Interesting Facts

30th March 1853 - Vincent van Gogh was born. 1856 - The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Crimean War. 1858 - Hymen Lipman patented a pencil with an attached eraser. 1986 - James Cagney died.

19th February 1878 – Thomas Edison patented the phonograph. 1861 – Serfdom was abolished in Russia. 1674 – England and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transferred the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, whereupon it was renamed New York.

Warren Herbert Frost, is the inventor of the first recognizable kazoo, a musical instrument that modifies the player's voice using a vibrating membrane. (He named the new musical instrument kazoo in his patent #270,543 issued on January 9, 1883. The modern, kazoo, which was also the first metal kazoo, was patented by George D. Smith of New York, on May 27, 1902. It sounds just like Apple and Samsung. Kazoo wars!) Source: Wikipedia

European patent applications can cost ten times more than patents registered in the US. (Now all but two of the EU's 27 member states have agreed to set up a common European patent system that could reduce costs, but Italy and Spain fear discrimination because patents could only be filed in English, French or German. If it does go ahead, the savings to UK business are likely to be around £20m per year in translation costs alone. Good news for business, bad news for translators.)

According to the BBC, every year the UK generates over 25,000 patents, trademarks, and design rights for new products and services. (The British Library is hosting an exhibition of the top 15 British inventions in the past 10 years, these are:- The Double Broom - A twin-headed broom invented by 5 year old Samuel Houghton after watching his dad struggle to sweep up leaves in his back garden. Karbon Kinetics Gocycle - An innovative folding electric bike which allows users to use the power assist for up to an hour without between charges - reaching speeds of up to 15 mph - or ride using old-fashioned pedal power for as long as their stamina permits. SeaRaser Wave Power Generator - A self cleaning, low maintenance wave energy device that exploits the energy of the sea's waves to pressurise water through a system of floating pistons to generate power. Creators Dartmouth Wave Energy Limited say 11,000 units could generate enough power for the whole of the UK and reduce energy bi...

Albert F Storz patented chocolate Easter bunnies in the USA on May 3, 1960. (The patent, number 187838, lasted 14 years. You can view it here .)

In the last 12 years, IBM has received 29,021 patents - more than any other company or individual in the world. In 2005 alone they received 2,974 U.S. patents (IBM inventions and discoveries include the following: DRAM (dynamic random access memory) cells | Magnetic storage | The relational database | The RISC (reduced instruction set computer) chip architecture | Fractals | Superconductivity)

The first patent granted to a woman was in 1637. (Amye Everard became the first women in England to be granted a patent for her "preparation for a tincture of saffron". I think the patent has run out now, but you can never be too sure.)