The History of the John Deere Tractor, are available in a wide price range starting from just Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 30 lakhs. The cheapest John Deere tractor is John Deere 3028EN which is priced at Rs 5 lakhs. The costliest tractor is John Deere 6120 B in India which costs Rs 30 lakhs. Additionally, there are costlier tractors available in the international line-up.
History of John Deere
John Deere-A brand originally known as Deere and Company was founded by a blacksmith named John Deere who invented the ingenious steel plow which became commercially successful in the year 1837. The company was successful by manufacturing 400 steel plows per year on average. This success from John Deere laid the foundation stone for the success of the company.
After improvising the business that was already doing well in the agriculture industry, John Deere decided to enter into the tractor industry. In the year 1918, John Deere introduced their 2 tractors named Waterloo boy and John Deere tractor. After the launch, the tractor business took off as agriculture mechanization was growing during this period. Agriculture and farming were the bread and butter of the majority of the population.
One of the remarkable years in the history of the world “the great depression” had just collapsed many major economies. The farm and agriculture industry was the only industry that could revive economies. In the advent of this opportunity, The History of the John Deere Tractor John Deere supported the people by providing tractors on credit and strengthened the relation for the upcoming generations. With this John Deere became a household brand. The economies were revived and the industrial era began to revamp. Hence, John Deere launched its first industrial-grade tractor the model ‘DI’.
The History of the Swaraj Tractor, Swaraj- a brand that is well known among farmers all over India, was named after Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Swaraj (Meaning-Self Governance). Swaraj started its journey of being the 2nd largest tractor manufacturer from CMRI, Durgapur back in 1965. Sowing its seeds in the steel city of West Bengal (Durgapur), specializing in agricultural implement industry. The Timeline of Swaraj Tractors: Post commencement of their business at Durgapur in 1965 swaraj tractors had gone through various reformations and was in talks in the market as there were no major brands in the competition. With exceptional engineering and use of state-of-the-art technology, swaraj was gaining eyeballs, the Punjab government took-over the swaraj brand in 1970 under its subsidiary Punjab Tractor Limited (PTL).
Swaraj with its all-new initiation, PTL rolled out the first model-the Swaraj 724 in the year 1974 with its 26.5 HP displacement engine.
With a successful head start under the inspiring tagline “Mera Swaraj”. PTL was successful in forming a 1000 crore market capitalization in a span of 25 years by rolling out 7 tractor models. Later on, it was downhill for the swaraj under PTL as the Punjab government wanted to lower its stake in the company.
This lead to the introduction of Mahindra & Mahindra into the story of swaraj tractors in the year 2007. As M&M acquired a majority stake in the company. Later M&M merged into the whole company and rebranded swaraj under its subsidiary.With the above timeline, swaraj was making exceptional progress and was able to achieve sales of 46,000 units in 2001 from the past reports of 6,000 units in the 1980s.Swaraj Tractors is the second largest tractor brand in the country. It enjoys very high brand recognition and customer connect which is accurately captured in its slogan “Mera Swaraj”. The Swaraj brand has roots in the Green Revolution in the 1960’s. In 1965, Govt of India commissioned Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) to lead the design and development of an indigenous tractor. This “Swadeshi” 20 hp tractor prototype was ready by 1969. Punjab Government bought this design in 1970 and set up Punjab Tractors Ltd to manufacture 5000 tractors annually. The tractor was branded “Swaraj” inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of Swaraj which means economic freedom. The first Swaraj model was the 26.5 hp Swaraj 724. Truly, this first Indian tractor meant freedom from expensive imports for the millions of farmers in India.
Punjab Tractors Ltd (PTL) sold 589 Swaraj tractors in 1975. By 1978, Swaraj had 3 models in the market. The sales went up to 5984 units in 1983 and 45712 units in 2001. Swaraj tractors enjoyed a market share at 20% in early years of the century. Significantly, the revenue of PTL crossed 1000 crore mark in 2001. Over time, more than 7 tractor models were introduced under the Swaraj brand.
India’s first indigenous Combine Harvester (Model Swaraj 8100) was introduced in 1980 and Industrial forklift trucks were introduced in 1985. Swaraj Engines Ltd was formed in 1986 to manufacture diesel engines. 1988 marked the roll out of 1 lakh tractors since the beginning of the company.
The company began operations in Mohali in Punjab. In 1995, a second facility was commissioned to cater to the growing demand and the expanding product lines. In 2002, the cumulative tractor sales crossed the 5 lakhs mark. Swaraj became the fastest growing tractor brand of that time.
Starting early 2000’s the Punjab Government decided to lower its stake in the company. This led to lack of investments and deterioration of relationships with the labour union. The market position of the company fell from second to the fifth place. The share price dropped from Rs 1000 to Rs 250. After a couple of bad years where the profit of the company fell to a low of 80 crores, Mahindra & Mahindra stepped in to acquire majority stake in PTL in 2007. It was this acquisition that made Mahindra the largest tractor company in the world by volume.
