1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I am Tracy V. Wilson, and 4 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: I'm excited because we're talking about one of my favorite 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: things today. It's an invention that I love and owe 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: a great deal of gratitude to all of the people involved, 7 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: as do I not maybe to quite the extent that 8 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: you do, but I also am quite fond of what 9 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:34,200 Speaker 1: we're talking about today, which is the sewing machine. Yes, 10 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: you so extensively every day, and I do not so extensively, 11 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: but I do know how to sew, and I have wonderful, 12 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: fond memories of my mother. Mostly they're fond, Sometimes they're frustrated, 13 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: but mostly they're fond of my mother teaching me how 14 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: to sew when I was a child. Oh yeah, my 15 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: mom didn't teach me. She sewed like a fiend. Just 16 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: about everybody in my family does. But I was one 17 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: of those people that did not want someone over my 18 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: shoulder telling you what to do. So she gave me 19 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: tools and I learned a lot by making a lot 20 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: of mistakes. But I still love it, and I literally 21 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: do so just about every single day. That's awesome. It's 22 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: a part of my you know, my life stability thing 23 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: to get at least a few scenes in each day. 24 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: And the invention of the sewing machine is actually a 25 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: pretty interesting story. It involves a lot more fighting and 26 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,040 Speaker 1: anger than you might suspect, since we think about sewing 27 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: is kind of a nice, quiet activity, but it's uh 28 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:31,679 Speaker 1: the invention of the machines that allow us to do 29 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,639 Speaker 1: it not so quiet or delightful or peaceful. Not really. 30 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: If you watch Schoolhouse Rock growing up, you probably know 31 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 1: about a lie is How in a very you know, punctuated, 32 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: short version of story. And if that's in the Mother 33 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: Necessity song you are wondering, I love it. But there 34 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: are actually a lot of different people in the mix 35 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: when it comes to who actually invented the sewing machine, 36 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: even though how does generally get most of the credit 37 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: in history, and there are reasons for that, which we'll 38 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: talk about. But the patent battle that went on in 39 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: the US about who got the rights to it is 40 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 1: like tabloid fodder, and it kind of did play out 41 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: in some ways in the papers and magazines of the day, 42 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: almost in the way that tabloids show you know, celebrity 43 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: arguments now, it's pretty fascinating. So prior to sewing machines, 44 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: of course, the very earliest way people were sewing was 45 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: to use a sharpened bone or stick and punch holes 46 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: in whatever their fabric was, normally leather, to pass a 47 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: lacing through, right, so the stick or the bone would 48 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: go through it all away, and then you would lace well, 49 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: or you could just punch it, or you could punch it. 50 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: But it was like an all type situation, right, It 51 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,959 Speaker 1: wasn't like what happened later, just when needles got eyes 52 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: in them that you could actually put your lacing through 53 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: and draw the lacing through along with the needle. Yeah, 54 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: which was you know, a huge step forward in in 55 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: making sewing more easy and quicker. And then as needles 56 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: got refined and could be made smaller and smaller out 57 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: of metal, a whole you know, new form of art 58 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 1: was born in the form of embroidery. But getting to 59 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: the sewing machine is kind of an interesting trail because 60 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: it was right in step with the Industrial Revolution for 61 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: good reason. As textile manufacturer became more streamlined, less expensive, 62 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: people had access to more cloth, so they wanted to 63 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: make more things but they needed to be able to 64 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: do so more quickly as well. So in seventy Charles 65 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: Wisenthal patented a needle for a sewing machine. The machine 66 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: never came to fruition, but the needle was interesting because 67 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: it had points on each end and an eye in 68 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: the middle, and it kind of passed back and forth 69 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: through the fabric and carried that the thread with it 70 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: to make sort of a um, a stitch that kind 71 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: of replicated what human hands could do, right, And a 72 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: lot of the very first attempts to mechanize selling we're 73 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: all about replicating what people do with their hands when 74 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: they sew yes. And then in sevent ninety was the next, uh, 75 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: significant patent. There are many many patents along the way 76 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: that we're not going to mention because they're just literally 77 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 1: too numerous, right, it would become sort of it would 78 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: be a list. And then in seventeen sixty eight, Uh 79 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: but so then Thomas Saint, who was an English cabinet maker, 80 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: patent tit a machine and I know you love the 81 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 1: title of so I'm gonna let you read it an 82 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: entire new method of making in completing shoes, boots, splatter dashes, clogs, 83 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: and other articles by means of tools and machines also 84 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: invented by me for that purpose, and of certain compositions 85 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: of the nature of Japan or varnish, which will be 86 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: very advantageous and many useful applications. That is a really 87 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: good blanket coverall title for something that you're going to invent. Well, 88 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: and you still see patent titles that are like that 89 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,799 Speaker 1: today that are the title is just so ex septionally broad. 90 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: If you're if you're looking for patents for specific things, 91 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: you have to develop some patent searching mojo, and that 92 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: is very much like that, except that this one is 93 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: particularly long and delightful. Well, and part of the reason 94 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: is that Saint actually was describing three different machines and 95 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: that patent he really wasn't doing like a narrow pattern. 