1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the Shorty. I'm Josh, and there's 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,960 Speaker 1: Chuck and there's Jerry. So let's get started. You must 3 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: be at least this tall to enjoy this podcast. Remember 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: the anxiety as a kid at amusement parks around that 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: I do you just wanted to be a little taller. 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: Now you look at it and you're like, wow, what 7 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: is that? Like? Is there are there? You know that's 8 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: there's kids that aren't that tall. It just seems so 9 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: short now. It was before it was like, oh man, 10 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: I hope I measure up. You'd like grow your hair out, 11 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: ye to like make that extra like half inch or 12 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: something like that. Get your blow outcome, get your throw 13 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: up high. That's exactly right. Although remember my story is 14 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: that I was scared of roller coasters until my father 15 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: finally said, I'm not taking you back here and paying 16 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: this money until you get on a roller coaster, and 17 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,839 Speaker 1: then you weren't scared. Well, no, I just went on 18 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: because I was like, I don't want to not come back. 19 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: And then I loved it, of course, but he he 20 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: rolled the dice there, did you? Yeah? My dad took 21 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: me on Space Mountain when I was like five or something. 22 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,919 Speaker 1: Like that, and I hate roller coasters as a result. Yeah, 23 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:09,400 Speaker 1: I'm not big on it. You same, basically the same 24 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: thing happened to you me. I don't remember how old 25 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: she was, but um it was Space Mountain her dad, 26 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: and um we uh we went back to Space Mountain 27 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: like years ago to to conquer it, to conquer our fears, 28 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: and we did. We did it. You got hammered it 29 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: in Tomorrowland and got a board. But that has nothing 30 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 1: to do with safety pins. No, it doesn't. No safety pins. 31 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: Actually of a totally different, equally engrossing story, there was 32 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: a guy who's actually known as the inventor of the 33 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: safety pin, chiefly because he invented the safety pin. His 34 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,960 Speaker 1: name is Walter Hunt, and there's a lot of different 35 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: interpretations of Walter Hunt. I think this house Stuff Works 36 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,559 Speaker 1: article kind of misses the mark a little bit. So 37 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: he was one of America's great nineteenth century inventors. Number one, 38 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: um number two. He invented the safety pin. Which is 39 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: that just if he had just invented the safety pin, 40 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 1: that would be something. But he invented the safety pin 41 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: back in eighteen forty nine. And if you look at 42 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: his safety pin invention and the safety pin that you 43 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: would go by today. It's virtually the same thing. Like 44 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: the guy right out of the gate invented a perfect 45 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: version of his invention. Yeah, and this is one of those. 46 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: It's so brilliant and its simplicity. As I imagine, he 47 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: was just tinkering around with some wire, coiled it around 48 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: itself and said, hey, that acts as its own spring, 49 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: so it doesn't need to be two pieces, which is 50 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,639 Speaker 1: sort of the genius of a safety pin. And then 51 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 1: the little clasp, the little safety class. That's why it's 52 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: called a safety pin keeps little fingers and big fingers, 53 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: I guess, and toes and toes from getting pricked and stuck. 54 00:02:55,560 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: And uh, it was just a genius little idea. Yeah, 55 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: was so he The legend goes that he was fiddling 56 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: around with that wire and inadvertently invented the safety pin 57 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: while he was just kind of keeping his hands busy 58 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: trying to figure out how to pay off a fifteen 59 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: dollar debt. It could not find what the debt was for, 60 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: but it was to a pal Okay, so okay, we'll 61 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: go with that. But then when he figured out this 62 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: this safety pin was a pretty good idea, he went 63 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: and patented it. But then he sold the patent to 64 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: either that friend or somebody else to pay off the 65 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: fifteen dollar debt. But he sold it for like four 66 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: hundred bucks. Which did you do the calculation there? No? 67 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: What is that today? I didn't? Do? You want me 68 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: to just talk for a minute while while you type? 69 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: I do? Can you do a little tap dance? Yeah? 70 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: But the point is is that four dollars back then, 71 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: and we'll get the number in a sec was it 72 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: was a great deal of money, but obviously nothing compared 73 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: to the riches that would have Befallen Walter Hunt. Had 74 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: he held onto that patent, it would be known as 75 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: the Hunt pin today probably, and he would his his 76 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: great great grandkids would be billionaires. Still, I would imagine, 77 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: oh yeah, if he if he earned royalties from it, 78 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: um and they had kept up the patent, heck, yes, 79 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: or the trademark or something. I'm not sure how they 80 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 1: would do it, but I do have a number, Chuck, 81 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:28,159 Speaker 1: it's about twelve thousand dollars, which bad. It isn't bad, 82 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: but so here's the thing. So the guy sold off 83 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: his patented idea. Sometimes he's reported as not even having 84 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: patented it. Just sold the idea, which is wrong. Um. 85 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: But so he sold the patent for just twelve grand um. 86 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: He's often very much characterized as like shortsighted. Um. Maybe 87 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,360 Speaker 1: just maybe just like an absent minded inventor type or 88 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: something like that. Okay, maybe you can say that with 89 00:04:54,120 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: the safety pin. But he he also invented something pretty 90 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: huge to the sewing machine. And this is where it 91 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,919 Speaker 1: gets kind of like a little cloudy to me. Should 92 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: we take a break? Yeah, let's all right, we'll clear 93 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:42,239 Speaker 1: the clouds out and we'll be back right after this. Okay, 94 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 1: so the clouds are still over us, Chuck, we're about 95 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: to part them. Okay, I thought you were about to say, 96 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 1: we're gonna rain down some knowledge. Oh that's way better. 97 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: We should. We should retake this part cloudy with a 98 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: chance of knowledge. So so Walter Hunt invented the sewing 99 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: machine actually back in you a good almost twenty years 100 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:05,039 Speaker 1: before he invented the safety pin, and it had like 101 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: a curved eye needle had to shuttle, just basically like 102 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 1: the Singer sewing machine would later be. He invented it 103 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: decades before anybody else was making these sewing machines. And 104 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: so yet again he's criticized for selling this idea without 105 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,840 Speaker 1: pending it or patenting it and not doing anything with it. 106 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: He the story I saw was that he did come 107 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: up with this idea, and his daughter pointed out that 108 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: this machine would put a lot of um impoverished women 109 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: out of work, which worked a sewers, and he said, 110 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:38,840 Speaker 1: oh well, I'm not gonna do anything with this, and 111 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: chose not to patent it and abandoned the idea so 112 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: that it wouldn't even be out there for anybody else 113 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: to pick up and and work with. Did he destroy 114 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: his machine? From what I saw, he didn't even make 115 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: this prototype. I didn't see that anywhere else but in 116 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,359 Speaker 1: this article. Yeah, because in our our own article it 117 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: even specifically says his prototype was wooden, which would lead 118 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: me to believe that unless someone just you know, was willing, 119 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 1: nillly making things up, that's got to be true, right, 120 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: I don't know, but this is what I'm saying. Things 121 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 1: are clouded. We we parted them some and then they 122 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: came back, all right. But either way, the reason that 123 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 1: you look at sewing machines today and don't see the 124 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: word hunt on them is just another sort of chink 125 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: in his armor as a really brilliant guy who didn't 126 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: see the big picture economically or didn't want to put 127 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: poor women out of work? Right, did I just overlook that? Yes, 128 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: so you're saying it was noble. That's that's how I'm 129 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: taking it. Well, I hope, so that would be a 130 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: great you know, I like that better than I didn't 131 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: think it was very good, right, exactly because it was 132 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: made of wood. If he did prototype it, I'll say, yes, 133 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: it was probably made of would. But the reason why 134 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: it's a Singer, uh, is because a man named Isaac 135 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: Singer came along. There were actually two dudes, two businessmen, 136 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: allies How Isaac Singer, and they were in a battle 137 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: with each other to control this patent in the eighteen fifties. 