Problem: We know the famous ones--the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells--but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper ? Shouldn't we know who they are?

Joan Mclean thinks so.In fact,Mclean,a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range,feels so strongly about this matter that she's developed a course on the topic.In addition to learning"who"invented"what",however,Mclean also likes her students to learn the answers to the"why''and''how"questions.According to Mclean."When students learn the answers to these questions,they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.''

Her students agree.One young man with a patent for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean's statement."If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper's invention,"said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major,"I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so constructive."Lee is currently negotiating to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.

So,just what is the story behind the windshield wiper Well,Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City.The day was cold and stormy,but Anderson still wanted to see the sights,so she jumped aboard a streetcar.Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield,she found herself wondering why there couldn't be a built--in device for cleaning the window.Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham,Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions.One of her ideas,a lever on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside,became the first windshield wiper.

Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations.It's hard to imagine driving without Garrett A.Morgan's traffic light.It's equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J.Blodgett's innovation that makes glass invisible.Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
1. where does Joan Mclean teach?
2. in?
3. what subject does she teach?
4. what course is she running?
5. how many othr questions does she like students to answer?
6. what are they?
7. what does this do for the students?
8. and?
9. Who invented the traffic light?
10. what did Kaltherine Blodgett innovate?
11. which is used in what?
12. Do Prof McLean's students agree with her?
13. What patent is mentioned?
14. who designed it?
15. what inspired him?
16. and waht story?
17. who invented them?
18. when?
19. where had she visited?
20. what was the weather?
Answer: 1. Mountain University
2. Range
3. physics
4. learning"who"invented"what"
5. Two
6. the"why''and''how"
7. better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing
8. more motivated to give inventing a try.'
9. Garrett A.Morgan
10. making glass invisible
11. windows and eyeglasses
12. yes
13. an unbreakable umbrella
14. Tommy Lee
15. a bad experience during a rainstorm
16. the story of the windshield wiper's invention
17. Mary Anderson
18. in 1902
19. New York City
20. cold and stormy

Problem: Published in 1896 and one of the most memorable horror stories ever written, Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker,is the story of a vampire ,someone who lives on human blood. Stoker wrote the book after reading stories about Central European vampires and set his novel in Transylvania. Even today,there are readers of the book who believe that Transylvania is a mythical country,a figment of Stoker's imagination. Nothing could be further from the truth. Transylvania is part of modern-day Central European country Romania,and the country does indeed have a history of mythological vampires.

However,Romanians are always puzzled by the description of the novel's central character, Count Dracula,a tall,elegant aristocrat with impeccable manners who also happens to speak very good English. This is a world away from the images of vampires that they have grown up with. Romanian vampires are half-human creatures who live solitary lives in the forests,not aristocrats living in castles with well-stocked libraries.

So where did Stoke get the image for his Dracula? The answer becomes clearer when one learns of his relationship with a man called Henry Irving,the greatest British stage actor of his time.

Stoker was working as a civil servant in his home city of Dublin when he first met Irving. Bored with his tedious life and work, Stoker took every opportunity to visit the theatre and for a while was the drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. One of the reviews he wrote was of a performance of Shakespeare's play Hamlet,with Irving in the lead role.

Irving was so pleased with Stoker's review of his performance that he asked to meet him. Stoker couldn't believe his luck when one night,he was invited to a dinner party where Irving was the guest of honour. Irving entertained the assembled dinner guests with some renditions of famous poems and speeches from Shakespeare.

Stoker was already writing the first chapters of Dracula and began to base the central character on Irving,in the vain hope that if it ever became a stage play, Irving would play the central character. Sadly,Irving never did,but the two men became close friends,and in 1878 Stoker left the civil service and became Irving's manager in London.
1. Who wrote Dracula?
2. What was it about?
3. Where did it take place?
4. Was it a typical vampire to others that were written about?
5. Did Bram base the character off of someone he knew?
6. Who was that?
7. Did they work together?
8. How did they become acquainted?
9. How did they start talking to each other?
10. Where did they meet?
11. Did they see each other after that?
12. When was that?
Answer:
1. Bram Stoker
2. story of a vampire ,someone who lives on human blood.
3. Transylvania
4. No, he wasa tall,elegant aristocrat with impeccable manners who also happens to speak very good English.
5. his relationship with a man called Henry Irving
6. the greatest British stage actor of his time.
7. Stoker took every opportunity to visit the theatre
8. he wrote a review of a performance of Shakespeare's play Hamlet,with Irving in the lead role.
9. Irving was please with his review and asked to meet him.
10. a dinner party where Irving was the guest of honour
11. Yes, he became Irving's manager in London.
12. 1878