96 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:21,160 Speaker 1: It was kind of like, I have all these good ideas, 97 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: I'm a patent am all at once, and so that's 98 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: why they fall under one title. The second of those 99 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 1: machines is actually for stitching, and it wasn't really particularly practical, 100 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,359 Speaker 1: but it had several components that we would associate with 101 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: modern sewing machines. It had a table where the cloth 102 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 1: could feed through it, had an arm with a needle, 103 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 1: and it had continuous thread feed from a spool. Now, 104 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: no actual examples of Saints machine have ever been found, 105 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 1: but there was an Englishman in eighteen seventy three that 106 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: found the plans for it and actually tried to build 107 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: the machine. It wouldn't work quite right, um, but he 108 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: eventually did some tweaking and and made one that more 109 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: us worked. But that was another kind of big advancement 110 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: in terms of adding in things that got retained in 111 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: many for future models. Right, some people have theor eyes 112 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,720 Speaker 1: that the st patent is on purpose a little bit 113 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: wrong so that no one could steal his ideas, which 114 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: is kind of that's a common patent trickery. Yes, So 115 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: that would explain why Newton Wilson when he tried to 116 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: rebuild his just couldn't quite get it right without making 117 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:28,359 Speaker 1: his own tweaks. In eighteen o four, Thomas Stone and 118 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: James Henderson got a patent in France. Their machine made 119 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: an overcast stitch that's a lot like a hand stitch, 120 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: like a whip stitch. So I was going to try 121 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: to describe what that looks like, and and I was 122 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: it's going to be more confusing than if I just 123 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: skipped that it is. It's basically if you're stitching and 124 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,480 Speaker 1: your thread comes, for example, up through the cloth and 125 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: then around the raw edge of the cloth and then 126 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: back in underneath, so that it makes kind of a spiral. Right. 127 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: The example that I am a media leasing in my 128 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: mind is the way that Rigorn's sleeves are connected to 129 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: his best in his Lord of the Rings costume, like 130 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: the primary one that he wears all through Fellowship of 131 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: the Ring, which is actually something that the costume designers 132 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: pointed out that he could just whip his sleeves back 133 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: on and then off it got hot. So Thomas Stone 134 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: and James Henderson made a machine that would do that essentially, 135 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: but there since there wasn't a continuous feed on the thread, 136 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: it was a stop and goat process. Yes, so not 137 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: quite ideal, but we're getting closer. Uh. And also in 138 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: eighteen o four, John Duncan of Glasgow patented an embroidery 139 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: machine and it didn't really function in the same way 140 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 1: as a sewing machine for joining fabric, but it did 141 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: introduce an I pointed needle, which becomes really vital in 142 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: successful sewing machines. In the future. So for a visual 143 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: and I pointed needle is one where the whole for 144 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,119 Speaker 1: the thread is in the same end as the point, 145 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: the sharp point of it, which is the opposite of 146 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: how most hand sewing needles right, and that I pointed 147 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: needle comes up in a I don't want to characterize 148 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: it as false, but there is an account that comes 149 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: up later in the as things really get heated up, 150 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: where one inventor claims that he had a vision for this, 151 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: and it's it's not always it's not substantiated in any way, 152 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: and it's kind of bizarre. We'll give a brief mention 153 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,240 Speaker 1: of it, but this is important again John Duncan in 154 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: eighteen o four with the eye point a needle y. 155 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: So then in eighteen o seven Edward Walter Chapman and 156 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: Walter Chapman received a British patent for a machine that 157 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: was the first that did not require the needle to 158 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: pass all the way through the fabric. And this is 159 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: a significant development because again that's something that still holds 160 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: true in sewing machines today, but at the time there's 161 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: was the first that didn't kind of mimic hand stitching, 162 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 1: and that the needle went all the way through one 163 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: side and out the other. Yes, Instead it sort of 164 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: poked down and then it did not pass all the 165 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: way through and come out the other side like that. 166 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: The point of it goes all the down, but the 167 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 1: whole needle doesn't pass all the way through. If you 168 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: haven't really watched a sewing machine work, uh, that might 169 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: not be a thing that you would visualize immediately. But 170 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: in a in a sewing machine today, the needle kind 171 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: of dips down and then out instead of going all 172 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,199 Speaker 1: the way through and coming completely out the other side. 173 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: And it had two needles and the thread actually got 174 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: passed between them in a really sort of arduous rethreading technique. 175 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 1: And it was only intended to sew things like belting 176 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,679 Speaker 1: and ropes together. It wasn't good for joining two fabrics 177 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 1: together for garments because it really did take quite a 178 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: long time. It would take you almost as long as 179 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: just hand stitching it. But the idea of the needle 180 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: not passing all the way through is important. In eighteen thirty, 181 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,319 Speaker 1: Bartellomy Tomantier. It was a French tailor, and his machine 182 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 1: created a chain stitch. It was the first machine to 183 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 1: be produced in a quantity and he had eighty machines 184 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: that worked in a shop in Paris within ten years. 185 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: People were not super happy, especially tailor's taylor who had 186 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: been making their living by sewing things by hand. We're 187 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: afraid that this machine was going to take away their livelihood. 