Edison's Concrete Piano: Flying Tanks, Six-Nippled Sheep, Walk-on-Water Shoes, and 12 Other Flops from Great Inventors
Oct 2009 · ECW/ORIM
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Not even geniuses get it right the first time . . . An "entertaining" look at the failures of great inventors ( Booklist).
To achieve great things, you have to be willing to take risks—and as Edison's Concrete Piano reveals, some of the most famous names in history experienced plenty of flops and face-plants in the course of their careers. Thomas Edison, for example, not only revolutionized the world with the light bulb, but also designed a concrete piano, a nonoperational helicopter made from box kites and piano wire, and a machine to speak to the dead. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, actually devoted most of his time to his sheep farm in Nova Scotia—devising a multi-nippled sheep somewhere along the way. You'll also read about Leonardo da Vinci's walk-on-water shoes, George Washington Carver's miracle peanut cure, and much more. The ludicrous ideas, faulty designs, and offbeat hobbies in this volume will inspire laughs—and serve as a reminder that even the very best minds make mistakes.
"Captivating . . . This book is full of lessons for inventors and non-inventors alike." —Henry Petroski, author of Success through Failure
To achieve great things, you have to be willing to take risks—and as Edison's Concrete Piano reveals, some of the most famous names in history experienced plenty of flops and face-plants in the course of their careers. Thomas Edison, for example, not only revolutionized the world with the light bulb, but also designed a concrete piano, a nonoperational helicopter made from box kites and piano wire, and a machine to speak to the dead. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, actually devoted most of his time to his sheep farm in Nova Scotia—devising a multi-nippled sheep somewhere along the way. You'll also read about Leonardo da Vinci's walk-on-water shoes, George Washington Carver's miracle peanut cure, and much more. The ludicrous ideas, faulty designs, and offbeat hobbies in this volume will inspire laughs—and serve as a reminder that even the very best minds make mistakes.
"Captivating . . . This book is full of lessons for inventors and non-inventors alike." —Henry Petroski, author of Success through Failure
Not even geniuses get it right the first time . . . An "entertaining" look at the failures of great inventors ( Booklist).
To achieve great things, you have to be willing to take risks—and as Edison's Concrete Piano reveals, some of the most famous names in history experienced plenty of flops a...
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About the author
Judy Wearing is an award-winning educator and author with a PhD in biology from Oxford University. She works as a science education consultant and develops activities and books for children. This is her first popular science book. She lives in Newburgh, Ontario.
Judy Wearing is an award-winning educator and author with a PhD in biology from Oxford University. She works as a science education consultant and develops activities and books for children. This is her first popular science book. She lives in Newburgh, Ontario.
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