interesting people...

 interesting people...

    There are so many people who have contributed beyond comprehension to this world, and yet, somehow we've never heard of them.  

   HUH?  What's up with that?  

  These are people who for one reason or another never became known even though their contributions to this earth were just as great as Edison, Carver, Bell, Whitney, Jefferson or any other inventor or major contributor to society.

    Many additions were from African-Americans and therefore were not promoted or given their due as were their counterparts successes.  

  Some scientists and inventors have been content to let their accomplishments be overshadowed by more attention-seeking allies, enemies, and equals. 

  Still others allowed their corporate partners to literally steal their achievements.  

  And, there are those who by mere circumstance never reached the acclaim they deserve.  Such is the case of Elisha Gray, an electrical engineer who was the co-founder of Western Electric.  

  

  Had it not been for timing, we would be talking about Mr. Gray, not Alexander G. Bell as the creator of the telephone.  

  

  It seems both men were working on the same invention and each had progressed at about the same level.  

  According to ThoughtCo.com, the two men were ready to file their patents on the same day and at about the same time.  But, as circumstances would have it, Mr. Gray's attorney, while carrying the patent application in his briefcase, stopped for a two-hour lunch on his way to the patent office.  

  Meanwhile, Mr. Bell's representative was already in the right place filing Mr. AGB's claim.  Had it not been for a fateful decision by Mr. Gray's lawyer, it would have been The Gray System, not The Bell System.

  Most of us would probably say Thomas Edison is the most prolific inventor in history.  But, hold on.  Don't dismiss the mind of one Kia Silverbrook.  He is an Australian inventor with over 4,600 patents to his name.  Consider his achievements thus far and as of today, he shows no signs of calling it quits.  

  Mr. Silverbrook has patents in digital music, synthesis, digital printing, digital video, computer graphics, liquid crystal displays, robotics, 3D printing, DNA analysis, image processing, microelectromagnetic systems, semiconductor fabrication, and integrated circuit architecture, to name a few.  

  Translated, Mr. Silverbrook's patents are all essential in the creation of the high tech world today.  There wouldn't be much of the technology we depend upon if it weren't for this inventor.  

  However, chances are you've never heard anyone say, Keep at it, son, you could be the next Kia Silverbrook.  

  Emelia Earhart was the undisputed Queen of the Skies back in the 1930s for her long-distance flying records.  However, Miss Earhart was almost passed up by a British female pilot named Amy Johnson,  who set a record for flying from England to Australia, a journey over 11,000 miles.  

  In fact, it is well documented Miss Johnson was setting records before Earhart even got started, but Earhart's marriage to a millionaire is credited with allowing her the funding to gain worldwide notoriety and fame.  

  Ironically, Amy Johnson also died while flying.  She was an RAF pilot in WWII and was ferrying a plane  back to its base when she apparently got lost in a heavy fog.  Her plane crashed in the Thames and she was presumed to have been swept out to sea.  

  Most people can't tell you who invented television, but the majority probably think it was a company or corporation.  In reality, 21 year old genius, Philo Farnsworth demonstrated what he called an Image Dissector in 1927.  It was just a straight line, but by 1929 he had improved the picture and was able to televise his wife in real time on a three-inch monitor.  

  Mr. Farnsworth turned down an offer to work for Westinghouse and refused to sell his patents to the company.  It's unfortunate because he didn't prove to be as good a business man as he was a scientist.  He died in obscurity in 1971. 

  Inventors must be fascinating people and full of things no one else knows or comprehends. Surely they see things individually.  How else can we explain the birth of traffic signals back in the day, gasoline fueled motors, and more recently, electric car motors.  Name the invention, and chances are the inventor is a fascinating story.

  And, who knows?  Maybe someday Glen Wilson of Louisville, Kentucky will be thought of as a great story in his own right.

  45 years ago, I invented a pole rack system for utility poles, he said.   

  We'll find out what that is exactly, but first, take us back to the beginning.  How did you start out?

  My degree is in construction management, he stated.  My career was spent building commercial and institutional facilities all across the country.  I invented this product while building a facility for a utility company.  

  So, you're working on a construction project for a utility company and you just saw a need?  Is that how this worked?

  Basically, yes, he smiled.  I was laboring on this project and the idea just came to me.  I built a prototype and went from there.  

  What is a pole rack system and how does it work?

  It's basically a storage system for poles to be stored on the utility company's property, he explained.  It's important because wood poles will rot if they are on the ground.  My racking system will keep them off the ground and separated.  Crews can get to them efficiently, plus they are safe.  If you get one guy hurt by a pole rolling on him, you've got a million dollar liability. 

  Is your system all around the country or just locally?

  We're all over the United States and Canada, Glen proudly stated.  After the first of the year, we'll be in Europe too.  

  Are you going there to run that part of the company?  

  No, my son will be taking over that leg of the operation, he answered.  He and I went to London a couple months ago and got it all set up.  We just returned about a month ago.

  Any other offspring besides a son? 

  I have a daughter who is a school teacher, he said.  My wife was a teacher too. 

  What about goals.  Do you have anything on your bucket list you would like to see come to fruition? 

  Goals?  I've just about done it all, he admitted.  I'm really easy to please.  I own a plane, I'm a pilot, we've traveled.  I just want to serve the Lord the rest of my days.  

  Coming up:  meet more People Over Sixty (POS), and; we'll figure out this nap time thing.

  And, finally.  There are a couple questions that come to mind concerning Elisha Gray and his attorney.  First, did Mr. Gray fire his attorney after the lawyer allowed Mr. Gray's rival to beat him out of a patent?  And, most importantly, did the attorney turn in his lunch expense to Mr. Gray?  

  HUH?  What's up with that?