188 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: And so a mob of angry tailor's broke into the 189 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:12,320 Speaker 1: shop and destroyed all of the machines, and Timonier was 190 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: forced to flee. But he did eventually obtain financial backing 191 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: to continue the development of his work. Um and despite 192 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: great advancements in speed and the acquisition of three new patents, 193 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: he ended up holding two patents in France and one 194 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: in Britain. The French Revolution kind of stalled his efforts 195 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: and really robbed him of what could have been a 196 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: legacy in the sewing machine trade. Uh. But then in 197 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty two to eighteen thirty four, Uh, there's a 198 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: really important development in America, which is that Walter Hunt 199 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,440 Speaker 1: created a machine that made a lock stitch and used 200 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: to thread sources similar to like a spool and bobbin 201 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: that we use today rather than the single thread chain stitch. 202 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 1: And Hunt worked on a lot of inventions, and he 203 00:10:57,320 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: didn't really see the sewing machine as going anywhere for him. 204 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: He didn't think it was particularly important, so he sold 205 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: it off without patenting it to a George A. Aerosmith. 206 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: Historians mark this design as the first time that machine 207 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: development stopped being about replicating human hand stitching and actually 208 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 1: just being its own thing and letting the mechanism kind 209 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: of define the design of how it was going to 210 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: do the stitching. But it could only do straight lines 211 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: and it couldn't sew for a long continuous line. But 212 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:30,160 Speaker 1: Hunts machine design sat dormant for a while. But two 213 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: decades later, hunt is going to become a really major 214 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: player in some of the legal battles that were going on. 215 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: One important thing to note right about this time is 216 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:44,439 Speaker 1: that the American records are a little foggy. Uh. The 217 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 1: Patent Office had a fire in eighteen thirty six that 218 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 1: destroyed a lot of records, so that was problematic and 219 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,800 Speaker 1: the legal battles that are to come. Yes, and there's 220 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,560 Speaker 1: is a brief side note. A lot of what was 221 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: destroyed was the descriptions of items, like they still had 222 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: lists of tents that existed, and they actually put a 223 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:03,959 Speaker 1: call out to people that held patents and said hey, 224 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 1: send us a fresh description. We lost those records, but 225 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 1: not many people answered. So there are a lot of 226 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:14,720 Speaker 1: inventions sitting in the legal record there that are it's 227 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: just a title. We don't know what they were doing. 228 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: Some of them were really simple, like specialty alls that 229 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: were made for certain fabrics. But there's a lot of 230 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,199 Speaker 1: stuff that probably got lost along the way right well, 231 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,320 Speaker 1: And there were huge advancements and machinery happening right at 232 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: that time, so it's unfortunate that we have so few 233 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: records of so many of them. And then in eighteen 234 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 1: forty two, John J. Greenow, who was an American, also 235 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,360 Speaker 1: patented a machine that could make a running stitch and 236 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: a backstitch, but no models other than the patent version 237 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 1: were ever made, and his patent remained significant because it's 238 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 1: recognized as the first American sewing machine patent because remember, 239 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: Hunt didn't patent his invention, and apparently Aerosmith, who he 240 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,079 Speaker 1: sold it to, didn't patent it either, even though he 241 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: had the rights at that point. Now, in eighteen forty three, 242 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,280 Speaker 1: Benjamin W. Bean was awarded the second U S sewing 243 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,839 Speaker 1: machine patent. His machine was different from the others because 244 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: it fed the fabric through gears on the way through 245 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:14,319 Speaker 1: the machine. These are precursors to what's known as feed 246 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: dogs today, which are these sort of toothy little things 247 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: that are under the fabric that kind of nudged the 248 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: fabric along ye under the presser foot, which is the 249 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,480 Speaker 1: thing that holds the fabric down while the needle does 250 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 1: its work. Um Has also had a clamp mechanism so 251 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: that he could attach the sewing machine to a table. 252 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: And then in later eighteen forty three, George H. Corliss, 253 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: who you may recognize the name because he also invented 254 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:42,679 Speaker 1: the Corless steam engine, invented a mechanism after examining split 255 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: seams on a pair of boots. His machine was given 256 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: the third sewing machine patent in the US, and it 257 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: could perform what's called a saddler stitch to join pieces 258 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: of leather, which is a stitch that still used in 259 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,680 Speaker 1: some machines today. Uh. But in eighteen forty four he 260 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:58,840 Speaker 1: gave up on the machine because he couldn't get financial 261 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,319 Speaker 1: backing and he was really more interested in his steam 262 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:06,199 Speaker 1: work at that point. A year later, James Rodgers got 263 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 1: the fourth US sewing machine patent. He really only had 264 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 1: one small change to the design that Bean had developed earlier. 265 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:16,960 Speaker 1: The gears were positioned a little differently to allow for 266 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: a simpler needles shape, and later patents of Beans used 267 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 1: this same setup. And then we get to like the 268 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: heavy hitter. Yes, Elias how Jr. Uh And he was 269 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,440 Speaker 1: born to a farming family in Spencer, Massachusetts in eighteen nineteen, 270 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: and he left home at sixteen to make his way 271 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 1: training as a machinist, and he eventually landed a job 272 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: in Boston, and allegedly he overheard a conversation in the 273 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: instrument shop where he worked between two people regarding the 274 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: need for a mechanized method for sewing, and that allegedly 275 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: sparked him to work on a design of his own 276 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: at one point when he was homesick from work and 277 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,200 Speaker 1: his brain was just going a little bit crazy being 278 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: idle is Also this is where I'll mentioned that weird 279 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: sort of rumory legend, the part of the story which 280 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: is that in some instances how claims that he had 281 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: a dream involving like tribal chiefs. It's very um interesting. 