Mahindra merged the Swaraj brand with their Farm Division which manufactured Mahindra Tractors. The History of the Swaraj Tractor Thus, PTL was delisted and it ceased to exist. Now Swaraj Tractors are manufactured under the Swaraj division of the Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector.
Mahindra reenergised the operations of Swaraj. The first task at hand was liquidated excess stock and collected the outstanding balances from the dealers. In 2008, with basic operations stabilized, the new management started focusing on growth. The sales channel was revitalized, and new dealerships added. The History of the Swaraj Tractor A series of TV advertisements was launched. Tie-up with Mahindra Finance proved crucial as more than 80% of the tractors are retail financed. The Union was also taken along through talks and concrete steps such as salary hikes, better medical benefits, and improved safety and comfort.
With all these efforts and a growing tractor industry, Swaraj tractors bounced up to its earlier position of the second largest tractor brand in the country. Today, more than 100,000 Swaraj tractors are sold in India each year and it has a growing presence in neighbouring countries and some markets in Africa.
The History of the Mahindra Tractor, With the largest consumer base in India, North America, South Asia, and to an extent in Australia, Mahindra Tractors is the flagship division of the Mahindra Farm Equipment Sector of Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra. Mahindra Tractors is the largest manufacturer of tractors in India and manufactures more than 300,000 tractors annually. Mahindra created a joint venture with the International Harvester and began manufacturing Mahindra Tractors for the Indian market first in 1962. The result was Mahindra’s first tractor, the B-275. The idea behind creating this tractor was to create a tractor that could do well on the rugged Indian terrain. It then went ahead and sold 85,000 units of this tractor and since then, there was no looking back for Mahindra Tractors.
The idea behind creating tractors by Mahindra was to support the evolution of the Indian agricultural scenario with modern innovations and technological advancements. Mahindra tried to understand the needs of the farmers and tried to accordingly create products that could accelerate farming. Today, Mahindra has solutions that can help farmers across all stages of farming, i.e., from the preparation of the land to harvesting of crops. The central idea behind Mahindra tractors was not only to make farming easy but to also improve the productivity of the farmers, enable them to prosper, and to secure their future. Mahindra Tractors have been the leader in the market since 1983. It is the market leader in most states in India except Rajasthan which is led by Massey Ferguson. Mahindra purchased 60% of Gujarat Tractors from the Government of Gujarat in 1999. These tractors are now rebranded as Trakstar and MGTL has been renamed as Gromax Agri Equipment Ltd. Mahindra acquired a majority stake in Punjab Tractors Ltd in 2007 and it was merged with Mahindra Tractors in 2009. Mahindra retained the Swaraj brand name which is now the 2nd largest tractor brand in India.
In 2011, Mahindra Tractors pioneered the 15HP Yuvraj tractor to replace the animal power on farms. Mahindra Yuvraj 215 NXT Tractor is in the 20 HP range, compact design and hence ideal for small lands, orchards, etc. Mahindra JIVO 245 DI Tractor is in the range of 30 HP range are best suited for medium-sized land and orchards. Mahindra 275 DI TU tractor is in the range of 40 HP range have a fuel-efficient technology and are loaded with advanced features that help a farmer do more work in less time and reap great results. Mahindra 575 DI, Mahindra 475 DI, Mahindra Yuvo 575 DI and Mahindra Arjun 555 DI tractors are in the range of 50 HP category, are best suited for large lands and farms that need high powered tractors. Mahindra Arjun NOVO 605 DI-I Tractor is the in the category of above 50HP, designed with an advanced farm technology that works best on several complex farms and non-farm applications too. And the new 60 HP range and above The History of the Mahindra Tractor Mahindra Novo 655 DI tractor do a great job on both farm and non-farm applications and have many modern features. Mahindra Tractors since its inception has been growing steadily and spreading its wings all over the world. It is now expanding in the Farm Machinery space and has bought many niche players such as SAMPO in Finland, Mitsubishi Agri Machinery in Japan, Hisarlar and Erkunt in Turkey. However, all these acquisitions have a limited product range and lack a natural market for Mahindra as a whole.
The History of the Massey Ferguson Tractor, is the brand on which every farmer of India has an irreplaceable trust. They produce tractors every time after considering the demand of the general farmers, their main aim is to satisfy the wants and needs of every farmer. Massey Ferguson Tractor is one of the most popular brands of the tractor industry. The company was established in 1847 by Daniel Massey, who was a farmer and producer of farming implements. And in 1958, the name was compressed to Massey Ferguson. The first Massey tractor was the MF35, launched in December 1957. This was the popular model of that time. Slowly the company made a valuable place in the hearts of its customers. Here we are sharing information about “Who is the manufacturer of the Massey Ferguson tractor?”.
Who is the manufacturer of the Massey Ferguson tractor ?
AGCO is a manufacturer of Massey Ferguson tractor. They stay a great seller around the world. This manufacturer offers a huge variety of farm tractors according to the wants of its customers. All the tractors of Massey Ferguson come with innovative and progressive features like heavy hydraulic lifting capacity which can easily lift heavy implements and large fuel tank capacity. Along with this, strong engine capacity, stylish look, and many more.
