bellringer #29 what do you think is the most important invention of all time? explain your choice
DESCRIPTION
Important InventionsTRANSCRIPT
Bellringer #29
• What do you think is the most important invention OF ALL TIME? Explain your choice.
Important Inventions
Coca-Cola
• Here’s the story of the invention of one of the world’s most popular soft drinks…Coke!
• The drink called Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 by John Pemberton. The Coca-Cola Company began its rise to fame under the leadership of Asa Candler in 1892.
Pemberton
Candler
• John Pemberton was a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia.
• He owned his own apothecary
shop, or pharmacy. At the age of 50, he was working hard to find a cure for headaches.
• He cooked up mixtures in a big pot at his home, trying to find one that would cure headaches. Some of the ingredients that he experimented with were leaves of the coca plant and kola nuts.
• One of his concoctions turned out to be a good-tasting drink. He added carbonated water and served it to his customers to see how they liked it.
• The customers came back again and again to pay five cents per glass for Pemberton's refreshing new beverage.
• Pemberton's bookkeeper thought up the name Coca-Cola, naming it after two of Coke's main ingredients (coca plant and kola nuts).
• He wrote out the name Coca-Cola in his best
cursive handwriting, and it has been written on Coke products just the way he wrote it ever since then.
• Pemberton never got rich from his invention. He made only $50 the first year, and after a few years, when his health began to fail, Pemberton sold Coca-Cola to Asa Candler for $2,300.
• Asa Candler began the Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Candler knew that to sell lots of Coke, he would first have to make sure that lots of people knew about it.
• He thought of many creative ideas to promote his product. In that first year, 1892, Candler spent $11,000 on posters, murals, flyers and other forms of advertisements. The company grew by leaps and bounds.
• In 1899, Candler sold the rights to bottle Coca-Cola to two lawyers.
• After that the Coca-Cola Company produced concentrates and syrups to make Coke, and bottling plants made the finished product. By 1909, there were already over 400 Coca-Cola bottling plants.
• In 1916, when other manufacturers were trying to copy the secret Coke recipe, the Coca-Cola Company created the famous green-glass bottle to make it stand out from the competition.
• Today, Coca-Cola is popular all over the world. It has a total of around 300 brand names in many different languages and is sold in nearly 200 countries.
• At the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta you can study the history of Coke products, purchase collectibles, and taste-test a variety of Coke flavors, some of which are not sold in the U.S.
• You might say that the invention of Coca-Cola was really a two-part invention, the invention of the drink by John Pemberton and the invention of the company by Asa Candler.
Important Inventions
• Throughout history, people have made inventions that changed the world. – Some got lucky and stumbled on something on
accident– Some actually set out to make something– Some improved existing technology to create
something original
Important Inventions
• printing press—device that allowed copying without rewriting by hand– allowed ideas (books) to
spread more quickly • (ex. religion & the Bible)
– helped spread of education (textbooks)
– helped save knowledge by making multiple copies of books
Important Inventions
• cotton gin—device that made it easier & quicker to pull seeds out of cotton– made it possible for cotton
to spread across the southern U.S.
– extended slavery in the U.S. by at least 60 years
– allowed U.S. textile mills (industry) to get started
Important Inventions
• steam engine—engine used to power locomotives (trains) & steamboats– allowed boats to travel
upstream (trade & travel)– allowed trains to become
widespread (settling of the American West)
– used to power factory machines and industry
Important Inventions
• wheel– allowed development of carts & chariots for
quicker transportation– helped speed up trade and cultural diffusion
Important Inventions
• gunpowder—powder used to fire bullets from guns/cannons– made it possible to fire at a much faster rate – made it possible to fight with less training– ended usefulness of mounted knights and forts
Important Inventions• flight– sped up travel over long distances (trade & information)– eventually helped bring the world together (international
flights)
Important Inventions
• antibiotics—first discovered in 1945– people began surviving diseases that used to kill
them– peoples life expectancy has gotten much longer– overuse is leading to resistant “super diseases”
Your assignment
• What invention will you make that will change the world?– Your assignment is to come up with an invention– Include:• A picture of it• A detailed explanation of how it works or what it does• The reasons why it will change the world
– If time permits…The class will vote on the best invention and the inventor will get a prize!