The 20th century saw radical changes to the pulse and quality of its everyday life, thanks to a wave of astonishing inventions that improved virtually every aspect of daily existence. This invaluable reference presents more than 40 alphabetical categories of everyday inventions for the home and domestic life, grouped by purpose or function.
This book lists the work and contributions of thousands of people from many countries, representing numerous fields of endeavor, over many centuries. This work contains the necrologies (names, dates, and a brief biography) up to the year 2000 of people involved in engineering and invention literature. This book is a must for reference collections and those in the media who cover the field of engineering advancement.
This book provides a critical study of how China was represented on the historical London stage in selected examples from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth century—which corresponds with the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), China’s last monarchy. The examples show that during this historical period, the stage representations of the country were influenced in turn by Jesuit writings on China, Britain’s expanding material interest in China, the presence of British imperial power in Asia, and the establishment of diasporic Chinese communities abroad. While finding that many of these works may be read as gendered and feminized, Chang emphasizes that the Jesuits’ depiction of China as a country of high culture and in perennial conflict with the Tartars gradually lost prominence in dramatic imaginations to depictions of China’s material and visual attractions. Central to the book’s argument is that the stage representations of China were inherently intercultural and open to new influences, manifested by the evolving combinations of Chinese and English (British) traits. Through the dramatization of the Chinese Other, the representations questioned, satirized, and put in sharp relief the ontological and epistemological bases of the English (British) Self.
From world-renowned autism spokesperson, scientist, and inventor Temple Grandin -- a book of personal stories, inventions, and facts that will blow young inventors' minds and make them soar. Have you ever wondered what makes a kite fly or a boat float? Have you ever thought about why snowflakes are symmetrical, or why golf balls have dimples? Have you ever tried to make a kaleidoscope or build a pair of stilts? In Calling All Minds, Temple Grandin explores the ideas behind all of those questions and more. She delves into the science behind inventions, the steps various people took to create and improve upon ideas as they evolved, and the ways in which young inventors can continue to think about and understand what it means to tinker, to fiddle, and to innovate. And laced throughout it all, Temple gives us glimpses into her own childhood tinkering, building, and inventing. More than a blueprint for how to build things, in Calling All Minds Temple Grandin creates a blueprint for different ways to look at the world. And more than a call to action, she gives a call to imagination, and shows readers that there is truly no single way to approach any given problem--but that an open and inquisitive mind is always key. Praise for Calling All Minds: "An impassioned call to look at the world in unique ways with plenty of practical advice on how to cultivate a curious, inquiring, imaginative mind." —Kirkus Reviews "Both practical and inspirational, this useful book describes an overall approach to viewing the world creatively, as exemplified by the numerous projects and supporting material provided here." —VOYA "Grandin offers a nuanced perspective on the qualities of a successful inventor—notably, a sense of wonder and curiosity, careful observation, and the willingness to learn from mistakes." —Publishers Weekly
Celebrate the inventor of the dishwasher in this inspiring STEM/STEAM picture book biography about Josephine Garis Cochrane, the brains behind one of the world's most-used kitchen appliances. Many Americans have a dishwasher in their kitchen. But who invented it? Meet Josephine Garis Cochrane: entrepreneur, innovator, girlboss. Washing dishes is a pain—it leaves Josephine's cups cracked, her dishes dinged, and her chowder bowls chipped. She’d rather be picking flowers, frosting cakes, or playing piano than dealing with cracked crockery. What to do about a chore that’s icky, destructive, and time-consuming? Josephine tackles this task the modern way: she makes a machine to do it for her! She tinkers and tests, and perseveres through fizzles and flops—until she has a government patent for her invention, and there are whirring, whizzing, bubbling dishwashers making a splash across America. This charming tale includes an author’s note, a list of notable women inventors, a timeline of fascinating inventions, and a list of sources.
