01x06 - The Great Inventors

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Today in Show and Tell,

I'm going to tell you about
some of the inventions

that happened in the United
States between 1870 and 1900.

I brought my brother's dog,
Snoopy, to help demonstrate,

which may have been
a serious mistake.

Anyway, I will also talk about
famous American firsts.

The first paper bag was made
in 1872 by Luther Cromwell.

The first comic strip was
The Yellow Kid in 1895.

The first chewing gum was patented
by William Semple in Ohio in 1869.

A Mr. Smithson created the first ice
cream sundae in Wisconsin in 1888.

The first drinking straw
also came along in 1888,

invented by Mr. Stove
in Washington, D.C.

The first toothpick was patented
in 1872 by Mr. Silas Noble.

The first sneakers happened in 1868.

And the first earmuffs were
created by Chester Greenwood

in 1877 in Connecticut.

Oh, yes, ma'am. I do have more
important things to talk about.

The first pizzeria opened
in New York City in 1895.

Sorry about that, ma'am.

My assistant got a
little carried away.

Cool it, Beagle! Or else I'm
going to flunk this report!

Moving right along,

the first four-wheel roller skates were
invented by James Plimpton in 1863.

This became a nationwide fad.

Yes, ma'am.
Just a moment, please.

Listen, you stupid Beagle.

You're going to get me
thrown out of class.

Now shape up!

I'll conclude my report
with Sports in America.

In 1891, Dr. James Naismith

thought there should be a game
that could be played indoors.

So he nailed two peach baskets to the
balcony of the school gymnasium.

And thus basketball was invented.

The first inter-college football game

where a person actually carried
the ball was way back in 1869.

The game was played between
Harvard and McGill Universities.

Now that's more like it!

And the first professional
baseball team

was the Cincinnati Red
Stockings way back in 1869.

And that ends my report.

And my life.

Here, big brother! I never
want to see this Beagle again!

Shhh! Linus is about
to give his report!

For ten years after the Civil w*r,

from 1865 to 1875,

a series of inventions began to
transform the American way of life.

The invention of the
refrigerated railroad car

meant that fruits and
vegetables and fish and beef

could be carried across the country.

During this ten year period,

new inventions included
everything from cable cars,

to the vacuum,
to the typewriter,

to the billiard ball.

But the greatest inventions
were yet to come.

Starting in 1876,

the 100th birthday
of the United States,

three spectacular inventions

would change the United
States and the world forever.

The telephone, the electric light,
and the horseless carriage!

Alexander Graham Bell was
born in Scotland in 1847,

just one year before the
discovery of gold in California.

He came to Boston,
Massachusetts in April of 1871.

He was a teacher who taught
deaf children how to speak.

He used a method called visible
speech invented by his father.

Within a few weeks,

Mr. Bell was able to
teach the children

more than 400 English syllables.

It was Mr. Bell's work with the deaf

that led him to the
study of telegraphy,

invented by Samuel Morse.

By 1876, as the United States
was celebrating its 100th birthday,

the Scottish immigrant
was about to give America

a fantastic birthday present.

Yes?

I was wondering if I
might speak with Mr. Bell.

Well, I'm afraid
Mr. Bell is rather busy.

Who is it, Mrs. Holliday?

My name is Linus Van Pelt.

I'm writing a report for
school about Mr. Bell.

It's a young student who'd
like to speak with you.

Well, there's always time
for a student, Mrs. Holliday.

Send the lad up here.

Go up those stairs, young man.

Thank you very much, ma'am.

Oh, come right in, laddie.
Don't be shy.

My name is Mr. Bell,
and this is my associate.

Oh, I know.
Thomas Watson.

What can we do for you, Mr. Van Pelt?

Well, I'm writing this report,

and I was wondering how you
learned all about what you do.

Oh-h*. I'm afraid that
would take many weeks.

But I could tell you
about the highlights.

