#INVENTIONS January 21

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Every state should be proud of unique INVENTIONS or products that they are associated with.I have consiered New Jersey, South Carolina, and most importantly North Carolina home.

I grew up in Morristown, New Jersey and had heard the stories of the inventor Alfred Vail.

Alfred Vail bought an interest in Samuel F. B. Morse’s telegraph in 1837, and agreed to manufacture a complete set of telegraphic instruments and to finance American and foreign patents. He participated in the first public exhibition of the telegraph in New York City, and before the Franklin Institute and the United State Congress. He INVENTED the horizontal lever motion for the telegraph, devised the dot-dash alphabet, and built the grooved roller and automatic telegraph lever.  

For six years I lived in Rock Hill SC and came to appreciate the talents of one of the artists/civic business leaders who lived there from 1936 to 1990. Vernon Simeon Plemion Grant was born in Nebraska but most of his adult life was spent in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Grant gained fame for his work as an artist. He did numerous illustrations for children’s fairy tales but his best know work might be illustrations he INVENTED of Snap Crackle and Pop for Rice Krispies. On a more personal level Grant had a series of Christmas Ornaments that our family cherishes.

We would receive the ornaments from Manning and Shiela Kimmel along with Wayne and Lib Patrick each year we lived in Rock Hill and they go on our Christmas Tree each year.

I have lived in North Carolina for over 43 years. I have grown to appreciate the history and some of the INVENTIONS that have taken place in the Tar Heel State. The biggest is obvious the Wright Brothers getting a plane to fly. Yet there are other things from North Carolina that are important to many. I have written about Krispy Kreme, Texas Pete Hot Sauce, and Cheerwine.

One ubiquitous INVENTION from North Carolina is Universal Produce Code. In 1969 the UPC was INVENTED in North Carolina and is part of almost every item sold in the world today. The UPC consists of 12 numeric digits, that are uniquely assigned to each trade item.

INVENTIONS not only help the world make progress but give us a sense of pride.