Massey Ferguson Tractor is reshaping the world from the time of the establishment. They always supply tractors that enhance productivity and performance on the field. Their tractors come with comfortable features that give long hours on the field. ‘Ghee Khao Desi, Chlao Massey’.
Massey History
Massey Ferguson founded by Daniel Massey in 1847 as the Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufactory. Brand Massey Ferguson made the world’s first thresher. Massey Ferguson is world famous brand supplying a huge range of tractors and agricultural machinery. It is idol itself and has developed agriculture worldwide. Massey Ferguson offers versatile ranges and unique agricultural tractors with equipment. Their range of premium and innovative Massey Ferguson brand of tractors provide every farmer new and advanced mechanization need.
Why Massey Ferguson Tractors are perfect for the Farmers?
Massey Ferguson Tractor brand is the world’s 2nd topmost tractor and farm equipment company in India and most selling Tractor Company. It is known for its tractor Engine Power, mileage, and other features. Massey Ferguson Tractor supplies an exceptional range of Farm tractors and implements. Tractors of Massey have economical mileage on the fields and it has a unique electronic top link control system.
Massey Ferguson provides hugely technologically advanced tractors with improved tractor specifications even at extremely low and economical tractor prices. This fact makes it very popular in the Indian domain. It works for the development of the farmers and provides them with high class customer support via a 24 x 7 MF service center.
Massey Tractor Price and HP Range
Massey Ferguson tractor offers a wide range of farm implement which are superb in quality and rich in features. In India, Massey Ferguson provides a world class 25 plus tractor models hp ranging from 25 hp to 75 hp. It offers an affordable price ranging from The History of the Massey Ferguson Tractor Rs. 4.50 lakh* to Rs. 15.20 lakh*. Its tractor always comes with advanced latest Massey Ferguson tractor models with reasonable Massey Ferguson tractors price.
The History of the Hindustan Tractor, is one of the prominent brands acquired by the Mahindra and Mahindra group. It is the most trusted tractor brand in India. The Hindustan tractor brand registered itself in the year 1959 as Tractors and Bulldozers Private Ltd. Then they manufactured their first tractor model in the year of 1963 in Vishwamitri, Vadodara, Gujarat. With the collaboration of Motokov-Praha (Zetor) of Czechoslovakia, they manufactured their tractor models and was known as Hindustan Tractors & Bulldozers Ltd. In 1999, the Mahindra & Mahindra Group acquired 60% and 40% in 2001 of the Hindustan tractor company. And now Hindustan tractor brand is owned by them.
Hindustan Tractor Range
The Hindustan tractor brand offers only one model available at 50 HP. This tractor model, Hindustan 50 HP tractor comes in the heavy-duty category that can perform any kind of rugged field activity.
The Hindustan tractor in India is available in many advanced features that help reduce maintenance costs and improve productivity with optimum output. Some of the notable features are Constant Mesh, Side Shift type Transmission, Oil-immersed Brakes, Power Steering and many more.
Popular Hindustan tractor new model is; HINDUSTAN 60. This tractor hindustan model has a 50 HP engine power with 8 forward and 2 reverse gears. The Hindustan tractor price in India is fair and cost-effective according to the farmer’s budget.
Old Hindustan Tractor relaunched by Mahindra Gujarat
I was returning from a wedding from Mumbai when i saw this tractor in front of a showroom on National Highway 9 (NH 9).
Looks like Mahindra Gujrat Tractors has silently launched the ols Hindustan tractor in Maharashtra.
Company history.
The company began in 1959 in Vishwamitri, Vadodara, Gujarat, India as Tractors and Bulldozers Private Ltd and imported tractors.
Manufacturing of tractors began in 1963, in collaboration Motokov-Praha (Zetor) of Czechoslovakia, and was known as Hindustan Tractors & Bulldozers Ltd.
In 1967, it became Hindustan Tractors Ltd.
The tractors were based on the Zetor tractor design and sold under the Hindustan brand.
In 1967, it became Hindustan Tractors Ltd.
In 1978, the Gujarat, Indian government formed Gujarat Tractors from the ailing company.
In 1999, Mahindra Tractors purchased 60% of the company, and in 2001, purchased the remaining 40% of the company, renaming it Mahindra Gujarat Tractors Ltd
Mahindra Gujarat Tractors Limited, is a Farm Tractor manufacturer now part of Mahindra & Mahindra from the Government of Gujarat in 1999. It the oldest running tractor unit in India. The History of the Hindustan Tractor The Mahindra Group has a 60% stake, the remaining 40% being held by the Government of Gujarat. Its best selling models is Hindustan 60. The tractors are now sold under Sakthimaan and Trakstar brand names. It was renamed as Gromax Agri Equipment Ltd. in 2017
The History of the First Medicine, The invention of medicine is undoubtedly considered the most precious and beneficial in human civilization. The history of medicine shows a remarkable journey of how we humans have approached different illnesses and diseases from the early periods till date. Some of the early medicine traditions come from Babylon, China, Egypt, and India. Though, there isn’t much record of when and how plants were used as a healing agent. But, from ancient drawings discovered worldwide, it is believed that early humans used medicinal plants as healing agents. Here, we will study the history of medicine, the History of doctors, and the first medicine to be invented.