282 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: There are actually a lot of online places where you 283 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: can look at dream analysis of this dream that led 284 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,160 Speaker 1: him to the use of the I pointed needle for 285 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: the machine, but we know it had already been in use, 286 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 1: and in fact, he doesn't mention that in the patent 287 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 1: or claim in his patent that he invented that. So 288 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: it's kind of an interesting, weird side story. And it 289 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: often gets told as, oh, the idea for the showing 290 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: machine came to him in a dream, But that's really oversimplified, 291 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:48,000 Speaker 1: and it's kind of taking the actual engineering part of 292 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: it out of the equation, which isn't really smart to do, right. 293 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: I usually take the it came to me in a 294 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: dream inventor story with a grain of salt, because while 295 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: it's completely feasible that you're thinking on something, you may 296 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: have sort of an epiphany on it while sleeping, like 297 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: it's usually presented as bolt from the blue, out of nowhere, 298 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: suddenly had this dream, which is not very likely, and 299 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: it's more often just an attempt to mythologize where the 300 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: thing came from exactly. And we know, I mean, we've 301 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,560 Speaker 1: been you know, discussing all of these sort of small 302 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: steps forward in sewing machine engineering, that none of this 303 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: just sprouted overnight. It was all, you know, a slow 304 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: burn developmental process. Right, these things built on one another 305 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: for a long time. But in September of eighteen forty six, 306 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 1: how was granted the fifth U. S. Patent, which was 307 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,800 Speaker 1: Patent number fifty for a sewing machine, and it was 308 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: actually his second version of the sewing machine. His first 309 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: prototype was working in eighteen forty five and was used 310 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: to sew seams on at least two and possibly more 311 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: men's suits that were made of wool and house. Patton 312 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 1: includes five very specific claims as to the working to 313 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 1: those to his machine, and THEO came up later in court. Again, 314 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: none of them mentioned a dream scenario where he thought 315 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:09,440 Speaker 1: of how to make a needlework. And we're not going 316 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 1: to read all five of them because it is kind 317 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,920 Speaker 1: of a lengthy description, but they basically cover the forming 318 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,879 Speaker 1: of the theme, the lifting of the thread, holding the 319 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: thread in place by shuttle, the way of arranging and 320 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: combining levers with a sliding box, and holding the cloth 321 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: to be sewed uh into the machine. So this is 322 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: sort of the five steps that his patent covered. And 323 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: all of these are kind of interesting because most of 324 00:17:37,359 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: them involve action created by the combination of other pieces. 325 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,639 Speaker 1: None of these say I invented this piece for that piece. 326 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 1: It's all pretty much focused on the engineering of how 327 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,880 Speaker 1: pieces came together, right. His patent is very process oriented 328 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:57,560 Speaker 1: rather than which is very important in later legal battles. 329 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: But How tried for three years to get manufacturers interested 330 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: in his design and willing to make it, and really struggled, 331 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: and eventually, with the help of his brother, who he 332 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: sent on ahead of him to England, they sold the 333 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:16,120 Speaker 1: British patent rights to William Thomas for two British pounds sterling, 334 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,920 Speaker 1: and How actually went to Britain to work with Thomas 335 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: and adapted the machine to make umbrellas and corsets, but 336 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,359 Speaker 1: that business deal did not prove to be especially profitable. 337 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:29,719 Speaker 1: Some accounts suggest that the relationship between How and Thomas 338 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:34,639 Speaker 1: got really really contentious and argumentative, and that Thomas didn't 339 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,240 Speaker 1: really want to pay How as an employee the salary 340 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: that he had suggested he would pay once the changes 341 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: to the initial machine had been made. He was kind 342 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: of done with him. So there's a little bit of 343 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: drama there now. But How decided to come back. But 344 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: in the meantime there's another development and eighty eight John A. 345 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:01,240 Speaker 1: Bradshaw was granted the sixth US selling machine patent. His 346 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: design was focused on correcting errors and house designs, and 347 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: some of his language here is just a little insulting. 348 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,399 Speaker 1: He's not very nice about it. Um. One of the 349 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,359 Speaker 1: things that happens in patent is a thing called the 350 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: prior art, and that sort of a description of all 351 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 1: the stuff that came before what you're patenting. And his 352 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 1: would include language like this is a very bungling device 353 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: and is a great incumbrance to the action of the machine. 354 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,000 Speaker 1: That was his description of house needle design. Right. So, 355 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty nine How returned to the US after 356 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: leaving his British business endeavors and discovered that there was 357 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: a lively sewing machine enterprise of foots that in the 358 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,879 Speaker 1: time that he was gone, suddenly people went, oh, sewing 359 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 1: machines are a great idea. We should be making and 360 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:49,520 Speaker 1: selling them. Uh. And there was even a machine which 361 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: was which had the seventh U S patent based on 362 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:56,200 Speaker 1: Bradshaw Bradshaw's design that was in production and being offered 363 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:00,159 Speaker 1: for sale. Uh. The patent went to Charles Morey and 364 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 1: Joseph B. Johnson in eighty nine, but they were actually 365 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,160 Speaker 1: selling it even before the patent was granted and finalized, 366 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,199 Speaker 1: and before all of that, they were also featured in 367 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: Scientific American, which was featuring a lot of articles about 368 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,399 Speaker 1: um various machine developments, and sewing machines come up in 369 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:20,200 Speaker 1: it a lot. Then, in mid eighteen forty nine, Jatha 370 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: s Knit was issued a patent on a slightly modified 371 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:27,919 Speaker 1: version of the Maury Johnson machine. His change had to 372 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 1: do with the way that the cloth was held. Taught 373 00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 1: during stitching. If you don't hold your cloth with the 374 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:34,399 Speaker 1: right tension, your stitches are going to be all bunched 375 