The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-16

A man walked from Philadelphia to
Washington to patent the gimlet-pointed
screw, and the simple idea eventually
earned him more than a million dollars.
The rubber tip on the end of lead pencils
made its inventor rich. The metal point
On the end Of your shoe-string earned a
fortune for the woman who thought of H.
and the copper cap that so long adorned
the toes of childrens' shoes earned 5000
boo for the lucky person who patented it..
Many valuable inventions were hit upon
In a most accidental way. The art OF
making sugar white was discovered by a
harmless old speckled hen. This feather
ed matron one day went for a walk
through a field OF clay. and later. with
ont taking the precaution to wipe her
feet. walked through sugar mill on the
same plantation. Indifferent to the fact
that she was scattering clay over the
loose mounds Of sugar as she passed. At
terward II was discovered that wherever
her tracks had fallen on the moist sugar
the clay had whitened it, Scientists took
up the matter, and from this incident in
troduced the method of bleaching sugar
by the clay process.
A dog gave US the art Of dyeing cloth
in quite as accidental a manner. One
afternoon so many years ago that the
date is Of small consequence, noted
man and his sweetheart went for walk
along the sands Of the seashore in far
of country. A little dog trailed along al
their heels, and becoming weary of much
love-making finally ran ahead and went
fishing among the rocks. One particular
shellhsh which he captured and devoured
exuded a fluid which dyed the hair about
his mouth a pretty purple, Investigation
of this incident founded the science OF
dyeing cloth, which now gives a happy
feminine world the pleasure of Haunting
50 many brilliant c0lors in its attire.
man from Michigan was told by the
doctors TO take his wife South for her
health He purchased "a big wagon and
team for the trip and thought to make
some profit by carrying a stock Of feather
busters to sell along the way. One day
he went to the factory where his busters
were being made and while standing in
the yard talking TO one of the employees.
picked up from the ground one of the
"strutters." or tail feathers from a tur-
<ey-the refuse from the buster factory
He began idly twisting a thread back and
forth through its broken edges, and the
.dea of the featherbone came 20 him from
the result of the idle play of his hands.
The featherbone IS the successor Of
whalebone. and is Indispensable TO the at
tire Of the modern woman. He patented
the idea and received so much money
from It that he viii never have to travel
overland in wagon again unless he
wants to.
A man standing in front of the post-of-
fee In Washington, d. c., bent a small
piece of tin in his fingers until it took
the shape Of a r. This would make a
good paper fastener he remarked to the
man with whom he was talking. and ne
straightvay had the idea patented. An
other man made money from the device
of an imbedded string in the end of an
envelope to cut the paper as 1t is drawn
out Still another man added to this
idea by tying a knot in the end of the
string to keep it from being drawn
through.
To is interesting to note how man has
borrowed many of his ideas from the an
imaI world. Wasps made paper from
wood long before man decided it was
good substitute for rags. the folding
scissors and folding pocket compass are
only copies of the folding lower jaw of
the dragon fly. The flying squid, a specie
of cutie fish, has a way of projecting
itself as high as twelve feet above the
surface OF the water by forcibly expell-
ing water from It's body. Nan saw this
and invented the skyrockeL. The rope
making machine used in the United States
navy yard follows almost the precise
lines that a spider does when making his
Own frail cable.
Women have been prominent in the
field Of invention, and there are over $3.50
different devices credited TO their inge-
nuity. OF the list Of things invented by
women about 80 per cent are devoted to
the home. the kitchen, and TO women's
dress. The records IN the Patent Office
almost tell the history Of woman and her
progress during the past hundred years.
The first patent given woman in the
nineteenth century was granted to Mary
Eier in 1909 for straw weaving with
silk or thread the probable forerunner
of American mating One Of the most
recent inventions by woman is a shoe
string that won't come united
The records Of the Patent Office show
how some people have invaded the field
of invention with most eccentric ideas.
one OF these is an anti-scTatching device
for hens. This unique Contrivance when
fastened TO the ankle of a hen. not only
prevents her from scratching, but abso-
lutely forces her TO walk away in spite
Of herself. Each time she kicks back
ward the points OF the device stick in
the ground and propel her forward An
invention called the 'anti-snoring device
Is something similar 20 a telephone It
its over the head and has a tube run
ming from the ear to a piece that FITS
over the mouth. No sooner does the
sleeper begin to snore than the sound is
transmitted TO his own ear. causing him
to awake at once 1t would certainly be
q boon to the public if the Pullman Car
Company would corner this patent and
furnish it to fat men who travel on
sleepers. Another ambitious inventor has
brought out a machine which will auto
matieally tip a mans hat when ne passes
4 lady acquaintance on the street.
A woman is responsible for patent
crimping pin that can be used as a paper
cutter, skirt supporter, "a paper file, a
bouquet holder. safety pin. a shawl
fastener. and a bOokmark There is q