Prehistoric Medicine
Early humans were unaware of the various diseases and their medications. Early humans used the trial and error method to discover the medicinal benefits of plants and herbs. They considered common cold and constipation as a part of human existence and treated it with various herbs. The unidentified diseases were believed to be supernatural or cast of spells. There’s a common belief that in the world, the first doctors were sorcerers and magicians.
Magic and religious prayers played an essential role in prehistoric medicine. In ancient Mesopotamia, the people were not able to distinguish between magic and medicine. And if a person suffering from illness came to a doctor, the doctors would prescribe medicinal treatment and magical words to be recited. In the ancient era, the Babylonians, along with Egyptians, implemented diagnosis, physical examinations, and treatments. Early Egyptians were considered the healthiest with a notable healthcare system.
Traditional Medicine in India, China, and Japan
The Indian civilization was well developed in medicine with herbal treatments. The Atharvaveda, which belongs to the early iron age, throws light on the fact that early Indians used medications and ailments from herbs and other medicinal plants.
The period from 800 BCE till 1000 BCE is considered the golden age of medicine in India with the introduction of medical treaties by Chakra, a physician, and Sushruta, a surgeon of ancient India. The knowledge of anatomy in ancient India was minimal as the Hindus were not allowed to cut dead bodies. The Indian physicians used all five senses in the diagnosis of diseases. The Indians were known to have identified around 700-800 medicinal plants in ancient times. They were also known for using animal parts for remedies.
On the other hand, Chinese medicine was of great importance in history. The Chinese considered the human body to be made up of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. As the Chinese’s religious beliefs forbade them from tearing the dead bodies, therefore their anatomy knowledge was based on assumptions. According to the ancient Chinese Anatomy, The body contained five organs: heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and kidney, and the blood vessels contained blood and air.
Japanese medicine, on the other hand, is considered interesting for its slow start and rapid modernization. Japanese medicine took a turn in 608 CE when few Japanese physicians were sent to China for study. The Chinese have a significant influence on the Japanese medical system.
The oldest Japanese medical work dates back to 983 CE, which Tamba Yasuyori wrote. In his works, he has discussed different kinds of diseases and their treatment. These diseases and treatments are classified according to body parts.
Speaking of ancient medicine, you must have thought of the world’s first doctor. The first doctor in the world was from the Egyptian civilization. According to the medical information given in the Edwin Smith Papyrus, which dates back to 3000 BC, Imhotep is credited with being the first doctor in the world.
Now you may even ask who discovered medicine or who invented medicine? The answer to this is Hippocrates. Yes, Hippocrates is credited with being the man who invented medicine. He was a Greek physician who wrote the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of seventy medical works. He is also accredited with the invention of the Hippocratic Oath for physicians.
Modern Medicine
The Renaissance brought about a significant change in the history of medicine. The period between the 16th and 18th centuries was remarkable for medicine. This period saw a rapid increase in experimental investigations and advanced anatomy. Even the first medicine was discovered during this period. The first modern medicine was developed in 1804 by Friedrich Serturner, who was a german scientist. He invented morphine which served as a painkiller in the 18th century. Later in this period, quinine and paracetamol were also invented. The practice of medicine took a rapid turn with physicians being more systematic in the diagnosis of diseases. The development and use of antiseptic and anaesthesia also increased in operations. Effective cures to many fatal diseases were discovered during this era. Improvement in public health was given utmost importance, and many hospitals were developed. The mid 18th century and early 19th century was the period when medicine was heavily professionalized. With the advancement in medicine, new career options opened up for women as well. They were appointed as nurses and physicians.
Thanks for your question Bridget. It depends on what we mean by medicine! People have been using different plants and minerals to treat illnesses for thousands of years. While these folk cures often had more to do with religion than science, doctors in Ancient Egypt, China, India, Greece and Rome did use early versions of laboratories to mix them.
Many of these potions, powders and creams didn’t really work, and some were actually poisonous. But others contained useful ingredients that we still use in our medicine today. For example, the plant milkweed – a traditional treatment for warts and tumours – is now an effective remedy for skin cancer.
For a long time, remedies were based on trial and error, superstition, and confused ideas about how our bodies work. Over the 1500s and 1600s people in Europe started using opium – a milky sap from the poppy plant – to treat pain.
Laudanum was a mixture made of opium, alcohol and herbs that helped with pain, insomnia, coughing and diarrhoea. Because there were so many horrible diseases in Europe at the time (and so few medicines that really did anything) laudanum was used to treat nearly everything, from colds to the Black Plague! Unfortunately, it was also very addictive.