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,840 Speaker 1: up and yucky. So that's an important development, but it 376 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: seems to have died on the vine. It didn't actually 377 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,879 Speaker 1: get into production. But on the very same day that 378 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:46,560 Speaker 1: the Knit patent was issued, John Batchelder was also given 379 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 1: a patent for a model that featured a continuous sewing 380 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,440 Speaker 1: mechanism and an endless belt to feed cloth into the machine, 381 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: and Batchelder sold that patent to I Am Singer, to 382 00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: Isaac Singer. You'll know that name if you do any 383 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: sewing in the mid eighteen fifties, and it actually became 384 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: one of the most important elements of Singers designed. I 385 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:07,879 Speaker 1: learned a sew on a singer, I think most people 386 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 1: did well. And in addition to having learned to sew 387 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: on a singer, I know that both of my grandmother's 388 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:18,000 Speaker 1: had in their their stuff that came with them when 389 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,240 Speaker 1: they got married and established a household treadle sewing machines 390 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 1: that were singer machines. I have a treadle singer that 391 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,840 Speaker 1: is from I think nineteen ten, yes, and it was 392 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: in Brian's family from the day it was sold, like 393 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:33,880 Speaker 1: they purchased it, and it's been handed down and came 394 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 1: to me, and I'm very grateful for It needs some restoration, 395 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: which is one of my side projects that I never 396 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:43,240 Speaker 1: get to but I will eventually. So sadly this thing 397 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:45,199 Speaker 1: that has quite fond memories for both of us is 398 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:49,400 Speaker 1: also where suddenly sewing machines become all kinds of contentious, 399 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: really really argumentative things going on. So in eighteen fifty 400 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,120 Speaker 1: Allan B. Wilson was working on a lockstitch machine which 401 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 1: used a mechanism very very similar to the modern machine. 402 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: His mechanism could also stitch forward and backward, which was 403 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: a first uh and he applied for a patent after 404 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 1: making a second prototype model, but he was contacted by 405 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: the people who owned the Bradshop patent from eighty eight 406 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,919 Speaker 1: with a claim that they owned the concept of the 407 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: double pointed shuttle that made up part of his machine, 408 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:23,159 Speaker 1: and that claim was completely false, but Wilson couldn't afford 409 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,439 Speaker 1: to fight them, and he gave up half of his 410 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:27,800 Speaker 1: claim to A. P. Cline and Edward Lee in November 411 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty. But after just a few months he 412 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: sold them the rest of his interest and retained only 413 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,680 Speaker 1: limited rights and he pretty much got shafted in the deal. 414 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: He never made any money off of it. He didn't 415 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,920 Speaker 1: even I don't think, get full payment for all of 416 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 1: the rights that he sold them, and it was it 417 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: was not true their claim in the first place. Yeah, 418 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:51,159 Speaker 1: but he just didn't, you know, he was uh, you know, 419 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: relatively modest means inventor. He didn't he couldn't fight a 420 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,639 Speaker 1: big business at that point, so he kind of found 421 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: what like the most equitable solution, which is to sell 422 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 1: at that point. But they went on to pretty decent 423 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 1: success with it, and they still used his names in 424 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:12,199 Speaker 1: the ads. They actually placed an added Scientific American in 425 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty one that said A B. Wilson's sewing machine, 426 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 1: the best and only practical sewing machine, not larger than 427 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: a ladies work box, for the trifling sum of thirty 428 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 1: five dollars. Just they're still making money off his name, 429 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,000 Speaker 1: and he's just he's not involved anymore, completely out of 430 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: the loop and kind of mistreated. At that point, Elias 431 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,399 Speaker 1: Howe decided that he needed to protect his rights and 432 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,760 Speaker 1: royalties from all of these inventions that were being sold everywhere, 433 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:41,840 Speaker 1: and so if he could trace his roots back to 434 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:46,639 Speaker 1: his design, he went after them. Before How's work, most 435 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: machines were taking all kinds of different approaches to making stitches, 436 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:56,680 Speaker 1: but from Bradshaw on most of the stitching processes were 437 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: improvements on the design and his patents number already or 438 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 1: his patent number forties seven fifty from eighteen forty six, 439 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: So if he could trace work back to that, he 440 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: would jump on it. Yes, And in eighteen fifty, after 441 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:13,919 Speaker 1: watching one of Isaac Singer's sons perform a demonstration of 442 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,200 Speaker 1: their machine that they were selling, how contacted Singer about 443 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: the infringement on his patent and eventually demanded two thousand 444 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:23,320 Speaker 1: dollars in royalty payment. And at the time, you know, 445 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:25,639 Speaker 1: the Singer family was just starting out selling some machines. 446 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: They were like, we don't have that kind of money. Uh. 447 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: And he came back later and I was like, well, 448 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 1: you're doing pretty well now and demanded a bigger sum, 449 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,640 Speaker 1: And then negotiations did not go well and got really 450 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 1: ugly in a hurry. Singer physically threatened to lie as 451 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,520 Speaker 1: How uh. And Singer was known for having a bit 452 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 1: of a hot temper and doing some kind of unkind 453 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,720 Speaker 1: dealings and intimidation tactics when it came to his work 454 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:54,399 Speaker 1: with business partners. So between How who felt very wronged 455 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:59,400 Speaker 1: at this point, and Singer, who was pretty aggressive, which 456 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: paid off for him in many ways, it really got 457 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: ugly in a hurry. But in eighteen fifty two How 458 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:08,919 Speaker 1: found a way to fight them, which is that he 459 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: sold half of his interest in his patent to George Bliss, 460 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,919 Speaker 1: who manufactured machines that he built this house patent, but 461 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: they actually had changed pretty significantly from how his original design. 