From the polio vaccine to the Post-It, the personal computer to Prozac, these are the scientific and technological innovations that have transformed our world. Award-winning author Alex Hutchinson unveils the 100 greatest inventions of the modern era--starting with the discovery of the transistor in 1947--complete with original photographs and anecdotes about their creation. For example, a candy bar melting in a scientist’s pocket during an experiment led to the invention of the microwave oven. Hutchinson consulted 25 experts at 17 museums and universities; their collective expertise spans aeronautics, automobiles, biology, computers, medicine, physics, and a host of other fields. The result includes some well-known breakthroughs (the laser, in-vitro fertilization) as well as a host of surprises (waffle-sole running shoes, the pull-top can). This charming book will delight, fascinate, and educate.
From Stonehenge to beyond the Big Bang, an exhilarating scientific exploration of how we make time From a Palaeolithic farmer living by the sun and stone plinths to the factory worker logging into an industrial punch clock to the modern manager enslaved to Outlook's 15-minute increments, our relationship with time has constantly evolved alongside our scientific understanding of the universe. And the latest advances in physics - string-theory branes, multiverses, "clockless" physics - are positioned to completely rewrite time in the coming years. Weaving cosmology with day-to-day chronicles and a lively wit, astrophysicist Adam Frank tells the dazzling story of humanity's invention of time and how we will experience it in the future.
“All-electric” Narratives is the first in-depth study of time-saving electrical appliances in American literature. It examines the literary depiction of refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, oven ranges, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, toasters, blenders, standing and hand-held mixers, and microwave ovens between 1945, when the “all-electric” home came to be associated with the nation's hard-won victory, and 2020, as contemporary writers consider the enduring material and spiritual effects of these objects in the 21st century. The appropriation and subversion of the rhetoric of domestic electrification and time-saving comprises a crucial, but overlooked, element in 20th-century literary forms and genres including Beat literature, Black American literature, second-wave feminist fiction, science fiction, and postmodernist fiction. Through close-readings of dozens of literary texts alongside print and television ads from this period, Dini shows how U.S. writers have unearthed the paradoxes inherent to claims of appliances' capacity to “give back” time to their user, transport them into a technologically-progressive future, or “return” them to some pastoral past. In so doing, she reveals literary appliances' role in raising questions about gender norms and sexuality, racial exclusion and erasure, class anxieties, the ramifications of mechanization, the perils and possibilities of conformity, the limitations of patriotism, and the inevitable fallacy of utopian thinking-while both shaping and radically disrupting the literary forms in which they operated.
The secrets of one of history’s greatest orators are revealed in “one of the most stunningly original works on Abraham Lincoln to appear in years” (John Stauffer, professor of English and history, Harvard University). For more than 150 years, historians have speculated about what made Abraham Lincoln truly great. How did Lincoln create his compelling arguments, his convincing oratory, and his unforgettable writing? Some point to Lincoln’s study of grammar, literature, and poetry. Others believe it was the deep national crisis that gave import to his words. Most agree that he honed his persuasive technique in his work as an Illinois attorney. Here, the authors argue that it was Lincoln’s in-depth study of geometry that made the president’s verbal structure so effective. In fact, as the authors demonstrate, Lincoln embedded the ancient structure of geometric proof into the Gettysburg Address, the Cooper Union speech, the first and second inaugurals, his legal practice, and much of his substantive post-1853 communication. Also included are Lincoln’s preparatory notes and drafts of some of his most famous speeches as well as his revisions and personal thoughts on public speaking and grammar. With in-depth research and provocative insight, Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason “offers a whole new angle on Lincoln’s brilliance” (James M. Cornelius, Curator, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum).
"Applied Innovation: A Handbook" outlines how a start-up CEO can take an innovation from concept to repeat sales including everything from the strategic elements of what innovation is to business models and intellectual property to how one sets up an advisory board etc. This work focuses on offering a road map for building a company from the ground up but can be applied to existing firms as well. The premise is that anyone can learn and apply the concepts of innovation in any part of their business and personal life if they know what is required.
