subject: The Stories of Unfortunate Innovations and Miserable Inventors [print this page] The Stories of Unfortunate Innovations and Miserable Inventors
A lot of innovations have been of good use to the humankind and developed the science and also technical progress substantially. But the great inventions did not help the inventors themselves and didn't make them satisfied though they altered the whole world.
Gum In the XVIII century rubber was introduced to Eurpean people. It was not considered a handy material first as it would melt when it is hot and break into pieces when it is cold. Charles Nelson Goodyear analyzed the properties of rubber to produce a new material. He wasted the money he had on the chemical agents and rubber though he had already made huge debts by that time. He invented the technology of vulcanization by chance when he threw the blend of rubber and sulfur into the oven.
This invention was patented by other people, and Charles Goodyear died without money. Pressure-cooker Denis Papin created the pressure-cooker in 1679 and it has not changed much since that time. He helped many other researchers of that time. The pressure-cooker ( digester as Denis Papin called it) was his first attempt to make an invention of his own. Although the invention seemed to be a hit, it was not popular. The inventor went to Germany where he continued his research of steam. He even succeeded to create the steamboat but got ruined and died soon afterwards.
Cardan Shaft Girolamo Cardano was the Italian doctor and astrologist. His life was marked by various failures. He foresaw the date of his death but was wrong, so he needed to put it off. His children were criminals. Girolamo Cardano was accused of plagiarism in the research of algebra and imprisoned for making the horoscope of Christ. Though he managed to invent the mechanism that became the foundation for gyroscope and cardan shaft that didn't alter much since that time.
