Here at Flex Technologies, we are proud to provide silicone products online to help all kinds of industries run on a day to day basis. We are always humbled by the scope of machinery in the modern world. To commemorate how far we have come, we thought we would commemorate the inventors out there with some fun famous inventor facts.

Live by your work

We have all heard of Vaseline, but have you ever heard of its inventor? Robert Chesebrough invented petroleum jelly and patented in 1872, manufacturing it as the brand Vaseline. What's so interesting about that? Just that he reportedly ate a spoonful of the substance every day of his life.

Before his time

Leonardo Da Vinci is known as one of the most prolific inventors and learned men in history. So it should come as no surprise that he was ahead of his time on many things. One notable instance of this was after studying river erosion, which convinced him that the earth was much older than the Bible states. Beliefs such as this put him in major danger from the theocracy of the time.

The guitar master who wasn't

The inventor of the Fender line of guitars was Leo Fender, who created the stratocaster and telecaster. What is weird about that is that Leo could not, nor ever learned, to play the guitar.

Budding genius

Sometimes scientific advancements happen by accident. And sometimes those scientific accidents are caused by 10 year olds at science class. That is what happened to Clara Lazen, a 10 year old girl who accidentally created a new molecule in her fifth grade science class. The molecule she created is called tetranitratoxycarbon. As adults, we're not sure we can even pronounce it, so props to Clara for its invention!

He bares his genius

Charles Richter is best known for his invention of the Richter scale, which is a measure for the magnitude of earthquakes. It is a base-10 logarithmic scale, which is about as much of it as we understand. Charles Richter had an unusual trait, especially for the time in the 1920s; he was a nudist.

We don't need no

Education is important, but that does not mean it is everything. Just ask Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, and Walt Disney, all of which never got a college degree.

In hindsight

Rudolf Diesel was the inventor of the Diesel engine, which we can all appreciate revolutionized the world we live in. Unfortunately, this isn't so much of a fun fact as a sad one, as Mr. Diesel ended his life in 1913 under distress that his invention would never see success. Here's to you, Mr. Rudolf, for a fine invention that has made all of our lives easier!

The people's man

It is not at all uncommon for inventors today to never see a penny from their invention, due to the troubles with patent laws, monopolies, etc. That is why, when a new invention is made, it is so important to get a patent (even though they cost more than most people can afford). However, one of our most famous founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, was personally opposed to patents, never taking one out for any of his many inventions. According to Mr. Franklin, "we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."

Justice is served

Speaking of how few inventors ever see profit from their inventions, Bob Kearns invented the intermittent windshield wipers in the 1960s. When he tried to sell his invention to the auto industry, he was summarily rejected by them all. Unfortunately, they must have thought his invention was a good idea, because they stole it and started putting it in their cars. In one of the few cases where the inventor saw just compensation, Bob sued some these auto industries, and won his case. He was awarded millions of dollars, but still lives very frugally, not pursuing his case for the money, but for his rights to exclusively use his patented invention.

Hopefully these fun inventor facts proved interesting. If you are looking for tubes and hoses for your company's machinery, our online silicone products are made to the highest quality. We also have custom and wholesale options available. For more information about our silicone products, please do not hesitate to give us a call at your earliest convenience. One of our friendly and knowledgeable representatives will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.