144 Pages, Hardcover.
A Library of Curious and Unusual Facts
The purpose of invention, a great scientific pioneer once said, is "the complete mastery of mind over the material world." The words may evoke a race of innovative, power-seeking titans, but most inventors merely serve necessity, the proverbial mother of invention. These men and women have a knack for finding problems and then solving them in a unique way.
The very names of some inventors, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison, have become synonyms for inventive creativity. Others have achieved enduring fame in the common names of such things as diesels, Levi's, and leotards. And many, cursed by bad timing or the greed of powerful competitors, have toiled without recognition in their lifetimes. But their differences are less important than their shared characteristics.
Read about classics stories like Ben Franklin and the discovery of electricity to George Ferris and his gigantic wheel. And, you can also find out about such things as:
1. The Rube Goldberg Machine
2. Discovery of X-rays
3. Silly Putty
4. How instant Polaroid film came to be
5. How Gillette changed the lives of American Men
6. ..and much more!
Acknowledged innovator or struggling unknown, these creators of new methods and machines tend toward uncommon practicality and persistence, fired by the unpredictable eccentric spark that is Inventive Genius.
