If ever there was an appropriate time to quote Will Smith, this is the season.  What do you think of when you think of summer?  Let’s sit back and unwind with a little history lesson of inventions that are staples in most people’s summertime experience.

1.) Ice Cream Cone. The first ice cream cone was made in 1896 by Italian immigrant Italo Marchiony. He was given a patent for his cone in 1903. However, it was introduced to the world during the 1904 St. Louis World Fair by Ernest Hamwi, who was selling a waffle-like pastry next to an ice cream vendor. The ice cream vendor ran out of dishes, and Hamwi solved the problem by rolling one of his waffles into the shape of a cone.

2.) Hammocks were used for many years by Native Americans, and Christopher Columbus made note of them in his native voyage saying, “A great many Indians in canoes came to the ship to-day for the purpose of bartering their cotton, and hamacas, or nets, in which they sleep.”

3.) Pool Noodles. The first foam water toy was known as a “water woggle” and was created by Koswell Holdings in the 1980s. Pool noodles are almost identical to the insulation used for pipes and people have used them inside buildings to save money. Our favorite alternate use? Sword fights.

4.) Flip Flops. Not far from the pool noodle display at the store, you’re likely to find a bin of flip flops. Flip flops date back to ancient Egyptians sporting them in 1500 BC, but they gained major popularity in the United States when World War II soldiers returning from Japan brought them back. Their popularity began to surge in the 1960s and, in 2009, flip flops were a $20 billion-dollar industry…that’s impressive considering you can usually buy a pair for a dollar.

5.) Perhaps one of the oldest summertime inventions, evidence of skewer usage was found at a 300,000-year-old site in Germany. Today, skewers make eating at fairs and theme parks a breeze because what’s easier than walking around with meat on a stick?

6.) Besides waiting 45 minutes after you eat to go swimming, the only other rule of summer is to make sure you wear sunscreen. That SPF number you see everywhere? It was created in the 1960s by Franz Greiter and has become the standard in measuring the effectiveness of sunscreen. SPF is the fraction of sunburn-producing UV rays that reach your skin. So, an SPF-15 means that 1/15 of the radiation will reach your skin after applying a layer of sunscreen.

7.) Swim Goggles. These have been traced back to the 14th century. Persians would use tortoise shells to cover their eyes when diving for pearls. In the 1960s, swimmers would make goggles themselves out of plastic cups they attached to their heads with elastic. But starting in the 1970s, goggles began evolving into the form we see now.

8.) Slip N Slide. The Slip N Slide was first introduced in the 1960s by toy manufacturers Wham-O. It was invented by Robert Carrier. It’s one of the most popular summertime activities, with sales reaching over 30 million. Measuring three feet wide and twenty feet long, It’s a great choice for cooling off when you don’t have access to a pool.

9.) Air Conditioning. Yeah, it’s fun to spend time in the great outdoors in the summer…but it’s also great to cool off inside. The first large-scale electrical A/C unit was invented and used in 1902 by American inventor Willis Carter.

10.) Lemonade Stand. Summertime is the best time for the budding entrepreneur to start a business. Lemonade stands pop up on most streets at some point in the summer, and, once again, we can trace the drink back to the Egyptians. It was Paris company Compagnie de Limonadiers, however, who, in 1676, were first granted monopoly rights to sell lemonade. Vendors back then carried the drink in tanks on their backs, which is much less adorable than 5-year olds selling it at a table with homemade signs, yelling at you to stop as you drive by.

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With summer on the horizon and long hot sunny days ahead, we all want to enjoy our time in the sun and to avoid a nasty sunburn. Of course, you can simply cover your entire body in a sheet or hide under an umbrella to avoid the harmful rays of the sun; but if you have any desire to move, play or swim, that’s probably not practical. So sunscreen was invented as a way to give us protection from the burning rays of the sun in a way that lets us enjoy the great outdoors.

From ancient times, humans have made the connection between overexposure to sunlight and painful, blistering red skin. In fact, the ancient Egyptians made potions of rice bran extracts and jasmine to ward off sun damage and heal burned skin. But until the 19^th century, most scientists believed that sunburn was caused by heat damage. Then in 1801, a scientist named Johann Wilhelm Ritter was able to measure light below the visible spectrum and discovered ultraviolet (UV) rays. He postulated, correctly, that the UV radiation was causing skin cells to become inflamed, and that it was this radiation, not heat, that caused sunburn.

Further experiments throughout the 1800s clearly demonstrated the causal link between UV rays and sunburn, but it took another century before a practical lotion was invented to protect skin (this explains why large hats and parasols were in fashion). Then in 1928, Karl Hausser and Wilhelm Vahle reported that sunburn in human skin is caused by specific wavelengths of the UV spectrum, and realized that the skin could be protected by filtering out those wavelengths using an emulsion of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and benzyl salicylate. This led to the first commercially available sunscreen produced in the United States.

Around the same time in Europe, Eugene Schueller invented another type of sunscreen and went on to start the company L’Oreal, now a billion dollar conglomerate for skin and hair products. Another European, Franz Greiter, created a product called Gletscher Crème (Glacier Cream) after getting a bad sunburn while mountain climbing in the Alps. He developed a way to measure a product’s ability to block ultraviolet rays, which became known as the Sun Protection Factor, or SPF.