Well, now, where should I begin?

Ah, yes.

You know, young man, how African tribes
send messages with their huge drums?

Yes, sir.

And you know how North American Indians
can send messages by smoke signals?

Yes, sir.

Well, about 32 years ago, in 1844,

there was a man named
Samuel F. B. Morse.

And he invented the telegraph

that now allows us to communicate
all across the United States.

Well, now, the most
important thing I do

is teach children who
are deaf how to speak.

For many years, I've tried to use the
idea of the telegraph and electricity

to make pictures of the sounds
we make with our voices.

If a child who is deaf could
see the sounds we make,

they could learn to make the proper
inflections with vowels and consonants.

Aye, but we failed miserably.

We've not been able to make
such pictures of our sounds.

However, last year, in June,
a most amazing thing happened.

I was at the receiving station.

And I was at the transmitting station.

Mr. Watson noticed that one of the
transmitting springs was not vibrating.

I plucked it to start it again.
It wouldn't start.

I plucked it again,
and again, and again.

I started hearing these
noises I'd never heard before.

I raced into Mr. Watson's
room like a madman.

Don't stop whatever you just did.

Don't change anything. Do it again.

So I kept plucking.

I got very excited.

That's it! That's it!

I just heard that very
noise over the wire!

I guess we got a little
crazy, young man.

So we had transmitted a sound.

A modulating sound!

This meant that for the
first time in history,

sound waves were transformed
into electrical impulses

and carried over an ordinary wire.

And were you able
to talk to each other?

No. We could hear each other speaking,
but we could not understand the words.

We have been able to send musical
notes along the wire, but not speech.

So we've been trying for over
a year to transmit speech,

but we have been unsuccessful.

So that brings us up
to today, young man.

Is that enough for your report?

Yes. I really appreciate your
taking the time to talk to me.

But I'm afraid we must get
on with our experiment.

Is this a special experiment?

Not especially.

It's just another one of hundreds that
we've tried to hear each other's voices.

Would it be possible for me to watch?

Well, it would be highly irregular.

Oh, Thomas.

I think this one time
it might be alright.

Oh, thank you both.
I'll be very quiet.

But I must warn you, Mr. Van Pelt.

Very little will probably happen.

I understand, sir.
Thank you, sir.

Now you see this wire here?

Well, it runs from this
room to my bedroom.

I'm going to go into the bedroom,
where I shall have a small microphone.

We're going to try and do
something a little different today.

I will talk into the microphone.

Mr. Watson here will have
what we call the receiver.

You stand close to me, son,
and we'll listen together.

Just imagine, Mr. Bell has been
working on this for over ten years.

Ten years? Wow!

He's closed the door.
Let's listen.

I have to put the acid here.

Oh, no!

Mr. Watson!
Come here! I want you!

That's it! That's it! That's it!

That's it! I heard every word.

You said, Mr. Watson,
come here, I want you!

At last! At long last!

Congratulations, Thomas.

Congratulations, Mr. Bell.

Wow!

Wait till I tell Charlie Brown.

At first, many people called
the telephone a silly toy.

But 25 years later, by the
turn of the century in 1900,

there were more than a million and a
half telephones in the United States.

On that March day in 1876,

when man first communicated
by telephone,

Alexander Graham Bell
was just 29 years old.

And his assistant, Mr. Watson, was 22.

For the next 45 years of his life,

although Mr. Bell created
other inventions too,

he dedicated much of his time
to working with the deaf.

Mr. Bell once said to
a group of children,

"Do not keep forever
on the public road,"

"going only where
others have gone."

"Leave the beaten track occasionally,
and dive into the woods."

He'll be certain to find something
you've never seen before.

Of course, it will be a little thing,
but do not ignore it.

Follow it up.
Explore all around it.

One discovery will lead to another.

And before you know it,

you'll have something worth thinking
about to occupy your mind.

All really big discoveries
are the result of thought.

