His first design for a self-opening can was … unnecessarily dangerous. The lever used to pop a drink open also left sharp edges, which completely negated the convenience of not needing a tool.
And so, Fraze went back to the drawing board and revised his product. The result was the ring-pull tab, the can design that dominates the market today. Fraze got a patent for his design in 1963, and while most people don’t know his name, he made quite a fortune for himself and inadvertently created one of the more bizarre school fundraiser ideas.
Otto Wichterle – Thanks For Comfortable Eyes
Contact lenses have existed in some form for centuries. Inventors probably got tired of being called four eyes, and correcting vision without noticeable frames was an ongoing endeavor. It was not until the early 1960s that Czech chemist Otto Wichterle invented the modern soft contact lenses that gave nerds worldwide the ability to live hidden among us without the optical discomfort.
In 1633, Rene Descarte proposed placing tubes of water directly on the eyes to improve vision. Besides probably looking completely ridiculous, this solution meant that a wearer could not blink, making these highly impractical. Wearable contacts that fit the eye and were made of glass were introduced in the late 19th century. These did correct vision, but they were heavy, and because they weren’t breathable, they were too uncomfortable to be a viable solution. Finally, in 1961, Otto Wichterle developed a soft contact lens that was comfortable and could be worn for longer periods.
via Wiki Commons
Wichterle’s soft lenses were made of hydrophilic gels that could absorb some water. This meant that the eyes would not dry out by having these lenses in them. Companies like Bausch & Lomb obtained rights to produce soft contact lenses based on Wichterle’s design, and modern lenses are based on improvements to the original 1961 gel lenses. Unfortunately for Otto Wichterle, he was unable to secure a fortune from his invention, but his ingenuity lives on today in every person who puts contacts on their eyeballs to see, cosplay, and alter their eye color for bank robberies.
Top Image: Xavi Cabrera/Unsplash
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