462 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 1: But even so, the money that How made from this 463 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 1: partnership funded his patent lawsuits, of which there were many, 464 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 1: and he really went after Singer with vigor. He did 465 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: not like him. He sued other manufacturers, but the suit 466 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,200 Speaker 1: against Singer was the most combative. And after a judgment 467 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,719 Speaker 1: though in house favor in a suit that he had 468 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 1: brought against UM, a group called Larow and Blodgett, other 469 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,800 Speaker 1: firms started to settle because they kind of saw the 470 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,399 Speaker 1: turning of the tide and that probably other judgments were 471 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: going to fall in house favors. So a lot of 472 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 1: firms were just like, how can we work this out 473 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 1: out of court? Ye? Basically, now that he had the 474 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 1: money to do it, he was winning. Yes. In eighteen 475 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,880 Speaker 1: fifty three, as suits were beginning to be settled, How 476 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:02,159 Speaker 1: started selling his royalty licenses. He sold them to a 477 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 1: lot of different groups UM along with his brother. Uh. 478 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 1: These licenses let manufacturers use any part of the How 479 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,159 Speaker 1: patent in their machines, and some of them were stamped 480 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 1: with his name and patent information. Uh. Some have been 481 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: incorrectly identified as house machines when they really weren't. And 482 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:26,359 Speaker 1: his brother, also manufacturing machines at this time, was pretty 483 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: successful at it. So we're we really have two big 484 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 1: players at this point, How and all the people he 485 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:37,159 Speaker 1: sold his royalty licenses to and Singer. Yes. And then 486 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:42,639 Speaker 1: in July eighteen fifty three, two advertisements ran on the 487 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 1: same page of the New York Daily Tribune. I will 488 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: read the first one. It says, the sewing machine. It 489 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: has been recently decided by the United States Court that 490 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,159 Speaker 1: Elias how Jr. Of number three oh five Broadway, was 491 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:59,040 Speaker 1: the originator of the sewing machines now extensively used. Call 492 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: it his office, and see forty of them in constant 493 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: use upon cloth, leather, et cetera, and judge for yourselves 494 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,280 Speaker 1: as to their practicality. Also see a certified copy from 495 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,200 Speaker 1: the records of the United States Courts of the injunction 496 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 1: against Singers Machine so called, which is conclusive. You that 497 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,919 Speaker 1: want sewing machines be cautious how you purchase them of 498 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,920 Speaker 1: others than him or those licensed under him, else the 499 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,959 Speaker 1: law will compel you to pay twice over. So at 500 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,879 Speaker 1: that point there was in an injunction against singers machine. 501 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,760 Speaker 1: It was kind of like being put on hold, but 502 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:35,440 Speaker 1: the suit had not settled yet. And then there is 503 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: the other ad that ran, which is the Singer ad. 504 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,160 Speaker 1: The singer ad said sewing machines. For the last two years, 505 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: Elias how Junior of Massachusetts has been threatening suits and 506 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 1: injunctions against all the world who make, use or sell 507 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:53,520 Speaker 1: sewing machines. We have sold many machines, are selling them rapidly, 508 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: and have good right to sell them. The public do 509 00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: not acknowledge Mr Howe's pretensions, and for the best reasons. 510 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: One machines made according to how It's pattern are of 511 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 1: no practical use. He tried several years without being to 512 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 1: being able to introduce one two. It is not notorious, 513 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:13,840 Speaker 1: especially in New York, that how was not the original 514 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,920 Speaker 1: inventor of the machine combining the needle and shuttle, and 515 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:20,480 Speaker 1: that his claim to that is not valid. Finally, we 516 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,399 Speaker 1: make and sell the best sewing machines. It all sounds 517 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: so polite, but it's so snarky. It's really snarky, and 518 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: it's so different from what we think of and ads 519 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,679 Speaker 1: today that it's not at all what you would expect 520 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 1: to see with two companies that are in in competition 521 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: with one another. Uh. And How went after Singer for 522 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 1: libel because you know, Singer at that point was not 523 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: just saying that they were selling machines, but that how 524 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: was wrong and that he didn't invent these things, and 525 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:53,320 Speaker 1: these were all, you know, part of a an ongoing 526 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 1: legal battle, so they kind of were really playing fast 527 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 1: and loose with language. You'll notice that Houses very careful 528 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: to only say things that are accurate and true, and like, 529 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 1: come and see the certificate we have from the government. 530 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,480 Speaker 1: But not at no point does he say, you know, 531 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 1: and Singers an idiot, or that he he's trying to 532 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: steal ideas like he It's very carefully worded, whereas Singers 533 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: is a little more lusty. Singers is like, this guy 534 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,800 Speaker 1: is a liar and he's stupid. Yeah, so that's why 535 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: how I went after Singer for Liabel and the New 536 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: York Daily Tribune as well. There is also a story 537 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: about Scientific American kind of printing there, like okay, the 538 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,520 Speaker 1: libel thing against the papers a little silly, you guys, 539 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:37,160 Speaker 1: Like they kind of would post these opinions on the 540 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 1: state of affairs periodically, which is kind of interesting. Singer 541 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,600 Speaker 1: kind of went on a personal crusade to discredit How's 542 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: claim to rites on the selling machine. He would seek 543 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,200 Speaker 1: out machines and inventors that predated How's work to try 544 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: to prove that what How did was not original. He 545 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 1: went to Europe and even China, and the problem was 546 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,800 Speaker 1: the wording of how it is patent. He had patented 547 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,560 Speaker 1: the combination of the shuttle and the I pointed beatle, 548 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: not just the invention of a particular element of the machine. 