Accidental Inventions.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13330, 6 July 1907, Page 2 (Supplement)

Accidental Inventions.

A man walked from Philadelphia to Washington, wrkes Frederic J. Haskin in the "Toledo. Blade," to patent the gimktpointed screw, and the simple idea eventually earned him more than a v million dollars. The rubber tip on the end' of lead panel's made its inventor rich. The metal, point on the end of your shoe-string earned a fortune for the woman who thought of it, and the copper cap that so long adorned: the toes of children's sheets earned 2,000,OOOdol. 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 feathered matron one day went for a walk, through a fi;ld of clay, and later, without taking the precaution to wipe her. feet, walked through a sugar, mill on the same plantation, indifferent to the fact.that she was scattering clay over the loose mounds of sugar a i she parsed. Afterwards it 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 i/ncicknt introduced the method of bleaching sugar by the clay proeass.

A dog gave us the art of.dyeing cloth in quite as accidental a manner. One afternoon, go many years ago that the,.date is of rmall ccnseqi'triice, a noted man and his ;jwecth?art went for a walk along the sands of a s.a-shore in a far off countiy. A li£ltvjdog trailed along at their heels, and, becoming weary of much love-making, finally ran ahead and went fishing among the rocks. One peculiar shellfish which ho captured and devoured exuded a fluid which died the hair about his mouth a pretty purple. Investigation of this i'neidfnt founded the< science of dyeing cloth, which now give- a happy feminine world the pleasure of Haunting so many brilliant colours in its attire. A. man from Michigan was told by the doctors to take, his wife south for her health. He purchased a big waggon and team for the, trip, and thought to make fomei profit by carrying a stock of feather dustors to .<>.?] l along the way. One day he went to the factory where his dusters wero being made, and, while standing in the yrrd'i talking to one of th? employee-!, picked up from the ground one of the "rtrutt.rs" or tail fentliers from a turkey —th:- refuse from th.* du>t.r factory. He beg'n idly twivling a thread back and fortli through i:s broken edges-, and the idea of the fcatherbone came to him from tin v-sult. of the i.lle play of the hands. Tl-■ is fh» •"pressor of v-hale-bin.% and is indispensable to the attire of tlr* mnd'vn wi.nian. Tie patented the) idea, and received so much money from it that he will !! ver have to travel overland in a waggon again mile's he-* wants tn. A. man .standing in front of the post office i;i Washington bent a small piece of tin in lii~ finders until it took the shape of T. " This would make a good paper fastener." In* remarked to the man 'with whom he was talking, and he straightway