There were many great inventions made in the 1920’s. Many of these were based off of the new found use of electricity, and many inventors prospered during this time. This era was also known as the Booming, or Roaring, twenties. The making of several new inventions helped this decade receive its name.
In 1927, Edwin Perkins invented a flavorful liquid drink called Fruit Smack for kids. It was very costly to make this drink so Edwin came up with the solution of taking out the liquid and turning it into a powder. This made the ever-so-famous mix we have today, Kool Aid. There were six original flavors. Kool Aid is known as Nebraska’s official soft drink, although the famous Kool Aid man was not introduced into the company until the 1950’s.
Another invention, the Band Aid, was invented in 1920, by a Johnson & Johnson employee, Earle Dickson. He invented this product for his wife who constantly cut and burnt herself cooking. At the beginning Band Aids were homemade and not very popular until World War II, when they shipped millions overseas. They became even more popular when they introduced the decorative Band Aids with super hero faces on them.
In 1923, a woman by the name of Mrs. Gerstenzang placed a roll of cotton on the end of a toothpick to clean out her babies ears. Her husband, Leo Gerstenzang, saw this and began creating multiple packs of these, inventing the Cotton Swab. Leo made these for many years and then changed the name to Q-Tips, Q standing for “quality” and Tips referring to the ends of the swabs. Leo and his wife produced these for many years and grew to be a large manufacturing company.
Water Skiing was invented in 1922 when a man named Ralph Samuelson attached a pair of boards to his shoes and used a clothes line to attach to the back of a boat. He had his brother pull him around the lake for several days before figuring out that the easiest way to ski was to lean backwards and tilt the boards out of the water, allowing him to glide along the water. Water Skiing remained an obscure activity until Ralph preformed at a show in Miami, Florida. Very few people took part in this activity until the 1950’s.
The first Four-Way, Three-Light, traffic light was first invented in 1920 by a police officer names William Potts, in Detroit, Michigan. Other traffic lights were invented long before this in England, but they were not popular in the US because of their limited direction. The first recorded working traffic light in America is found in Ashville, Ohio. The traffic light has saved many lives over many years, helping in big intersections.
www.kbrhorse.net/sigpics/ch_dt_4-way_01.jpg" width="138" height="150" /> All of these inventions have helped shape America in many different ways. The Band Aid and Q-Tip help with sanitary and injuries, Water Skiing is a fun activity that many people take part in competitively, Kool Aid is a family friendly drink with a catchy logo and slogan, and the Traffic Light has saved many lives in the US over the course of 90 years now. These inventions each have done great things for our country.
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Interesting! Well done!