Tag: science & technology

Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998 while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University. They developed the PageRank algorithm that became the foundation of Google's search engine.

Yahoo! was founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo in 1994 while they were graduate students at Stanford University. The name Yahoo is an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle."

Neil Arnott, a Scottish physician, invented the water bed in the early 19th century (around 1870s) as a medical device to prevent bedsores in hospital patients. While modern waterbeds were later popularized by others, Arnott is credited with the original invention for therapeutic purposes.

Elias Howe patented the first practical sewing machine in 1846 after years of development. While other inventors worked on similar devices, Howe's lockstitch mechanism was the breakthrough that made sewing machines commercially viable. Philip Diehl is associated with electric motors, Alexander Chizhevsky with biophysics, and Josephine Cochrane invented the dishwasher.

Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick, a German ophthalmologist, created the first contact lens in 1887. His glass scleral lenses were the first successful design, though they were heavy and could only be worn for short periods. Victor Hasselblad founded the camera company, George Westinghouse invented railway air brakes, and Augustin-Jean Fresnel was a physicist known for lens optics.

Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first commercial Christmas cards in 1843 in London. He worked with artist John Callcott Horsley to design a card showing a family toasting Christmas. The cards sold for one shilling each. Herman Hollerith developed tabulating machines, Semen Korsakov worked on information processing, and Trevor Baylis invented the clockwork radio.

Douglas Engelbart invented the computer mouse in 1964 at Stanford Research Institute. His wooden prototype, with two perpendicular wheels, was patented in 1970. The mouse revolutionized human-computer interaction. Erna Schneider Hoover worked on telephone switching, Yoshiro Nakamatsu had many patents but not the mouse, and John Vincent Atanasoff built an early electronic computer.

Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the piano around 1700 in Florence, Italy. His 'gravicembalo col piano e forte' (harpsichord with soft and loud) solved the problem of dynamic control in keyboard instruments. Leon Theremin invented the theremin, Su Song was a Chinese engineer, and Richard James Burgess is a contemporary producer.

Petrache Poenaru, a Romanian inventor, patented the fountain pen in 1827 in Paris. His design used a quill pen with a reservoir for ink, a major improvement over dipping pens. Trevor Baylis invented the clockwork radio, Slavoljub Eduard Penkala developed mechanical pens, and Bernard Tellegen worked on electronics.

Arthur Wynne invented the crossword puzzle, publishing the first one in the New York World newspaper in 1913. His 'word-cross puzzle' was diamond-shaped and became a weekly feature, sparking a global puzzle craze. Ralph H. Baer developed video game consoles, Semen Korsakov worked on information processing, and Philo Farnsworth pioneered electronic television.