549 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 1: So his patent claim was pretty accurate. Nobody had patented 550 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: that process. All these different pieces of it had been patented, 551 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:22,480 Speaker 1: but not all put together correct. So eventually Singer even 552 00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,960 Speaker 1: colluded with Walter Hunt, remember him from earlier on. He 553 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,760 Speaker 1: made a machine and never patented it. He uh. He 554 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: brought in engineer William Whiting. Singer did to help resurrect 555 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: Hunt's design because Hunt apparently found old pieces of the 556 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 1: machine like in an attic, but couldn't actually get them 557 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 1: all together and working anymore. He couldn't quite remember how 558 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:44,960 Speaker 1: it all went, but so this engineer assisted him. And 559 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: then Hunt attempted to file for patent on his eighteen 560 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,280 Speaker 1: thirty four invention to establish that he and not Elias 561 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 1: how had in fact invented the sewing machine. Again, the 562 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 1: Scientific American kind of made their opinion known. They published 563 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:02,160 Speaker 1: a rather scathing commentary on Hunt's assertions, calling them quote 564 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 1: rusty claims uh, and a trial at the patent office followed, 565 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,080 Speaker 1: and after hundreds of pages of testimony, like Singer found 566 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:14,960 Speaker 1: everybody he could to kind of feed Hunt's case because 567 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: he really wanted to take down How any way he could. Uh. 568 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:19,880 Speaker 1: There were hundreds and hundreds of pages in a long 569 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 1: drawn out trial, but pattent Commissioner Charles Mason ruled in 570 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 1: favor of How on eight fifty four, and he said 571 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,120 Speaker 1: the Mason said that Hunt's loss was due in part 572 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 1: to the eighteen years he sat on his design. Uh 573 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,440 Speaker 1: and Hunt actually appealed to the Circuit Court of the 574 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,720 Speaker 1: District of Columbia, claiming that Mason didn't really have the 575 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: authority to make such a ruling, but Mason's ruling was 576 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 1: upheld by the court. So, spurred by the success of 577 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,720 Speaker 1: this decision, and still in a big fight with Singer, 578 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 1: How decided that the next thing he would do was 579 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: file suits against every establishment selling Singer machines in Boston 580 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: and asked for preliminary injunctions to shut down those say 581 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: Uh Hunt's previous invention was invoked by those named in 582 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,120 Speaker 1: the suits, claiming, no, no, there's still some doubt, even 583 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 1: though there had been a ruling already as to whether 584 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:11,920 Speaker 1: or not How really had the rights to all of 585 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 1: the machines being sold, and so they tried to you know, 586 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 1: they were dredging up that case that had already been decided. 587 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: But the judge in the matter still deemed House patents 588 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,719 Speaker 1: infringed upon and he found in House favor. So the 589 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:30,040 Speaker 1: Boston defendants, who were now in some serious business trouble, 590 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,680 Speaker 1: they had had their business basically shut down, they turned 591 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,600 Speaker 1: around and filed suits against Singer for basically kind of 592 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:40,120 Speaker 1: dragging them into this mess and giving them patents and 593 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,160 Speaker 1: machines that they really had no legal right to sell. 594 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 1: Singer and How eventually settled their suit, and they announced 595 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:50,760 Speaker 1: they had done so in Scientific American in August of 596 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:54,840 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty four, which should have settled the matter, but 597 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 1: it did not at all. The piece did not last 598 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,560 Speaker 1: for very long. Now that he was in control of 599 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:04,840 Speaker 1: the sewing machine industry, How started working on improvements to 600 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,800 Speaker 1: his own machine, but this resulted in a lot of 601 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:11,040 Speaker 1: the companies he had gone after suing him for patent infringement, 602 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 1: since many of them held patents on the basic improvements 603 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 1: that he was trying to implement. There's just no end 604 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:21,200 Speaker 1: to the litigation. There's really not. In eighteen fifty six, 605 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:23,520 Speaker 1: the president of Grover and Baker, which was one of 606 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,800 Speaker 1: the companies involved in these suits against How the president's 607 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,880 Speaker 1: name was Orlando B. Potter, and he proposed an interesting truce, 608 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:33,360 Speaker 1: a concept which became known as a combination, not to 609 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:35,800 Speaker 1: be confused with the undergarment of the same name, a 610 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:39,680 Speaker 1: patent combination. And he kind of took a step back 611 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,880 Speaker 1: and realized, we are all just hurting ourselves at this point. 612 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 1: We are wadded up in litigation all the time, and 613 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:50,520 Speaker 1: we are holding up production and just throwing money in 614 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: the legal actions. What we would rather be doing is 615 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:57,000 Speaker 1: making and selling sewing machines. So he started said, let's 616 00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 1: do that. Yeah, they all joined forces. Uh Potter's company, How, Wheeler, 617 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,920 Speaker 1: Wilson and Company, and Singer all joined forces. They pulled 618 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 1: their patents to make one unified combination patent for sewing 619 00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:13,720 Speaker 1: machine and How it was pretty resistant to this idea 620 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:15,640 Speaker 1: at first, because he felt like he was giving up 621 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:18,480 Speaker 1: more than anybody else in order to get this steal together, 622 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 1: but he eventually relented. Um he only agreed to join 623 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: the sewing machine combination, which is sometimes called the sewing 624 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:30,040 Speaker 1: machine shot Trust, if the other parties agreed to stipulations, 625 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 1: and those stipulations were pretty astute business moves. One was, 626 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: how would get a five dollar royalty on every machine 627 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,960 Speaker 1: sold in the US and a dollar for every machine 628 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,120 Speaker 1: that was exported to another country. And it's estimated that 629 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:47,400 Speaker 1: between eighteen fifty six, when this deal was struck in 630 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:50,359 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty seven, when house patent expired, he made more 631 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 1: than two million dollars, which is there are several layers 632 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,640 Speaker 1: of that's crazy. One of the two million dollars we're 633 00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:00,479 Speaker 1: talking about, you know, two million eighteen sixties dollars um 634 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 1: and the fact that he was so invested in all 635 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,800 Speaker 1: this litigation when his patent was on the verge of expiring. 636 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:08,480 Speaker 1: I mean, part of this is, of course he had 637 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:10,760 Speaker 1: to do it then because otherwise he would have lost everything. 