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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 04/10/2026

1/3 On this day in 1951, Alexander Salot, a shoemaker from Bremen-Blumenthal, received German Patent No. 815761 for “Football boots or the like with exchangeable anti-skid studs”. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

German Patent No. 815761 for “Football boots or the like with exchangeable anti-skid studs” (DE815761C - Fussballstiefel o. dgl. mit auswechselbaren Gleitschutzstollen).

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 02/10/2026

1/2 I’ve just read the new book “Unfettered Invention: How the X Patents Sparked Early American Technology” by Scott Guthery, Julie Burke, and Michael Risch. #PatentHistory #Patents

“Unfettered Invention: How the X Patents Sparked Early American Technology” by Scott Guthery, Julie Burke, and Michael Risch.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 01/10/2026

1/3 On this day in 1981, German Patent No. 2205525 was granted to the toy company Geobra Brandstätter for a “Toy figure”, the Playmobil figure invented by Hans Beck. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents #Playmobil

German Patent No. 2205525 for a “Toy figure” (DE2205525C2, “Spielzeugfigur”).

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 27/09/2026

1/3 On this day in 1921, Stanley Valinski received US Patent No. 1,392,095 for a “Man-catching tank”. Its intended destination was not a battlefield, but a bank lobby. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

Frightful Trap for Bank Bandits. Popular Science. October, 1926.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 25/09/2026

On this day in 2001, Joe Armstrong received US Patent No. 6,293,874 for a “User-operated amusement apparatus for kicking the user’s buttocks”. Apparently, even kicking yourself was a problem worth solving properly. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 24/09/2026

1/2 On this day in 1877, fire devastated the U.S. Patent Office and destroyed tens of thousands of patent models. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents #USPTO

The fire in the Patent Office. Illustrations after photographs by Timothy O'Sullivan.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 23/09/2026

1/2 On this day in 1930, Johannes Ostermeier received US Patent No. 1,776,637 for a “Flash lamp”, a patent behind the first commercially successful flashbulbs. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 22/09/2026

On this day in 1903, Eldridge Johnson received US Patent No. 739,318 for a “Sound-record”. His invention concerned the paper label at the centre of the disc. Small improvements matter, even when they look obvious in hindsight. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

“At the Jazz Band Ball” by the ODJB released as a Victor 78 single, 18457-A, 1918.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 20/09/2026

1/2 On this day in 1955, Hugo Gernsback received US Patent No. 2,718,083 for a “Hydraulic fishery” designed to pump fish from the sea straight to shore. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 19/09/2026

Here are the drawings from Duldig’s British Patent No. 318577 for her ‘Flirt’ umbrella. The licence fees helped pay for furniture she designed for her Vienna home. Some of it still survives in Melbourne, a tangible legacy of that rainy-day frustration.

British Patent No. 318577 for "Improvements in or relating to foldable umbrellas and the like".

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 19/09/2026

Die Originalzeichnungen aus Melville Bissells US-Patent Nr. 182,346 von 1876. Er hat den Teppichkehrer zwar nicht erfunden, aber offenbar entscheidend verbessert.

US Patent No. 182,346 for an "Improvement in carpet-sweepers".

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 19/09/2026

Not as beautiful as those vintage nylon ads, and probably much less exciting to most people. But behind them was US Patent No. 2,130,948, one of the key patents in the story of nylon.

US Patent No. 2,130,948 for a "Synthetic fiber".

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 17/09/2026

1/3 On this day in 1968, An Wang received US Patent No. 3,402,285 for a “Calculating apparatus”, concerning the logarithmic technology behind Wang Laboratories’ early calculators. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

Henry Briggs’s 1624 treatise “Arithmetica logarithmica“.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 16/09/2026

1/5 On this day in 1884, John Nelson received US Patent No. 305,102 for an “Illuminating device for frightening rats and mice”, essentially a cardboard cat. Even contemporary newspapers treated the invention as something of a curiosity. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 15/09/2026

1/2 On this day in 1891, Seth Wheeler received US Patent No. 459,516 for a toilet-paper roll. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 459,516 for "Wrapping or toilet paper roll".

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 11/09/2026

1/3 On this day in 1841, US Patent No. 2,252 was granted to American painter John Goffe Rand for an “Improvement in the construction of vessels or apparatus for preserving paint, &c.” #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 2,252 for an “Improvement in the construction of vessels or apparatus for preserving paint, &c.”