Back in the United States, Benjamin Green, an airman and pharmacist, used a greasy substance called ‘red vet pet’ (red veterinary petrolatum) to protect himself and other soldiers stationed in the Pacific from ultraviolet rays during World War II.  It worked primarily as a sun ‘block’—a physical barrier between the skin and the sun.  While it did the job, the petroleum-based compound was sticky, uncomfortable, and stained fabrics; making it impractical as a commercial venture. After the war, Greene later developed a more consumer-friendly formula and founded the company Coppertone.

Today scientists have positively confirmed that spending time in the sun increases the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging. Medical organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommend the use of sunscreen because it aids in the prevention of developing skin cancer. In fact, the FDA has just this month released new labeling rules for sunscreens and offered more guidance for consumers trying to avoid sunburns. So go outside and enjoy your summer, but remember to use at least an SPF 15 before you do.

Images:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/commercial/2011/12/9/1323427982983/Girl-having-sun-block-app-007.jpg

http://img.trendencias.com/2010/06/090801_vintage_coppertone_a.jpg

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunscreen

http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/sunscreen.htm

http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/04/28_sunscreen.html

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2013/05/avoiding-sunburn-look-for-new-labeling-on-sunscreen-this-year.html/

The post History Tuesday: Sunscreen appeared first on Davison.

BBQ, on the other hand, is a little closer to home, chronologically.  First, the term “barbecue” appears to be a derivative of the West Indian term “barbacoa,” which means a method of slow-cooking meat over hot coals.  Then there are reports that the early American settlers were BBQing their meats during big celebrations, and even George Washington is rumored to have been a huge BBQ fan, though we’re not sure how with those wooden teeth of his.

Many say that BBQ really started in the 1800s during cattle drives out West, when the cowboys wanted steaks but their mean bosses didn’t want to feed them the good meat. So, the bosses gave the cowboys tough, stringy pieces of meat (like brisket).  Through some trial and error, the cowboys figured out that if you left this brisket cook for a long period of time with indirect heat, it tasted pretty darn good.

Others say that true BBQ started in the South prior to the American Civil War, and it was the pig that was a staple of the slow cooking, not beef. In fact, it’s said that plantation owners would release pigs into the woods to graze for months knowing that they could be easily hunted when food supplies were low.  But the months of foraging made the meat tough, so the Southerners learned to slow cook the pork so that the meat fell off of the bone.

And in the 1950s, with the construction of the interstate highway and the explosion of the suburbs, people had the backyards perfectly set for a life filled with BBQ, and it really began to thrive.  So no matter what your preference, grilling or barbequing, beef or pork; American’s eat it, love it, cook it millions of times a year, and have contests to see whose BBQ is the best.  All we can say is, “Ladies and Gentlemen, start your grills.”
Photos:
http://grillingaddiction.com/wp-content/uploads/cave-grilling.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/3006923221_859600b313_m.jpg

Sources:
http://thehistorykitchen.com/2012/07/03/the-history-of-barbecue-and-grilling/
http://beetitsquashitspinacharound.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/human-evolution-and-the-history-of-barbecue/
http://www.brownielocks.com/bbq.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/ma95/dove/history.html
http://www.bbq-my-way.com/history-of-bbq.html

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Fast, Fresh Food

Ordering pizza has never been so fresh. The Pizza Keeper keeps your leftover pizza fresh and ready to reheat, so you have much more time to concentrate on the things you need to do. Pizza Keeper is a neat, convenient way to store leftover pizza compactly in the refrigerator. The air-tight container has a second tier and a separator, so one unit can hold four large slices of pizza neatly and easily. The product also can be used to microwave all the slices at once, making reheating as easy as three, two, one, beep.

Study Storage

Despite the pervasiveness of electronic media, highlighters, pencils and pens will be part of college life as long as you’re paying $200 a pop for that Intro to Philosophy text book. Save time by keeping your study accessories organized with Davison’s Magna Jars. Davison’s team of designers created a small jar that has a magnetic lid and can hold up to a pound of pens, highlighters and various other study materials. The powerful one-way magnet embedded in the jar lid makes it easy to attach the set of four jars to metal cabinetry and other metal objects.

Rooting Rack

You don’t need to mess around when it’s time to suit up and root for the alma mater, and with college teams spanning sports from chess team to NCAA football, you are going to need a variety of hats. Davison will help you keep those hats organized. Cap Racks mount to most doors and walls and are perfect for organizing, storing and protecting hats, as well as belts and bags.

Pamper Products

At school, you’re on your feet a lot. Between hustling to class and squeezing in that lunch-hour Zumba class, your feet and knees take a beating. Pamper yourself during your downtime with the TheraPED, a wearable product that offers moist heat as well as cooling therapy to soothe sore feet and toes. Or, soothe your knee pain with the Hot/Cold Therapy Brace.

Transitioning from summer vacations to midterm cram sessions can be a difficult task. Let these Davison products make the transition a little smoother.

A typical project does not get a royalty agreement, sell in stores or generate a profit.

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