista camera was built at Angsten's Multiscope and Film Co. in Burlington until 1908, when the Kodak Co. ceased making film for it. It wasn't creamy milk shakes. It was to provide a food for babies and sick people that could be shipped without spoiling. The granulated infant food was patented in 1883 and later became the impetus for an entire soda fountain industry.