Ok, so I think I've managed to come up with a good idea with a lot of potential. Don't think it's been done before. Let's see your favourite inventions. Maybe it's the wheel, maybe it's sliced bread. But whatever it is, it should be something that has made a significant impact into our daily lives, whether we realize it or not. Standard rules apply. Avatar size of 150x150. Here's mine. Wouldn't be here without it
Hmm, the invention I am thinking of (and without I wouldn't be here either) would violate the "keep Misc PG13" rule
Margaret Knight didn't invent the paper bag, but the first paper bags weren't all that useful. For that, we have to thank Knight. Knight realized that paper bags should have a square bottom; when weight was distributed across the base in this way, the bags could carry more things. In 1870, she created a wooden machine that would cut, fold and glue the square bottoms to paper bags. While she was working on an iron prototype of the machine to use for her application, she discovered that her design had been stolen by a man named Charles Annan, who had seen her wooden machine a few months earlier. She filed a patent interference suit against Annan, who claimed that there was no way that a woman could have developed such a complex machine. Knight used her notes and sketches to prove otherwise, and she was granted the patent for the device in 1871. At the age of 12, Knight had developed a stop-motion device that would automatically bring industrial machines to a halt if something was caught on them, which prevented many injuries; all told, Knight was awarded more than 20 patents. I had never heard of Knight until I went looking for a woman who had invented something.
Ok, I'm going to leave this open until Wednesday to give everyone time to come up with something. I'll put up the poll that evening.