Innovation
These messages focus on individuals who contributed to society through their innovative talents. They are little known, but their innovations have been major societal advances.
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Lessons from Brown teeth
When Dr. Frederick McKay began his dental practice in Colorado Springs, he encountered something he had never seen in his dental studies. Many of his patients had teeth that were as brown as chocolate candy. There was nothing in the dental literature that suggested a...
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Challenging Scientific Orthodoxy
Luis Pasteur was born in 1822 in France. He was dyslexic and had dysgraphia (a writing disorder). As a result of his learning challenges, he was an indifferent student who was more interested in drawing than in academic subjects. He was admitted to college but...
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Talk Radio
Hilda Matheson was born to Scottish parents and had an elite education until her father’s health forced their relocation to Europe. While in Europe, she came fluent in three languages: French, Italian, and German. Her language abilities led her to become a spy during...
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The Origin of Public Relations
David Finkelstein was born to a father who was a writer and a mother who created children’s dresses. He adopted his father’s pen name and went by the last name of Finn. He graduated from the City College of New York and served in the military during World War II....
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Sliced Bread
New innovations are often described as the greatest thing since sliced bread. That’s a head scratcher. Why is sliced bread so great as an innovation? Maybe because the origin of sliced bread is symbolic of many innovations. The history of bread consumption starts the...
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Accepting Innovation
In 1914, Bessie Blount was born in Hickory, Virginia. When she started elementary school, her teacher rapped her knuckles for writing lefthanded. Bessie had to learn to use her right hand even though her left was her dominant hand. She also taught herself to write...
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Beautiful Ideas
Hedwig Kiesler was born in Vienna, Austria. She and her father often took long walks where they would talk about the inner workings of different technologies. She also learned an appreciation of the arts from her mother who was a concert pianist. Eventually, the...
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A Thread that Stops Bullets
Stephanie Kwolek was born to Polish immigrants to the US in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Her father died when she was 10, but he left her with a career-long interest in science. Stephanie also had an interest in fashion design from her mother. But her mother...
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Disrupting Privilege
William Perkin grew up in a family of seven children in nineteenth century London. At various times in his youth, William had desires to be a builder, a musician, or an artist. His father wanted him to be an architect. William chose to be a chemist. In spite of his...
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