Browsing: May 13

A Brief History On May 13, 1958, George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer trademarked Velcro, and the company called Velcro is based in the United Kingdom. Did you think Velcro was American invented and made? Many products or inventions that “seem” as is they should be American are not necessarily so. Here is a list of 10 such items. Digging Deeper 10. Baseball and Football, circa 1344, 1400. Baseball is really a variant of Cricket, and forms of it have been played since 14th Century France. Football is a form of Rugby, which started around the beginning of the 15th…

A Brief History On May 13, 1958, George de Mestral of Switzerland trademarked his 1948 invention, Velcro.  Mestral had patented Velcro in 1955 and started marketing the handy invention in 1958.  Not surprisingly, the company that makes Velcro is called, Velcro! Digging Deeper Starting with cotton for the fuzzy part of the two part tape, De Mestral quickly realized something different was needed. Using Nylon and Polyester was the ticket, and the rest is modern convenience history. Like “Kleenex” for facial tissues or “Jell-o” for gelatin, Velcro is referred to generically for “hook and loop” fasteners of any brand. Velcro…

A Brief History On May 13, 1862, a black African-American slave, Robert Smalls, serving as a ship’s pilot on the CSS Planter, a Confederate armed steamship, managed to steal the ship and turn it over to US Navy forces outside Charleston, South Carolina.  It seems the 3 white officers had decided to take shore leave overnight, leaving Smalls and several other slaves on the ship. Digging Deeper Smalls masterminded the escape of the ship with himself in disguise wearing the Captain’s uniform and straw hat.  Not only did Smalls successfully present the ship to the Union Navy, but he also…

A  Brief History On May 13, 1998, Jakarta (or Djakarta) Indonesia experienced race riots directed against the ethnic Chinese minority. These Indonesians of Chinese descent owned many of the shops and stores, creating jealousy and ill will, resulting in looting and rape. Many countries have minorities that are discriminated against, either officially by law or by common practice. Here in the US we are most familiar with discrimination against African-Americans, but here and around the world there is much more than that. Here are 10 examples of minority groups struggling against such oppression. What groups would you add to this…