Another inventor, Thomas Edison,

worked for the next two years
to improve Bell's telephone.

Mr. Edison changed it from
Bell's magnetic transmitter

to a carbon transmitter.

Two years later, in 1878,

Mr. Edison read a speech over his
new telephone in New York City.

Every word he spoke
was heard perfectly

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,


Just the year before,


Edison had created another miracle.

Father, the doll you
made me isn't working.

Could you please fix it for me?

Well, let me see, Marian.

And who is your new friend?

Oh, this is Peppermint Patty.

This is my father.

How do you do, Mr. Edison?

Oh, fine. Do you live nearby?

Well, not exactly. I'm kind of
working on a report about you.

About me?
Well, isn't that nice?

I read that you were working on 44
different inventions at the same time.

It takes a lot of hard work,
but I have many fine people helping me.

And many times we discover
something by pure accident.

As a matter of fact, this doll I
made for Marian last summer,

this may have helped us get to the very
experiment we're going to try tonight.

How, sir?

Here. Now, maybe it'll work.

I'll try to explain how this works.

This is something
we call a diaphragm.

When I was working on the
diaphragm for Mr. Bell's telephone,

I noticed that it vibrated
in tune with my voice.

So to show the
power of such a device,

I made this mechanical doll for
Marian and her little brother.

Now, when a person yells
into the funnel of this toy,

the diaphragm vibrates and
causes other actions to take place.

Watch. Go ahead, Marian.

Mary had a little lamb,
its fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.

Hey, that's neat.

Well, ever since, I've been
working with diaphragms

to see if I could invent
a talking machine.

As a matter of fact,
we're going to try one tonight.

Oh, Father, can we watch?

Please, can we watch?

I'm afraid it's already
past your bedtime.

Oh, please, Father.
I never get to watch.

Please.

Is this November 1877, sir?

Yes, young lady, it is.
Why do you ask?

I think you're going to
be pleasantly surprised.

Why? What in the
world do you mean?

Well, I can't really explain.

Well, Marian's mother and
brother haven't returned yet,

so I imagine this one
time would be all right.

Come on.

Gentlemen, we have two
special guests tonight.

This young lady seems to agree with
me that the phonograph can work.

In fact, it was Marian's doll

that helped me along the
way to this talking machine.

Marian and Miss Patty,
these are two diaphragms.

They are the key to
this talking machine.

John Kruesi here drew
up the sketch for me.

He doesn't think it'll work,

but maybe we'll get lucky
and at least hear one word.

Yeah, but what will you
say into it, Mr. Edison?

Hmm, let me think.

Oh, yes, I have it.
Are we ready?

Mary had a little lamb.

Its fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.

Mary had a little lamb.
Its fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.

Wow! He did it.

Marcy, what are you doing here?

You started acting weird, sir,
as you got into your report.

But where's Mr. Edison?

Where's his daughter Marian?

Why don't you take a rest,
and I'll finish your report?

But where's the lab?
Where's the toy?

Thomas Edison went on to become
America's greatest inventor,

probably the world's greatest as well.

He had the most patents in history,
over a thousand different inventions,

including those that eventually led

to the development of
motion pictures and radio.

But his greatest achievement

would change the United
States and the world forever.

His greatest invention
came in October of 1879.

He worked on hundreds and hundreds
of experiments for over a year.

He and his associates would
work for 18- and 20-hour days,

often seven days a week.

Mr. Edison proved that a thread
of carbonized cotton in a vacuum

will burn for more than 13
hours without overheating.

Mr. Edison had done the impossible.

He had created an electric light,

the first one small enough

to eventually be used
in a home or office.

Soon, Mr. Edison's lamps would
glow for a thousand hours.

Gas lights and their shadows
would soon be gone forever.

Within a few weeks, the news
had excited the entire country.

Soon, the whole world knew about it.