Over the next 150 years, scientists learnt more about chemistry and biology. The first modern, pharmaceutical medicine was invented in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, a German scientist. He extracted the main active chemical from opium in his laboratory and named it morphine, after the Greek god of sleep.
Doctors used morphine to treat severe pain, and we still use it for that purpose in hospitals today. Sadly, Sertürner became addicted to his own drug, and warned people to be very careful with it.
Next came quinine, a cure for malaria, in 1820. Paracetamol was invented in 1877 and in the 1890s scientists first made aspirin from the bark of the willow tree. We still use these to treat headaches, fever and inflammation. And the first antibiotic, penicillin, was accidentally discovered in a lab in 1928.
Thousands of new remedies have since been made in laboratories. Right now, in 2019, more and more medicines are being developed using new and exciting biotechnologies.
The History of First Coffee, Coffee grown worldwide can trace its heritage back centuries to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There, legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans. The story goes that that Kaldi discovered coffee after he noticed that after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they did not want to sleep at night. Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink with the berries and found that it kept him alert through the long hours of evening prayer. The abbot shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and knowledge of the energizing berries began to spread.As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian peninsula, it began a journey which would bring these beans across the globe.
The Arabian Peninsula
Coffee cultivation and trade began on the Arabian Peninsula. By the 15th century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the 16th century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey.
Coffee was not only enjoyed in homes, but also in the many public coffee houses — called qahveh khaneh — which began to appear in cities across the Near East. The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people frequented them for all kinds of social activity.
Not only did the patrons drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news. Coffee houses quickly became such an important center for the exchange of information that they were often referred to as “Schools of the Wise.”
With thousands of pilgrims visiting the holy city of Mecca each year from all over the world, knowledge of this “wine of Araby” began to spread.
Coffee Comes to Europe
European travelers to the Near East brought back stories of an unusual dark black beverage. By the 17th century, coffee had made its way to Europe and was becoming popular across the continent.
Some people reacted to this new beverage with suspicion or fear, calling it the “bitter invention of Satan.” The local clergy condemned coffee when it came to Venice in 1615. The controversy was so great that Pope Clement VIII was asked to intervene. He decided to taste the beverage for himself before making a decision, and found the drink so satisfying that he gave it papal approval.
Despite such controversy, coffee houses were quickly becoming centers of social activity and communication in the major cities of England, Austria, France, Germany and Holland. In England “penny universities” sprang up, so called because for the price of a penny one could purchase a cup of coffee and engage in stimulating conversation.
Coffee began to replace the common breakfast drink beverages of the time — beer and wine. Those who drank coffee instead of alcohol began the day alert and energized, and not surprisingly, the quality of their work was greatly improved. (We like to think of this a precursor to the modern office coffee service.)
By the mid-17th century, there were over 300 coffee houses in London, many of which attracted like-minded patrons, including merchants, shippers, brokers and artists.
Many businesses grew out of these specialized coffee houses. Lloyd’s of London, for example, came into existence at the Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House.
The New World
In the mid-1600’s, coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, later called New York by the British.
Though coffee houses rapidly began to appear, tea continued to be the favored drink in the New World until 1773, when the colonists revolted against a heavy tax on tea imposed by King George III. The revolt, known as the Boston Tea Party, would forever change the American drinking preference to coffee.
“Coffee – the favorite drink of the civilized world.” – Thomas Jefferson
Plantations Around the World
As demand for the beverage continued to spread, there was fierce competition to cultivate coffee outside of Arabia.
The Dutch finally got seedlings in the latter half of the 17th century. Their first attempts to plant them in India failed, but they were successful with their efforts in Batavia, on the island of Java in what is now Indonesia.
The plants thrived and soon the Dutch had a productive and growing trade in coffee. They then expanded the cultivation of coffee trees to the islands of Sumatra and Celebes.
Coming to the Americas
In 1714, the Mayor of Amsterdam presented a gift of a young coffee plant to King Louis XIV of France. The King ordered it to be planted in the Royal Botanical Garden in Paris. In 1723, a young naval officer, Gabriel de Clieu obtained a seedling from the King’s plant. Despite a challenging voyage — complete with horrendous weather, a saboteur who tried to destroy the seedling, and a pirate attack — he managed to transport it safely to Martinique.
Once planted, the seedling not only thrived, but it’s credited with the spread of over 18 million coffee trees on the island of Martinique in the next 50 years. Even more incredible is that this seedling was the parent of all coffee trees throughout the Caribbean, South and Central America.
The famed Brazilian coffee owes its existence to Francisco de Mello Palheta, who was sent by the emperor to French Guiana to get coffee seedlings. The French were not willing to share, but the French Governor’s wife, captivated by his good looks, gave him a large bouquet of flowers before he left— buried inside were enough coffee seeds to begin what is today a billion-dollar industry.
