Innovations that managed to kill their inventors... Accidents are always around the corner especially when you are building flying cars and wing suits!
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-- Einstein once said that “A ship is always safe at the shore - but that is NOT what it is built for.” Most people go through their lives never taking a risk - this, however, does not apply to innovators.
Inventing new things is fun and exciting.
Meet the Austrian-born French tailor, Franz Reichelt. On February 4th, 1912, Franz had an idea. A terrible idea. You see, Franz created a wingsuit, which he believed would make people fly.
So on that day Franz climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower at 8:22am. 30 journalists, two cinematographers and a large crowd watched his jump.
Franz Reichelt wasn’t the only person who was fascinated by the thought of flying. Ever heard of Otto Lilienthal?
Everyone wants to be the first one to invent the most unique things that would make us see the world from a different perspective. So did Henry Smolinski, who quit his job to start a company called Advance Vehicle Engineers.
Alright, let’s step away from the in-air inventions for a while. Have you heard of Thomas Midgley Jr?
Karel Soucek was a Czechoslovakian stuntman, who did something not a lot of people dared to do - there’s a reason behind this.
Daredevils called the stunt the most dangerous thing they have ever seen and even they tried talking Karel out of it - I mean, that sees like a pretty sure sign that the entire thing should be canceled, right?
Let me ask you something - how do you feel about rocket powered cars? Sounds pretty exciting, right?
Another automotive pioneer you should know is Sylvester H. Roper born in 1823 in Boston.
John Godfrey Parry-Thomas was a huge fan of Roper’s invention. This Welsh motor-racing driver and engineer had a need for speed and adrenaline.
Marie Curie’s one of them and if you didn’t know who she was before, you’ll definitely find out in the next minute. Curie was Polish and French and she was a popular chemist who specialised in discovering new elements, including radium and polonioum.
Ever wondered who was behind the whole printing revolution? William Bullock is the man to thank.
And finally we have the biggest accident of them all. And it happened on a ship. And no, it wasn’t the Titanic and no ice bergs were involved. Cowper Phipps Coles was a Royal Navy Captain and the man behind a revolving gun turret for ships. The idea behind it was to create the greatest possible all round arc of fire in order to minimise the target. The only problem was, he didn’t really consider why war ships were actually built the way they were and what effects his invention might have on the rest of the ship while out on the open sea.
He tried out his designs on a war ship called HMS Captain, which was modified to fit Coles’ needs. One of these needs was to create a hurricane deck - an upper deck on the ship, which raised the centre of gravity - something Coles didn’t at all consider during his designs and modifications. This, of course, didn’t end well - the ship had too many construction errors to survive the cruise and it sank in 1870. Almost 500 lives, including the life of the Captain Cowper Phipps Coles, were lost. All because of an experiment.
It’s true - risk taking comes with a price. But don’t forget that knowledge is power. And these inventors certainly proved that the right balance of both can either create something extremely useful for humanity, or turn the whole thing into a series of unfortunate events. So, if you dare, grab a pen and paper, do some research and get to work - what are you going to invent?
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