50 Life Hacks to Simplify your World.

10 Inventions That Were Created Due To World War I

Many inventions are created out of necessity, and many of the items we take for granted today were created during war times. During World War I, the majority of the planet was going through a hard time and it was in these times of harshness that a lot of modern day technologies came to be. Here is a look at 10 such inventions that came about during WWI.

1. Pilot Communications

Pilots had no way to talk to each other or to people on the ground before WWI. Aviators relied on gestures or shouting to communicate. Radio technology was available but development was needed before it could be used on a military scale. This took place at Brooklands and then at Biggin Hill. By 1916, noticeable steps had been taken forward in developing radio technology and pilots were able to communicate in a reliable way.

2. Tea Bags

This invention was not invented out of necessity caused by the war, but instead by accident. In 1908, an American tea merchant used to sell tea to his customers in small bags. It is unknown whether they intentionally or accidentally dropped the bags in water, but after that, the tea bag became more than a delivery parcel. A German company did copy the idea and use it to supply troops with tea and called the package a “tea bomb”.

3. Stainless Steel 

This major component of the modern world was created by Harry Brearley of Sheffield in 1913. The British military was having trouble with the barrels of their rifles which became distorted with repeated firing, and so Brearley, a metallurgist, was asked to find a solution. He examined the addition of chromium to steel and scrapped many of his experiments, but it is rumored that these very scraps are what were to become the success when Brearley noticed that they had not rusted.

4. Zips

People had been working combinations of hooks, clasps and eyes to keep the cold out since the mid-nineteenth century. But a Swedish-born emigrant to the US by the name of Gideon Sundback, was the one who succeeded in his attempts. He devised the “Hookless Fastener”, which locked the two sets of teeth together with its slider. The US military used this new invention in their uniforms and boots during WWI and after the was, civilians followed in using the zip.

5. The Wristwatch

Wristwatches were not invented specifically for World War I, but before it, men who could afford a watch, kept it in their pockets on a chain. Women were the first to use watches that strapped onto their arms. But as timing in war became important, there was a need for a watch that would allow for both hands to be kept free. Timing was key in artillery barrages, so that the artillery and infantry could synchronize. It was out of this necessity that the wristwatch was born and even till today, men wear it as a sign of luxury and punctuality.

6. Vegetarian Sausages

The soy sausages were invented by Konrad Adenauer (who would later become Germany’s first chancellor after WWII). Adenauer was mayor of the city of Cologne during WWI, and as Britain’s blockade of Germany began to settle its teeth, starvation set in. Adenauer had a brilliant mind and he found ways to substitute materials that were scarce with materials that were available. Instead of wheat, he used rice flour, barley and corn flour to make bread. He then went on to replace meat with sausages that used soy as a meat substitute. It was dubbed the “peace sausage”.

7. Daylight Saving Time

Although the idea of putting the clocks forward in spring and back in autumn was proposed way before WWI by Benjamin Franklin, it was the war that secured the change. When Germany was faced with a shortage of coal, the authorities decreed that on April 30, 1916, the clocks be moved forward at 23:00 to midnight, hence saving the daylight and reducing their reliance on coal. The idea later spread to other countries and even though the idea was abandoned after the war, it would return again.

8. Sun Lamp

Rickets had inflicted half the children of Berlin in the winter of 1918, causing their bones to become soft and deformed. The cause was believed to be poverty, but Dr Kurt Huldschinsky went on to find out a way to fix the problem. He noticed that his patients were very pale and conducted an experiment by placing four of them in front of mercury-quartz lamps which emitted ultraviolet light. He noticed that his patients’ bones grew stronger and soon the treatment was widely used to treat the children of Germany. Researchers later found that ultraviolet light triggered the reaction which allowed Vitamin D to let the bones build up with calcium.

9. Sanitary Towels

Cellucotton had been invented before the war. It was a material that had five times the absorbency of cotton and could be mass produced at half the price. When the war broke out, it was produced at a rate of 380-500 ft per minute and used as wadding for surgical dressing. The Red Cross nurses on the battlefields found the benefits of the material for their own personal, hygienic use, which made the company its true fortune after the war. Two years after the war ended, the company marketed its product as sanitary napkins for women.

10. Paper Hankies

The sanitary pads were not easy to market, as women did not feel comfortable buying the product from male shop assistants. The company created methods to allow people to purchase the items discreetly, but sales did not rise very quickly. Then, in the early 1920′s, the idea of ironing the cellulose material to create a smooth and soft tissue was conceived. After a lot experimentation, the facial tissue was created with the name “Kleenex” in 1924.

BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE

Productivity is about the effective and efficient use of all resources. Resources include time, people, knowledge, information, finance, equipment, space, energy, materials.

Want to know more ways to become more productive? Check out the infographics below.

just a story: a great story to tell or read...

It will take just 60 seconds to read this and change your thinking..

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on
vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color
and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band -he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with
descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body
of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window.The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left
him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this
window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .'

Various Life-Hacks

Strange Facts about Women and Money.

Fact #1 Women live around 5-7 years longer than men on average and also tend to marry men older than themselves.

Fact #2 Many marriages today end in separation or divorce, often leaving women with a lower standard of living and a high economic burden (Statistics show that household income decreases on average 37% after a divorce).

Fact # 3 Almost half of women aged 65-74 are single. Of these, around 30% are widowed, 6% are divorced and 4% have never married.

Fact # 4 Nine out of ten women will be solely responsible for their financial affairs at some point in their lives.

Fact # 5 Women earn around 75% of the income of their male counterparts.

Fact # 6 At retirement, the average female aged 15 today will have saved only 75% as much as the average male.

Fact # 7 Women’s careers are interrupted by child rearing or caring for elderly parents. (It has been said that for every year a woman stays home to look after a child, she must work 5 extra years to recover lost income, retirement savings and career promotions.

Fact # 8 Only 43% of women are saving for retirement compared to 51% of men.

Fact # 9 Nearly 27% of women think that the Government should take the greatest responsibility for retirement saving compared to 17% of men.

Fact # 10 Women in New Zealand are more than twice as likely to live in poverty in old age as men.