Missionaries and travelers, traders and colonists continued to carry coffee seeds to new lands, and coffee trees were planted worldwide. Plantations were established in magnificent tropical The History of First Coffee forests and on rugged mountain highlands. Some crops flourished, while others were short-lived. New nations were established on coffee economies. Fortunes were made and lost. The History of First Coffee By the end of the 18th century, coffee had become one of the world’s most profitable export crops. After crude oil, The History of First Coffee is the most sought commodity in the world.
The History of the First Pencil, Having previously explored such mysteries as who invented writing and how sounds became shapes, it’s time to turn to something much less mysterious, a seemingly mundane yet enormously influential tool of human communication: the humble pencil. “Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak,” states the first of Margaret Atwood’s 10 rules of writing. “But if the pencil breaks, you can’t sharpen it on the plane, because you can’t take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils.” But even though the pencil has fueled such diverse feats of creative culture as celebrated artists’ sketchbooks, Marilyn Monroe’s soulful unpublished poems, Lisa Congdon’s stunning portraits, and David Byrne’s diagrams of the human condition, it has only been around for a little over two hundred years. In the altogether fascinating 100 Essential Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know: Math Explains Your World (public library), John D. Barrow tells the story of this underrated technological marvel:
The modern pencil was invented in 1795 by Nicholas-Jacques Conte, a scientist serving in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. The magic material that was so appropriate for the purpose was the form of pure carbon that we call graphite. It was first discovered in Europe, in Bavaria at the start of the fifteenth century; although the Aztecs had used it as a marker several hundred years earlier. Initially it was believed to be a form of lead and was called ‘plumbago’ or black lead (hence the ‘plumbers’ who mend our lead water-carrying pipes), a misnomer that still echoes in our talk of pencil ‘leads’. It was called graphite only in 1789, using the Greek word ‘graphein’ meaning ‘to write’. Pencil is an older word, derived from the Latin ‘pencillus’, meaning ‘little tail’, to describe the small ink brushes used for writing in the Middle Ages.
But the history of the pencil, like that of many seminal innovations, has a dark side:
The purest deposits of lump graphite were found in Borrowdale near Keswick [England] in the Lake District in 1564 and spawned quite a smuggling industry and associated black economy in the area. During the nineteenth century a major pencil manufacturing industry developed around Keswick in order to exploit the high quality of the graphite.
And yet the pencil industry blossomed:
The first factory opened in 1832, and the Cumberland Pencil Company has just celebrated its 175th anniversary; although the local mines have long been closed and supplies of the graphite used now come from Sri Lanka and other far away places. Cumberland pencils were those of the highest quality because the graphite used shed no dust and marked the paper very well.
Plain as it appears, however, the pencil has evolved significantly since its invention:
Conte’s original process for manufacturing pencils involved roasting a mixture of water, clay and graphite in a kiln at 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit before encasing the resulting soft solid in a wooden surround. The shape of that surround can be square, polygonal or round, depending on the pencil’s intended use — carpenters don’t want round pencils that are going to roll off the workbench. The hardness or softness of the final pencil ‘lead’ can be determined by adjusting the relative fractions of clay and graphite in the roasting mixture. Commercial pencil manufacturers typically market 20 grades of pencil, from the softest, 9B, to the hardest 9H, with the most popular intermediate value, HB, lying midway between H and B. ‘H’ means hard and ‘B’ means black. The higher the B number, the more graphite gets left on the paper. There is also an ‘F’, or Fine point, which is a hard pencil for writing rather than drawing.
Barrow offers the science behind an oft-cited trivia factlet:
The strange thing about graphite is that it is a form of pure carbon that is one of the softest solids known, and one of the best lubricants because the six carbon atoms that link to form a ring can slide easily over adjacent rings. Yet, if the atomic structure is changed, there is another crystalline form of pure carbon, diamond, that is one of the hardest solids known.
For the mathematically-minded, Barrow offers a delightful curiosity-quencher:
An interesting question is to ask how long a straight line could be drawn with a typical HB pencil before the lead was exhausted. The thickness of graphite left on a sheet of paper by The History of the First Pencil a soft 2B pencil is about 20 nanometers and a carbon atom has a diameter of 0.14 nanometers, so the pencil line is only about 143 atoms thick. The pencil lead is about 1 mm in radius and therefore ? square mm in area. If the length of the pencil is 15 cm, then the volume of graphite to be spread out on a straight line is 150? cubic mm. The History of the First Pencil If we draw a line of thickness 20 nanometers and width 2 mm, then there will be enough lead to continue for a distance L = 150? / 4 X 10-7 mm = 1,178 kilometers.
History of First Photograph, is the best way to capture a moment of life, and ever since the first camera was invented in 11th century, photography has influenced a lot of people. Thanks to technology cameras have become more advanced and user-friendly, and pictures clearer and sharper.
But more than that, photography has let us capture moments that we would’ve otherwise lost to time. What also got captured in the process was humanity’s journey from its first steps to landmark achievements. Here are some old photos that reveal our story.