638 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:12,840 Speaker 1: And then part of it makes me kind of go. 639 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:15,240 Speaker 1: I probably would have thrown up my hands much earlier 640 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 1: when I was getting that close to the expiration of 641 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,239 Speaker 1: a patent, But you would have missed out on two 642 00:35:19,239 --> 00:35:22,279 Speaker 1: million dollars. I know, I'm a terrible business person, But 643 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,080 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty seven when house patent was up, so 644 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,280 Speaker 1: after his eleven years of enjoying all of that money, 645 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:31,160 Speaker 1: coming in. He did request another extension of the patent, 646 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:33,879 Speaker 1: but he was refused and he actually died later that year. 647 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,360 Speaker 1: A singer, of course we know, because his name is 648 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:41,560 Speaker 1: still on sewing machines sold all the time. Wasn't astute businessman, 649 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:43,880 Speaker 1: and he really made a name for himself in that industry. 650 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:46,719 Speaker 1: I feel like we should do another podcast on the 651 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:50,319 Speaker 1: Singer family because there is a world of fascination in 652 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:55,280 Speaker 1: the things that happened there. But that's how it eventually settled. 653 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:58,000 Speaker 1: There was a lot of fighting and fighting and clawing, 654 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:01,840 Speaker 1: and then a settlement, and then a little more biting 655 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,280 Speaker 1: and fighting and clawing, and then some person that steps 656 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,640 Speaker 1: forward and says, this is really stupid. We could all 657 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:11,680 Speaker 1: be making money, so let's go make money now. Yeah. 658 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:15,560 Speaker 1: I'm glad that they finally came to that. Me too, 659 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 1: because sewing machines are awesome. How would I have all 660 00:36:17,719 --> 00:36:19,920 Speaker 1: my sewing machines otherwise, you know, how would I have 661 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,360 Speaker 1: learned how to make nightgowns and pajamas and things. I 662 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:25,600 Speaker 1: don't know why nightgowns and pajamas are the things that 663 00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:27,399 Speaker 1: I thought of, but we know my mom. My mom 664 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 1: taught me how to make easy things I didn't learn 665 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:30,879 Speaker 1: how to put a zipper in until I was much 666 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:34,960 Speaker 1: older and no longer living with my mom. Bustle gowns. 667 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:36,879 Speaker 1: We wouldn't be able to make bustle agowns to look 668 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,040 Speaker 1: like we lived in the time when these people were fighting. Yeah. Well, 669 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,600 Speaker 1: and it wasn't until we were I was looking at 670 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:43,799 Speaker 1: your outline for the podcast that it really dawned on 671 00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:46,880 Speaker 1: me how similar umbrellas and corsets are to one another. 672 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:48,600 Speaker 1: I kind of had that moment as well, where I 673 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:50,800 Speaker 1: was like, oh, yeah, there's a casing and then a 674 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:53,040 Speaker 1: firm element that goes through it. Yeah, it does make 675 00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:55,720 Speaker 1: total it's all kind of stretched tight together over frame. 676 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,239 Speaker 1: Like that's really They're the same thing, just in a 677 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:02,640 Speaker 1: different orientation, different shapes. So I believe you have some 678 00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:05,879 Speaker 1: listener mail for us. Uh, the first one, I won't 679 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:07,680 Speaker 1: read the whole email, but it is from our listener 680 00:37:07,719 --> 00:37:10,600 Speaker 1: Alan and he points out boo boo. When we were 681 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:13,080 Speaker 1: doing the Elswear Engine episode, at one point I misspoken. 682 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:14,919 Speaker 1: I said eighteen ninety three when I should have said 683 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,040 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three regarding I Believe the Battle of Helena, 684 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,919 Speaker 1: and it's because I typed it wrong. Because my brain 685 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:24,000 Speaker 1: sometimes rotates those new balls because they look so similar. 686 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 1: So my apologies to anyone who got confused and went, wait, 687 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,680 Speaker 1: we jumped thirty years because we didn't uh. The other 688 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:34,040 Speaker 1: email that I have is from our listeners, Zoe, and 689 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:37,000 Speaker 1: she says, dear ladies. The story of the kitten wedding 690 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:39,759 Speaker 1: from the Taxidermy podcast reminded me of a challenge my 691 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:42,760 Speaker 1: writing teacher once posted to my school's creative writing club. 692 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:45,800 Speaker 1: For some reason, a good proportion of stories and poems 693 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:48,440 Speaker 1: that we come up with are quite dark. Eventually, my 694 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,800 Speaker 1: teacher got so fed up with the angsty, sob stories 695 00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:53,680 Speaker 1: that he challenged us to write the puppy wedding. The 696 00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:56,040 Speaker 1: main guideline was that no animals were to be harmed 697 00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,359 Speaker 1: in the telling of the story. No one, as of yet, 698 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,120 Speaker 1: has successfully completed the challenge. Maybe if we change it 699 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 1: to kittens, we'll have better luck. Keep up with good work. 700 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:06,960 Speaker 1: Thank you, Zoe. That's really cute. I should also point 701 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:09,920 Speaker 1: out several people have written us about We mentioned at 702 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,840 Speaker 1: the end of the tax Germy podcast that there aren't 703 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:15,160 Speaker 1: that many movies about taxidermy, and several people mentioned Dinner 704 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,440 Speaker 1: for Schmucks, which does include some taxidermy very similar to 705 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:21,880 Speaker 1: Walter Potter's work, and I had completely forgotten about it, 706 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:23,839 Speaker 1: So thank you to all of them. If you would 707 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:26,239 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you may absolutely do so. 708 00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:30,200 Speaker 1: That email address is History Podcast at Discovery dot com. 709 00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:32,319 Speaker 1: You can also hook up with us on Twitter at 710 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:35,520 Speaker 1: misst in history or at Facebook at facebook dot com 711 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:38,520 Speaker 1: slash history Class stuff. If you want to learn more 712 00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:40,279 Speaker 1: about what we have talked about today and get some 713 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:42,799 Speaker 1: really good visuals on how these machines we've been talking 714 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:45,200 Speaker 1: about and trying to describe actually work, you can go 715 00:38:45,239 --> 00:38:47,840 Speaker 1: to our website and type in sewing in the search 716 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,200 Speaker 1: bar and you will actually get how sewing machines work. 717 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:53,839 Speaker 1: And that article has some cool animated illustrations that will 718 00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:57,959 Speaker 1: show you exactly how threads pass uh back and forth 719 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,279 Speaker 1: using a shuttle in with a chain stitch. And you 720 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:02,840 Speaker 1: can look at that and almost anything else on our website, 721 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:06,200 Speaker 1: which is how Stuff Works dot com. For more on 722 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:08,720 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff 723 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:34,000 Speaker 1: Works dot com. M This episode of Stuff You Missed 724 00:39:34,040 --> 00:39:36,240 Speaker 1: in History Class is brought to you by Audible