The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1900-01-04
BOYS AS INVENTORS.
DEVICES EVOLVED TO FAVOR
THEIR LAZINESS.
Important Machines that Came into
Existence Through the Desire of Boys
10 save Themselves Exertion-Potter'
Edison, Watt aud the Rest.


1t Is n well-known fact that laziness
has been the means of supplying the
world with some of its greatest inVeh-
lions. and many of them, too, by iazy
boys. Humphrey Potter. for instance
when a mere lad. WIS an attendant on
Newcomers engne-a sort OF link be-
tween the steam pump aud the engine
of to-day-and his duty was to open
and close valve. But Humphrey was
an idle lad. aud he saw that he could
save himself the trouble of attending 10
his work by fixing plug ON part OF
the engine that came 10 the place al the
proper time by the general movements.
He accordingly did SO, and by his M
yenuity thus made the important In
yenlion in Newcomers engine known
as the ,hand- gear
Humphrey Potter did nothing else
worthy of note; but Thomas Edison,
who invented a contrivance similar III
one respect to his, has followed up Ills
success. When the great American IN
yentor was boy, he was engaged as
a ttitEEaDlllHA 1T sNubAlVthf "a
He WAS night operator, and had 10
report six every half hour TO the cir
cult manager The object OF this rule
was to prevent an operator sleeping
while on duty. But Edison fitted up a
wheel with Morse characters cut in the
circumference in such way that. when
/ turned by crank, 1t would write the
| figure six aud sign his Office call. BY
a little bribery young Thomas managed
to get the Waterman to undertake 10
turn this wheel and the youthful teleg-
raphist slept with safety. Again at
Shotford he tried an experiment which
showed his inventive powers. In the
rear of the office where he worked was
large sink filled with beetles that
conld not he exterminated. One day
Edison fixed wires TO an electrical ma
chine placed the free end Of them into
the sink. and turned on the current. III
few moments all that was left of
those beetles was-ashes.
| A little later, at the age of II, the IA
nous inventor worked at indianapolis,
where he completed his tirst successful
| telegraph instrument. 1t was an auto
matte repeater, an instrument which
| transferred the writing from one tele-
graph line TO another without the medl-
um of an operator. This was imme-
diately recognized as an important
achievement for one so young. At this
time. too. Edison was thinking about
/ lat .,,taIpnFlax nf
telegraphy by which four distinct mes
sages. two In each direction, may pass
simultaneously over single wire. This,
however. was not perfected till many
years after.
| The story Of Watt and his early ex-
perments to test the power OF steam Is
too hackneyed to quote. Everybody
knows Of the scrapes he managed to get
into for being idle; how he kept taking
the lid off the kettle and putting II on
again; how he held teaspoon over the
steam as 1t rose from the spout and
counted the drops az they fell.
But there are plenty Of similar Incl
dents as fresh as this Is stale. Brunei.
for Instance, of Thames tunnel fame,
invented, at the age Of II, night-cap
making machine which is to-day used
by the peasantry In a little village In
Normandy where he first saw the light.
Again, Bewick In the early days OF his
apprenticeship invented a graver with
a fine grave at the point that enabled
him to cut outlines In the wood at sin
gle operation.
or living boy inventors there are
doubtless many. A boy OF 10, In Ohio,
little while ago, fitted to his bicycle
all electric light apparatus OF his own
invention, the power for which was oh
taned by the revolving OF the wheels
when riding The light was good sue
cess. and when In working order lighted
up the whole Of the roadway.