World’s first photograph –
The world’s first photograph made in a camera was taken in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. This pho…
The first colour photograph –
The first colour photograph was taken by the mathematical physicist, James Clerk Maxwell. Maxwell created the image of the tartan ribbon shown here by photographing it three times through red, blue, and yellow filters, then recombining the images into one colour composite in 1861.
First photos of movement –
English photographer Eadweard Muybridge in 1872 to look for a way to capture the sequence of movemen..
First detailed photo of the moon –
The first detailed photo of the moon shot by English scientist and historian John William Draper in … Read More
Oldest known photo of a tornado –
The 1884 Howard, South Dakota tornado was a large tornado that occurred on August 28, 1884. This was one of the first tornadoes of which there is a photograph. The photographer was F. N. Robinson, who observed the tornado from a street in the town of Howard,
First photo of the North Pole –
First Photo of the North Pole by Admiral Robert E. Peary April 1909.
First photograph of a human being –
This picture was taken of the Boulevard du Temple that’s situated in Paris. The image was taken in 1838 by Daguerre.
First self portrait –
It is known that the first self-portrait was taken in 1839 by the already famous photographer Robert Cornelius. Also, the man gained fame for being the first in the United States to open a photo studio.
First US president ever to be photographed –
John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, was the first president to have his photograph taken.
First photo of earth from moon –
On August 23, 1966, the Lunar Orbiter 1 took an unplanned photograph during its 16th orbit around the moon. That photo is the first view of the Earth taken from the vicinity of the moon.
First aerial photograph –
The first aerial photo was taken in 1858 by photographer Gaspard-Felix Tournachon from a hot air balloon.
The first hoax photograph –
The first hoax photograph was taken in 1840 by Hippolyte Bayard.
First photograph of lightning –
The first natural phenomenon captured was lightning. William Jennings used a film camera on September 2, 1882, and managed to get such an image.
The technologies evolved rather fast and a famous scientist James Maxwell was able to create a colour image in 1861. History of First Photograph This first colour photograph was a projection History of First Photograph onto the screen of three ranges of colours, green, red and blue.
The History of Coolers, A Word Of Introduction Before we dive in into the cooler history…. when you think about coolers, what do you see? For many of us, coolers evoke images of summer and the sunlit beach. They make us think of tailgating parties and wonderful picnics. They make us want to go out hiking, or camping, or fishing. They invite us out to explore nature, knowing very well that we don’t have to worry about the comforts that we leave at home.
Because coolers allow us to bring along those comforts with us. They make it possible for us to enjoy a cold drink, or a warm one, and to keep our food fresh, without having to wonder how it’s all going to be possible.
One of the interesting things about home, the things that make it a haven of comfort, is the fact that many of us can look forward to the prospect of waking up in the middle of the night and go to the fridge for a little snack. Perhaps that is the epitomization of home comfort.
With coolers and their simple but wonderful technology, all of nature can now be our home. We can think of it in almost the same way.
With coolers, we can head over to the ‘fridge’ for the midnight snack. Better yet, we don’t really have to head over to the ‘fridge’; it’s right next to us.
So, Who Invented the Cooler?
On our blog, we’re always looking for the coolest coolers to show you so you can purchase better products, with all the right features that meet your needs.
But have you ever wondered where this idea came from and who invented the cooler?
We’ve always been obsessed with coolers, and dug deep from an early time to find out their history. But we just realized we’ve never really shared our knowledge of that with our readers.
That’s exactly what we’re going to do today. So fasten your seatbelt and brace yourself for a journey through time. I daresay the coolest journey you’ve ever been on!
Cooler History – From Ancient Times to Rotomolded Era
Barrels: Protocoolers
While the history of the modern cooler starts somewhere around World War II, the whole idea of keeping food and drinks fresh for long-distance transportation (or for preservation for a future time, even where transportation did not happen), has been around for thousands of years.
The Romans were the first to use wooden barrels for food storage, and they endured in this role, making lots of things possible, such as world exploration by boat after the Renaissance.
Captain James Cook, for example, used oak barrels to store dried fruits and other foods during his voyage to New Zealand in 1770, making it possible for the sailors to reach the new land without dying of scurvy and other deficiency-related ailments.
Merchants also used them to store different commodities, including beer, wines, and spirits, when they went out to trade with other countries.
The First Ice Box and the President Jefferson Connection
Despite all the advantages that barrels brought to international commerce, they weren’t very good at the job of insulation, which is the one job that you have to do well to keep things cool and fresh.
This particular challenge, that of insulating, was faced by a farmer from Maryland named Thomas Moore. His homemade butter needed to make it to the local market without going bad, and he had to figure out a way to transport it. What he came up within 1802 was an oval tub, which he called “The Refrigeratory”.
The Refrigeratory was made out of cedar wood, with a rectangular tin box inside it, which would be filled with snow and crushed ice. He then lined the sides of the box in rabbit fur to keep the ice from melting.
This invention got quite popular. So popular, in fact, that it caught the attention of Thomas Jefferson. The president loved it so much he had a large one built for his estate, where butter, meat and ice cream (he really loved his ice cream!) would be stored.