Thousands of people came
to Mr. Edison's laboratory

just to turn a light
on and off, on and off,

just to see the miracle work.

Within a few years, major cities
like New York would be aglow.

And as the United States
moved into the 20th century,

electric power would come to
millions of American homes,

and Thomas Edison became one
of the most famous men on Earth.

When you come across anything
you don't thoroughly understand,

don't rest until you've run it down.

When I'm asked the key to my success,
I have a short answer.

It's hard work based on hard thinking.

Each day dawns with
fascinating possibilities.

The world is so full
of a number of things.

The horseless carriage,
what we call the automobile,

was first developed in Europe,

where it caught on quickly
because they had very good roads.

In America, except for a few
paved streets in major cities,

most of the roads were dirty,
dusty, muddy, or bumpy,

considered to be fit only for horses.

Most experts credit the Durier
brothers, Frank and Charles,

with creating the first
practical American automobile.

Back in 1893 in Springfield,
Massachusetts,

the first automobile race in America,

sponsored by a Chicago newspaper,

took place in Chicago on
Thanksgiving Day in 1895.

It was called the
Race of the Century.

There was a $5,000 prize offering.

But because of the Chicago snowstorm,

only six entries made
it to the starting line.

There were two electric cars,

the Sturgis and the Electrobat 2.

And there were four cars
with gasoline engines.

Three were built by
the German Carl Benz,

and these were favored
to win the race.

The fourth was the
lightest and slowest car,

and had been built by
the Durier brothers.

They could only go
about five miles an hour,

and were considered no match
for the other contestants.

There was also a mystery car,

overlooked by most historians.

It was called a Snoopmobile,

and nothing was known about
the car or its inventors.

The horseless carriage
was considered, at best,

a toy for the rich.

Few thought that any of these
new fangled contraptions

could ever complete
the 54-mile round trip

to Evanston, Illinois, and back.

Although the Durier car
took a surprising early lead,

it lost an hour fixing
a broken steering part.

The favored Benz took the lead.

Three cars soon dropped
out of the race.

One of the heavy Benz cars
couldn't get through the snow,

and the batteries ran down
on both the electric cars

less than ten miles from the start.

When the three remaining cars turned
at the halfway point at Evanston,

it was Benz first, then Durier,

then the second Benz.

There have been conflicting reports as
to what happened to the mystery car.

We do know that it was first
bogged down in the snow.

We also know that they
had at least two collisions.

One with a large sleigh

carrying people on their way to a
Chicago-Michigan football game,

and one with a horse-drawn trolley.

The noise created by the Snoopmobile

caused dozens of horses to rear
up and fly off with their buggies.

Falling far behind in the race,

the driver reportedly tried
to catch up by using sails.

The Durier car finally
moved into first place.

Just a little more than ten hours
after the start of the race,

the Durier crossed the finish line,

nearly two hours ahead of the Benz.

The horseless carriage had
made its first major impression

on American citizens.

One year later, in 1896,

a man by the name of Henry Ford

completed his first horseless carriage.

Twelve years later, in 1908,

Mr. Ford created the Model T,

which many experts call one
of the greatest achievements

in the history of
world transportation.

But Mr. Ford's dream was
to mass-produce a car

that would be cheap enough for
the average American to afford.

One day, he visited a
meatpacking plant in Chicago.

He watched what was called
an assembly line of workers.

He decided that the way to
mass-produce the automobile

was to create an assembly
line in his factories.

Soon he had reduced the
time for making a chassis

from twelve and a half hours
to just one and a half hours.

By 1916, Henry Ford was
producing 2,000 cars a day

and selling them for
less than $400 apiece.

Millions of Americans
took to the roads.

Americans felt there was
no stopping them now.

But the American dream
would soon be tested

by w*r, by depression,
and by the need for social reform.

Freedom in America
had created the climate

for the great inventors
to create their magic.

And now, this same freedom

would be tested in the 20th century

by the winds of change.