Who Invented

I recently bought a house and, in my price range, it’s the kind of place that is not immediately livable. The hardest part will be swallowing the electrician’s bill. For the rest of it, I’ll need to do it myself (with some help!). I went to the hardware store recently to cry about the price of materials. I was looking at the adhesive tape section and that led me to the usual question:

Who Invented Adhesive Tape?

First, what is adhesive tape? Well, Merrian-Webster described it as:

1. It is tape coated on one side with an adhesive mixture.
2. A narrow strip of material that is sticky on one side and is used to stick one thing to another.

Seems like a simple thing to think about. In fact, some types of glue combined with bonding materials were used throughout history to build and fixed things … and people (you know, for surgical use).

I took some time away from the computer during the summer, being slowly crushed by the heatwave. Not living in the US, I don’t have an air conditioning apparatus to keep me fresh.

It’s just not a thing in Europe and I read articles about US citizens being shocked by that revelation. It’s a strange reaction, but where I live, there are usually two weeks a year of high temperatures. Nothing to justify investing in more than a fan.

Anyway, this topic picked my interest in the invention of the Air Conditioner. As usual, let’s answer a question:

I was reading about the comeback of the Orient-Express for the 2024 Olympic Games. That’s when I realized that what I knew about the train is mostly limited to the famous “Murder on the Orient Express,” Agatha Christie’s novel—and the multiple adaptations I watched.

The History of the Orient Express

First, for those who are not familiar with the gruesome murder of Samuel Ratchett on board the Orient Express during the 1930s, as told by the queen of the murder mystery, you may not know about this famous train—to be honest, if we are still talking about it, it’s because of Christie’s books.

A few years back, someone found out that actress Hedy Lamarr was also an inventor, and one of the projects she worked on later led to the creation of Wi-Fi. It’s a good headline “Hollywood Actress Invented Wi-Fi.” I saw a documentary about her life, and the story is not that simple. She didn’t really invent Wi-Fi per se. So…

Who Created Wi-Fi?

First, what is Wi-Fi? Here is the definition I found on the Verizon website:

Wi-Fi is the radio signal sent from a wireless router to a nearby device, which translates the signal into data you can see and use. The device transmits a radio signal back to the router, which connects to the internet by wire or cable.

I was listening to some Trevor Moore songs (RIP) and the one about his rage against the guy who invented the credit card reader chip led me to realize that I don’t even know where the credit card comes from. So, it’s time to dig into some consumerism history.

Who Created the Credit Card?

Where I come from, what we call a credit card is basically a payment card. You open a bank account, there’s a card that comes with it to pay and get money from the ATM, it’s mostly debit. If you want a credit, you need to talk to your bank counselor. If I understand well, it’s not the same in the U.S.—but it’s not the subject of this article. Indeed, were are here to explore the origin of those plastic cards.