Transcription
[Music] inventions and inventors. Do you know what an invention is? An invention is something that has never been made before, and an inventor is the person who creates the invention.
Today we are going to talk more about inventions and inventors. Can you think about what it would be like to live in a world without wheels? Well, at some point in the very distant past, there weren't any. Someone had to invent or create them. Most inventions are made because people have an idea about something that is needed that they don't already have. For example, many historians think that the wheel, knife, and arrow were all created because there was a need for transportation, protection, and hunting.
There are a lot of inventions out there, along with some pretty famous inventors. Let's learn more about some of them. Have you heard the name Thomas Edison before? Thomas Edison was a famous inventor in the 1800s. He created the incandescent light bulb, which improved on previous light bulb designs and was more affordable to use. Thomas also partnered with a man named William Kennedy Dixon to invent the first motion picture camera ever seen. A record player or turntable? Before Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, which is like the great grandparent to today's modern record players. Pretty cool, right?
Other important inventions happened in the 1800s when a scientist named Lou Pasteur made significant breakthroughs in medical science. Because of Pasteur, we have the process of pasteurization, which is named after him. Pasteurization kills germs and prevents spoilage in food items like milk. Pasteur also developed the vaccines for Chala, Anthrax, smallpox, and rabies, which saved countless lives.
Let's talk about a fun, more tasty invention: the chocolate chip cookie. The chocolate chip cookie as we know it was developed by a woman named Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1938. She owned the Toll House Inn, and her chocolate chip cookie became known as the Toll House cookie. While there were other cookie recipes that called for grated or chopped chocolate, her recipe is the one that is still used today. Here is an interesting fact: Ruth gave the Nestle company the recipe for her cookies and was paid with a lifetime supply of chocolate. Sounds pretty yummy to us.
Do you or someone you know own a cellular phone? If so, you have Martin Cooper to thank. Here is a fun fact about cell phones: the first ever handheld cellular mobile phone debuted in 1973 and weighed 4.4 lbs. Nowadays, most cell phones weigh less than half of a pound and are light years ahead of that first model. Other inventors created smartphones like the iPhone, which are even more sophisticated than the first computers. There are new inventions in technology all the time, which is super exciting.
We have learned some awesome info about inventions and inventors. Let's review to test your new knowledge. Fill in the blank: An blank is something that has never been made before. If you said invention, you're correct. True or false: Many historians think that the wheel, knife, and arrow were created because there was a need for transportation, protection, and hunting. That's right, the answer is true. Who invented the process of pasteurization? You're correct, it's none other than Louis Pasteur. Nice work, friends.
Learning about inventions and inventors is pretty cool, and the coolest part is that anyone can be an inventor. Who knows, maybe you will be the next person to invent something that will have a huge impact on the world. Hope you had fun learning with us. Visit us at learn.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.
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