Syracuse - Part 2

And now for the second ten most amazing gizmos ever invented…right  here in good old Syracuse, NY.

The dentist chair

This one was a surprise! In 1848, one Milton Waldo Hanchett of Syracuse, NY gave to the world … the dental chair.   Wild speculation has it that the chair was adapted for use in the dental office.  Prior use?  Recliner, torture, or hmmmm, another, nobler purpose?

State Fair plus first ferris wheel in the US

The New York State Fair is the longest running state fair in the country.  For real.  And at the 1849 fair the first Ferris wheel was built by two Erie Canal workers.  It was 50’ high, made or iron and oak and four adults or six children could fit in the wooden buckets that were attached. No data on the number of severe or fatal accidents.  Or just how it worked. 

First drive-thru

In 1949, the Merchants National Bank (where my mother used to work, at the drive in for a time when she first started there!) created the very first automobile “drive-in bank.”  Syracuse, it appears, was the test tube for lots of new marketing ideas throughout the years.  Others soon copied the idea that swept the country.

The time clock

A jeweler named Willard Le Grand Bundy (no relation to Al) got a patent in 1888 for a mechanical time recorder for workers.  And skipping work and padding hours and other pranks disappeared from the face of the earth.  Correct that, they just morphed to beat the new “technology.”

The shot clock

In a bowling alley, on James St. in Eastwood (should be hallowed ground, but noooo, it had to be demolished to make room for a drug store.  God forbid there isn’t one on every corner in America), the owner of the Syracuse Nationals (now known as the Philadelphia 76ers) had an idea.  Danny Biasone thought NBA games were too boring as teams would stall, or slow up play if they were ahead.  He invented a clock that he called the “shot clock.”  The clock started at 24 seconds and counted down…by zero, a shot must be taken or the other team got the ball. This was in 1954 folks.   It’s been with us ever since.  Thank Fred.  You think NBA games are boring now, just think if there were no clock.

Sani-grip

Charlie Vinal worked in a lot of restaurants.  I guess he saw how “lovely” some of the rest rooms could be, so he had an idea.  He invented this gizmo that would attach to the toilet seat so you would not have to touch the seat to raise it.  Better things have replaced this old technology, but I guess we have to pat Charlie on the back for starting the ball rolling. Or the paper, or gloves, or whatever.

Magtite magnetic tape holster

Stephen Potter graduated from F-M and attended SU, then launched a career as a bartender at Pastabilites. Always good for a laugh, no one took him seriously until 1991 when he invented, patented, and brought to market the Magtite, a magnetic holder for a carpenter’s tape measure.  Contractors everywhere began using this tool belt staple.  Who’s laughing now?

Arm and Hammer baking soda

OK, these guys single handedly destroyed Onondaga Lake and made it the laughing stock of the nation. One can not overestimate the damage they wrought upon this once pristine body of water, but as a parting gift they did give the world baking soda. What would mankind do without it?

First synthetic penicillin

Right here in Syracuse, the world was, in no small measure, saved.  Synthetic penicillin was safer and more effective than previous forms of the drug.  In 1948, three chemists developed this life saver and they deserve mention – Frank Buckwalter, H. Leo Dickison, and Amel Menotti.  Thank you gentlemen.

The first literacy volunteer organization

Ruth Johnson Colvin founded Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc., in 1962.  It is a national, educational, non-profit organization with staff at the local, state, and national levels.  Spreading the priceless gift of reading, this group has advanced and made better the lives of thousands upon thousands of people. There are few gifts as valuable as the gift of being able to read.  Bless ‘em all.

 That's is folks.  If you want to help put Syracuse on the world map, go invent something unique and you too can be added to this list.

Clinton Square in Syracuse NY

Mark Twain Quote:  “I have, as you say, been interested in patents and patentees.  If your books tell how to exterminate inventors send me nine editions. Send them by express.”