Life-changing invention fuelled the space race

HISTORY is full of interesting inventions that have (or haven’t) changed our lives. For those who are interested in trivia, today is the 172nd anniversary of the invention of the rubber band. (You can’t get more trivial than that.) It was patented on March 17, 1845 by the British inventor Stephen Perry. A small thing, maybe, but just think how it has changed our lives. What did naughty schoolboys do about flicking their classmates on the ears when there were no rubber bands?

In the days when we used ink pens, there was always a handy supply of blotting paper around and every school kid knew how to chew a wad of blotter into a soggy lump and launch it with a rubber band. It made a satisfying “splat!” The ceilings of classrooms at our school were festooned with blotting paper stalactites.

My daily newspaper arrives on my doorstep wrapped and held neatly with a rubber band. A rubber band holds a half-dozen egg box firmly closed in my shopping bag.

Talking about useful inventions for launching stuff into the air, on March 16, 1926 the rocket scientist Robert Goddard launched the first successful liquid-fuelled rocket. It is interesting to note that he developed his rocket in his spare time and without any outside funding.

It was the space vehicle that was to change history, but at the time the US government was not particularly interested in it. “It uses wet fuel instead of dry fuel. So what’s the big deal?” Thus proving conclusively that you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to go into politics. But it was a very big deal indeed.

Goddard realised its potential and said: “In no case must we allow ourselves to be deterred from the achievement of space travel, test by test and step by step, until one day we succeed, cost what it may.”

Twenty years later, the Russian cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov stepped out of an orbiting spacecraft (liquidfuelled) to become the first man to walk in space. Today Goddard is regarded by many as the man who made space travel possible.

But for you and me, rubber bands are probably of more practical use.

Last Laugh

Two men were hiking in a remote area when they came upon a disused mineshaft. “I wonder how deep it is,” said the one guy. “Let’s toss a pebble down and see how long it takes to reach the bottom,” said his companion.

So they tossed a small pebble down, but heard nothing. “We need a bigger stone,” said one. They found a fist-sized rock and tossed it down.

Still no sound. “Hey, here’s a big lump of concrete over there. It should make a big enough noise.” So they dragged the concrete block over to the edge and heaved it over.

To their astonishment, a goat came rushing up, dashed between them and dived into the mine. A few minute later a farmer appeared and said: “Anybody seen my goat?”

“We just saw one diving down the mine shaft,” said the one hiker.

“Nah, that couldn’t have been mine. Mine was tethered to a great big lump of concrete.”