U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for August 20

Profile America — Saturday, August 20th.  An invention that changed the automobile so anyone could drive one was patented this week  in 1915 — as Charles F. Kettering was awarded a patent for the self-starter.  Before that, it took considerable muscle and knowledge of machinery to hand crank the engine of a car, especially in the winter.  In his lifetime, Kettering was awarded more than 200 patents, including the electrical ignition system, the first practical generator and leaded gasoline.  The impact of the self-starter was immediate.  When Kettering came up with the idea, there were just under 2.5 million cars in the U.S. only five years later the number was over 8 million.  Today, U.S. roads are clogged with more than 248 million motor vehicles.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov .

Sources:  Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 716

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 1097

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

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Inventions Of Colonial America - News


U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for August 20

Profile America — Saturday, August 20th. An invention that changed the automobile so anyone could drive one was patented this week in 1915 — as Charles F. Kettering was awarded a patent for the self-starter. Before that, it took considerable muscle



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The Scott Brothers and the Invention of Toilet Paper | Suite101.com

Joseph Gayetty introduced the first commercially packaged bathroom tissue in 1857. His toilet tissue was sold in packages of individual sheets. The tissue didn’t sell well and quickly disappeared off the store shelves. The American public, at that time, could not comprehend spending good money on paper to be disposed of. The outhouses and bathrooms were stacked with old magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and flyers that provided not only reading material but also a means to an end.

England and the Invention of Toilet Paper

England had tried in 1870 to market toilet paper.Gayetty which produces individual cards, Alcock had the innovative idea in the market for the wipe on a roll of "flip". Although the invention was revolutionary marketing has been difficult in the prudish Victorian society something as personal as the advertising issue of toilets was extremely difficult. Alcock has spent nearly a decade of his life trying to find a socially acceptable way to make their product in homes of the public.

At the same time in New York, two brothers were also trying to push the paper roll into the homes of consumers. They succeed where Gayetty Alcock and failed.

The Scott Brothers Invent Paper Products

Clarence and Edward Scott were born in rural Saratoga County, New York almost three years apart. The same year that Alcock had pitched the perforated roll, the Scotts were in Philadelphia starting a paper product business. Their products were usually indispensable, disposable, and un-reusable. The best of their items was toilet paper. For the Scott brothers their success was all about timing.

In the late 1880s many home owners, as well as hotels and restaurants were installing indoor plumbing for sinks, toilets, and bathtubs. Most of the major cities were laying down sewer lines and installing public sewer systems. The Tremont House, in Boston, boasted of having “privies and eight bathing rooms” while in Philadelphia the citizens boasted of having the most bathtubs and bathrooms. In 1836 they numbered 1,530. Department and hardware stores highlighted the finest in bathroom fixtures. The bathroom was becoming classy and uptown. The market was ready for toilet paper.


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