Don’t you just love throwing a Frisbee? Based on a pie tin from the Frisbie Baking Company the 1947-original plastic version was called the “Pluto Platter”. It’s such a simple thing. There is no user manual; it doesn’t require special skills or training, you just fling it. Thank you, Walter Frederick Morrison.
In the Summer of 1942 the Subsistence Research Laboratory in Chicago spent just 30 days developing a little piece of 1-1/2 inch stamped metal, multiple of which were ultimately included with each case of C-Rations delivered to our GIs. This little gadget, officially called a “US ARMY POCKET CAN OPENER” and unofficially called a P-38 or “John Wayne”, is amazingly simple. It came with instructions, but they are hardly needed. It can nest between keys in your pocket, and it opens cans with ease.
No one appears to know who invented that wonderfully simple lesson in leverage, nail clippers. Great for trimming nails, clipping fishing line, or (until recently) creating a minor stir in airport security lines, nail clippers are easy to use and highly effective.
We don’t know how, and we don’t know when, but we know that Harvey Kennedy made $2,500,000.00 on the simple shoelace. Think about it, hook and loop fasteners like Velcro® are quick, but have by no means threatened the preeminence of the humble shoelace. Simple; effective; cheap; I wish I’d thought of it!
Walter Hunt’s wonderful safety pin has saved many from embarrassment since its invention in 1849. Making a pin that holds material together and prevents one from being pricked is a great idea. Mr. Hunt didn’t think so, however, and he sold his patent for $400.00 soon after it was issued.
One of America’s 15 outstanding inventors with over 100 patents to his name was a grammar school dropout by the name of Chester Greenwood. Mr. Greenwood invented earmuffs in 1873 at the age of 15. As the maker of Greenwood’s Champion Ear Protectors, he made a fortune supplying Ear Protectors to U.S. soldiers during World War I. Earmuffs simply work.
Admiral Grace Hopper invented the first computer “compiler” in 1952. Prior to her invention, computer programmers had been required to write programming instructions in binary code. Grace Hopper also developed a language called Common Business-Oriented Language or COBOL, now the most widely used computer business language in the world. While these inventions were not simple in themselves, they did simplify life for many. Admiral Hopper did invent one very simple thing when she coined the phrase,
“It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.”
In 1979 Dan Bricklin and Bob Franksten invented VisiCalc, the first computer spreadsheet. The two started Software Arts to market the product, but didn’t become rich from it because software was ineligible for patents until after 1981. VisiCalc later sold to Lotus Development Corporation where it morphed into Lotus 1-2-3. In November of 1981 Bricklin received the Grace Murray Hopper Award from the Association for Computing Machinery in honor of his innovation.
The inventions above highlight the great value of simplicity. The Shakers communicated the value they placed on simplicity in the furniture they built. Modern decorating styles strive to incorporate simple lines and forms. Country life appeals to me very deeply in part because it expresses simplicity in beautiful ways. I find myself drawn to simplicity.