One of the side effects of the invention of The Refrigeratory was that the selling of ice to fill such iceboxes became big business. The idea was also adopted to build ice boxes for railroads that would make it possible to keep food fresh while transporting it around the color, revolutionizing commerce at the time.
Styrofoam: The First Modern Cooler
In 1944, as World War II was ravaging, Dow Chemical, a chemical products company, was thinking hard about how to find a cheap alternative to imported rubber to support the war effort.
Their answer came in the form of the invention of Styrofoam in the same year by Ray ‘Otis’ McIntire, a research engineer at the company.
He pressurized polystyrene, an already well-known chemical with great durability and insulation properties, and then mixed it with isobutylene.
The result was polystyrene foam, also known as Styrofoam. This material had billions of little air pockets in it, not only making it an excellent insulator but also very light. Combined with the durability and strength of polystyrene, it was the perfect replacement for rubber at the time.
Styrofoam proved to be useful for a whole host of applications, ranging from making little Styrofoam beans for packaging to providing insulation for coolers.
The application to coolers came in December 1953, when Richard C. Laramy from Illinois filed a patent for a “Portable Ice Chest and the Like”.
At the time he worked for Queen Stove Works, a business that designed camping equipment, including stoves, ovens, lanterns, and so on.
The ice chest he had patented used Styrofoam for insulation and was called “Kampkold”. The marketing line used at the time was “your home refrigerator away from home!”
How apt.
The Great Coleman Awakening
Queen Stove Works didn’t last very long. It was sold in 1957, and the patent for the Portable Ice Chest and the Like was sold to the Coleman Company.
The president of the company, Sheldon Coleman, wanted to expand the company’s product offering of the company, which was known for lanterns at the time.
Coleman started making coolers with the new patent and switched the name from the “Portable Ice Chest and the Like” to the more palatable cooler.
The very first models were made of galvanized steel, which was quite heavy. Coleman later switched to plastic, which boosted sales of their coolers and made Coleman popular.
So popular, in fact, that lanterns were all but forgotten and the Coleman brand became synonymous with outdoor products.
TIP: If you want to learn more about Coleman’s current offer, we encourage you to read this post. It’s also worth taking a look at their retro-looking Steel Belted cooler.
Other Brands
Over time, other brands picked up on the success of Coleman and started building their own coolers.
One of the earliest was Igloo, which had been around since 1947. Once Igloo started selling ice chests they never stopped, and today they have over 500 models, including such novel models as the Playmate, which even made it to an appearance on Wall-E, the 2008 animation film.
It’s interesting to note that, parallel to the cooler revolution, the advertising revolution was happening as well, and many companies discovered the power of coolers when it came to advertising.
Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Budweiser, and many other companies started producing branded coolers, which were so successful that they led to larger branded coolers, which can be seen even today at food courts and restaurants.
Some of the first coolers branded in this way are now often traded as collector’s items.
Rotomolding and the Yeti Revolution
In 2006, two brothers named Roy and Ryan Seiders noticed that their cooler wasn’t nearly as durable as their boat. It did the cooling job well enough, but it couldn’t handle them standing on it, which they needed to do to make their fishing more effective.
To solve this problem, the brothers looked into the process by which their boat was manufactured, called rotational molding, or rotomolding in short.
The process involves heating a plastic mold with powdered polyethylene added to it and rotating it continuously in order to keep the thickness uniform.
With Styrofoam being looked down upon as insulation material due to its negative environmental impact, they also looked at other forms of insulation and stumbled upon polyurethane, which was not only superior to Styrofoam but also caused the ice to last longer.
They would inject up to 2 inches of polyurethane foam into their ice chests to make for longer ice retention.
From all this, Yeti was born, and it quickly captured much of the cooler market share, with other companies quickly adopting Yeti’s innovations, including rotomolding and the use of polyurethane foam for insulation.
Today, Yeti is the gold standard of the market and has grown into a massive $5 billion public company listed on NYSE with something of a cult following.
Today there are over 40 cooler companies across the country, each trying to differentiate itself from the competition in different ways.
There are lots of innovations that have happened along the way, such as the use of vinyl and nylon to make lunch containers and soft coolers, and neoprene later, which is the same material used in wetsuits (it is waterproof and incredibly easy to clean).
Also the invention of the SolarCooler, which uses solar power to cool its contents, and more recently the Coolest Cooler, which has a waterproof Bluetooth Speaker, USB ports, and various other features.
History of Coolers – Bottom Line
Innovation continues at a rapid pace in the world of coolers, with many brands and innovators coming up with new bells and whistles to add to their machines.
However, the fundamental principles of insulation and manufacturing processes remain largely unchanged, with age-old wisdom seeming to prevail.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be innovated away in the future. It probably will as brands continue to find ways to differentiate themselves.
We’re happy to be curious spectators to the process, and even happier to share what we find with you, our dear reader.
We look forward to a future just as exciting as the history that has gone by, and we’ll do our best to share all the details with you as they arise.