257 results for: Innovation and Invention
ION armchair from Space Needle revolving restaurant, 1962
The iconic Space Needle in Seattle was built for the 1962 World's Fair, entitled "Century 21" celebrating new innovation and technology and a futuristic theme. The revolving restaurant, "Eye of the Needle," opened for the fair and soon became a top dining destination for Seattleites and visitors to the city. Gideon Kramer, a Seattle designer, artist, inventor, teacher, builder, lecturer,…
ID Number:1981.7348.1
Date:1962
Ibsen Aqua-Belt, 1950
Water skiers used this type of inflatable belt for floatation before more modern life jackets came on the market in the late 1960s. In 1928, Don Ibsen introduced water skiing to the Pacific Northwest by carving and steaming his own skis out of cedar planks, and plying the waters of Lake Washington. In 1950, he worked with Plastimayd, a Portland,…
ID Number:1983.51.1
Date:1950
Underwood Noiseless Typewriter with Dvorak Keyboard, 1930s
The Dvorak keyboard was invented as an alternative to the QWERTY keyboard by Pacific Northwest inventor and University of Washington professor of educational psychology, August Dvorak, in 1936. The Dvorak keyboard is thought to be less fatiguing, easier to learn, and produces faster typing speeds.
ID Number:1990.3.1
Date:Circa 1936-1945
Precor Stair Climber, 1989
Founded in 1980 in Bothell, Washington, Precor (Precision Corporation) became one of the largest manufacturers of high-end fitness equipment in the 1980s. Their product line included stationary bicycles, treadmilss, rowing ergometers and stairclimbers for both fitness clubs and home use. The model 718e is a low impact stair climber advertised to slim and tone the body, and provide cardiovascular conditioning.
ID Number:1990.89.1
Date:1989
Kwik-Loc food storage tabs invented in the Pacific Northwest, 1991
In the 1950s fruit and produce companies started using plastic bags to store apples. At first they were closing them with rubber bands, but that was cumbersome to put on and off. Floyd Paxton was the president of a small company in Yakima that manufactured automated equipment for nailing wooden packing crates for fruit. In 1952 he created a prototype…
ID Number:1991.22.1
Date:1991
Bottle for Borden brand Elmer's Glue-All glue, 1990s
This bottle of glue was featured in a “Northwest Inventions” exhibit at MOHAI in 1992. Some of the information from that exhibit was drawn from "Sexless Oysters and Self-tipping Hats: 100 Years of Invention in the Pacific Northwest” by Adam Woog. From the book: “Elmer O. Pearson, a Swedish emigrant, settled in Seattle in 1907 and became a chemical engineer…
ID Number:1991.22.2
Date:Circa 1991
Can for Brown & Haley Almond Roca candy, 1991
Brown & Haley, founded in Tacoma in the early 1900s and still in operation today, began as a candy company before WWI but hit it big with the invention of Almond Roca in 1923. In 1927, they began packaging it in a pink tin, which extended the shelf life. Besides the taste, it was the candy's ability to travel well…
ID Number:1991.22.3
Date:1991
Can for Carnation brand evaporated milk, 1991
In 1889, Amos Eldridge Stuart founded the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company in Kent, Washington. He changed the name to Carnation Evaporated Milk Company in 1901 and established a cow breeding farm in Tolt, Washington. By 1926, the company had six Seattle-area dairies and six local evaporated milk plants, plus 24 evaporated milk plants elsewhere in the country. The town…
ID Number:1991.22.4
Date:1991
Jar of Sno-Seal waterproofing sealer for leather, 1991
Ome Daiber (1907-1989) was an early leader of Seattle Mountain Rescue and a lifelong member of the American Alpine Club. He was known as the “Father of Mountain Rescue,” with his most famous successful rescue undertaken in Alaska when he coordinated the efforts of the Navy, Army, and Mountain Rescue to extract John Day, Pete Schoening, and the Whittaker brothers…
ID Number:1991.22.5
Date:1991
Lifepak 33 D.C. Pulse Defibrillator Cardioscope from Physio-Control, Inc., 1968
Physio-Control, based in Redmond, Washington, and founded in 1955, invented the first portable defibrillator used by first responders and the general public.
ID Number:1991.23
Date:1968