138 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: So what I couldn't tell is if they legit invented 139 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: the saying or if they ripped off Hunt somehow. Yeah, 140 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: not they It would have been Elias How He was 141 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,040 Speaker 1: the one who held the patent, and Isaac Singer was 142 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: just making machines based on the same designs ignoring How's 143 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: patent because for some reason, somehow he knew that um 144 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: that it was actually William Hunt who had invented the 145 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 1: sewing machine decades before. So they went to court and 146 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: Isaac Singer said, Hunt, come in here and demonstrate that 147 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:37,680 Speaker 1: you you did this, and you can get the patent, 148 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:41,080 Speaker 1: and then I'll ignore your patent too, And the judge 149 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: actually ruled that he that, yes, William Hunt was indeed 150 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: the inventor of the sewing machine, but it was too 151 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 1: late to retroactively file a patent. I wonder if there's 152 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: enough here for a movie. They made one about the 153 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: guy who who created the intermittent setting on the windshie wipers, 154 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: and they made one what's her face Jennifer Lawrence was 155 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,200 Speaker 1: in the movie about the inventor Lady, Oh yeah, Joey 156 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: man Ghana. Yeah, So maybe there's enough here. It would 157 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: like call it so what And at the end of 158 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: the trailer it's spelled out and you would hear the 159 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 1: sewing machine and it would sew it out the title 160 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: I don't, I don't. Maybe maybe this should just be 161 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: a trailer. So what seems like a working title right that, 162 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: like some producer comes in and changes and gets paid 163 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: a billion dollars for it. Right then it would be 164 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: called the Isaac Singer Follies So the other thing about 165 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: Walter Hunt, he invented plenty of other stuff to a 166 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:42,079 Speaker 1: foot pedal alarm to warn people the street car was coming, 167 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 1: uh for sure, an antipodean walking device. Yeah, and that 168 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: I had no idea what that was. But apparently it's 169 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,559 Speaker 1: like the human fly, like suction cup shoes. It's pretty 170 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: amazing and today, well not today, but say back in 171 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: the seventies, if you hung out with punks, you probably 172 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: saw a lot of safety pins. And you can thank 173 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: Walter Hunt for that little fashion accessory too. Yeah, what 174 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: was the deal they would It was just you would 175 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: put a bunch of safety pins. I was not cool 176 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: enough to do that stuff. So so there's a dispute 177 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 1: over who came up with this. Supposedly Richard hell one 178 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: of the original punk rockers. He accessorized a lot, and 179 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: he accessorized with safety pins. So some people say, well 180 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: as Richard Hellett came up with it, but apparently Johnny 181 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 1: Rotten from the Sex Pistols has disputed that and said 182 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,680 Speaker 1: that it was actually out of necessity to keep the 183 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 1: rs on your trousers from falling off because they just 184 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 1: wore beat up clothes. Yeah, because they were gutter punks. 185 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: Didn't people actually put safety pins through their face? Some 186 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: people did. Walter Hunt did not like that. His ghost 187 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: was very upset by this um, but no one could 188 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: see that. Wow. So from the safety pin to the 189 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:54,959 Speaker 1: sewing machine too, said Vicious. Yeah, that's the logical order 190 00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:00,840 Speaker 1: of operation. Really, it's American inventors. Toda. Uh if you 191 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: want to you got anything else? No, I just know 192 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 1: that I want to go out and get some antibody 193 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: and choose. Now I do too. Man, you just climb 194 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 1: up a building and say thank you, William Hunt. Uh, 195 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: let's see. If you want to get in touch with us, 196 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:15,960 Speaker 1: just go to our website, okay, stuff you should know 197 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:17,959 Speaker 1: dot com. It's got all of our social media links 198 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: and you can also send us an email to Stuff 199 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: podcast how Stuff Works dot com