Middle School
Worksheets
Building a Better Mousetrap, Part 2
Mechanical inventions took many forms. The first modern tumbler lock was invented in 1861. A new type of roller skates were invented in 1863. They started a new craze not only in North America but in Europe as well.
The first typewriter became available in 1867. At first, keys were arranged in alphabetical order. Later on, typists became so fast that the keys would jam up. The letters were rearranged in the pattern we know today, in order to slow them down.
The first motorcycle was fueled by coal and driven by steam in 1867. That same year also ushered in inventions like toilet paper and barbed wire.
Not all inventions are life-changing ones. Some are simpler and designed to aid in comfort.
Chester Greenwood was a teenager in 1873 when he came up with the idea for ear muffs. He used his helpful invention to build a fortune. He used his fortune to invent other things like a steel-tooth rake, a folding bed, wide bottom kettles, a new kind of spark plug, and other things. He liked to be able to look at a job and find an easier way to do it.