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 10/09/2026

1/2 On this day in 1846, Elias Howe received US Patent No. 4,750 for an “Improvement in sewing-machines”. It would become one of the foundational patents of the sewing-machine industry, although Howe initially struggled to make money from the machine itself. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 09/09/2026

On this day in 1843, Nancy Johnson received US Patent No. 3,254 for an “Artificial Freezer”. She did not invent ice cream. She simply found a much better way to make it. A hand crank, ice, salt, and a clever beater changed the process. #OTD #OnThisDay #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 06/09/2026

1/5 On this day in 2011, patent attorney Ignacio Marc Asperas received US Patent No. 8,011,991 for an “Apparatus for facilitating the construction of a snow man/woman”. #OTD #OnThisDay #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 8,011,991 for an “Apparatus for facilitating the construction of a snow man/woman”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 05/09/2026

I may have had a slight professional advantage when it comes to patent searching. 🙂 U.S. Patent No. 4,105,925, “Optical Object Locator.” A neat early machine-vision system for locating and orienting parts on a moving conveyor.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 05/09/2026

1/3 On this day in 1899, Robert O’Loughlin received US Patent No. 632,361 for a “Pattern for Garments”, an improvement to sewing patterns. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents #Butterick

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 04/09/2026

1/2 On this day in 1888, George Eastman received US Patent No. 388,850 for a “Camera”. #OnThisDay #PatentHistory #Patents #Kodak

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 02/09/2026

1/2 On this day in 1986, Ralph Piro received US Patent No. 4,608,967 for a “Pat on the back apparatus”. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 01/09/2026

And here is what Edison's Kinetograph looked like on paper. U.S. Patent No. 589,168 for the “Kinetographic Camera” was granted on Aug. 31, 1897, although the application had been filed six years earlier, on Aug. 24, 1891. The patent drawings show the mechanism behind those pioneering moving images.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 01/09/2026

1/3 There are useful inventions. There are ingenious inventions. And then there are inventions that are simply beautiful. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 325,548 for a “One-wheeled Vehicle”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 27/08/2026

1/3 On this day in 1995, Kevin Amiss and Martin Abbott received US Patent No. 5,443,036 for a “Method of exercising a cat”. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 26/08/2026

1/3 On this day in 1930, Philo Farnsworth received US Patent No. 1,773,980 for a “Television system”. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 25/08/2026

1/3 On this day in 1810, merchant Peter Durand received English Patent No. 3372 for “Preserving animal food and vegetable food”. The patent is often associated with the invention of the tin can. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 23/08/2026

On this day in 1904, Harry Weed received US Patent No. 768,495 for a “Grip-tread for pneumatic tires”, an early version of the familiar tire chain. The invention became closely associated with the commercially successful Weed tire chain brand. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 28/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1964, Marc Chavannes received US Patent No. 3,142,599 for a “Method for making laminated cushioning material”, now associated with Bubble Wrap. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 25/07/2026

1/3 On this day in 1916, Arthur Hugo Cecil Gibson received US Patent No. 1,192,514 for a “Self-propelled vehicle”, assigned to the Auto-Ped Company of America. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

Lady Florence Norman, a suffragette, on her motor-scooter in 1916.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 25/07/2026

On this day in 1886, Friedrich Soennecken received German Patent No. 40,065 for a “Paper punch for collecting folders, letter files and the like”. It introduced the familiar form of the modern two-hole office punch. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 23/07/2026

1/4 On this day in 1829, William Austin Burt received a US Patent No. X5581 for the “Typographer”, the first typewriting machine patented in the United States. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 22/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1873, Louis Pasteur received US Patent No. 141,072 for an “Improvement in the manufacture of beer and yeast”. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 21/07/2026

1/3 On this day in 1987, John Geddie received US Patent No. 4,681,244 for a “Portable bar” worn on the head. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 20/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1999, Dennis Olsen received US Patent No. 5,924,732 for an “In-line skate sail”, with poles attached to the skates and a sail above the user’s head. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 18/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1945, Lynn Williams filed a patent application for a “Smoke screen generator”, later granted as US Patent No. 2,476,171. It produced an oil fog from an aircraft to conceal military operations. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents #Chemtrails

US Patent No. 2,476,171 for a “Smoke screen generator”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 17/07/2026

1/4 On this day in 1888, US Patent No. 386,289 was granted to Miriam Benjamin for a “Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels, &c.” #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 386,289 for a “Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels, &c.”

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 14/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1868, US Patent No. 79,965 was granted to Alvin Fellows for an “Improvement in tape measures”. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 79,965 for an “Improvement in tape measures”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 14/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1885, US Patent No. 322,177 was granted to Sarah Elisabeth Goode for a “Cabinet-bed”. Her invention combined a folding bed with a functional desk, helping furniture serve two purposes in limited space. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents #BlackHistory

US Patent No. 322,177 for a “Cabinet-bed”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 13/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1961, German Patent No. 1 097 117 was issued to Artur Fischer for a “Spreizdübel”, or expansion plug. It became the basis of the Fischer S plug, one of the world’s most recognisable wall plugs. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

German Patent No. 1 097 117 (DE1097117B) for a “Spreizdübel”, or expansion plug.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 12/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1881, US Patent No. 244,358 was granted to William Brown and Benjamin Haugh for a “Jail or prison”. It became the basis of the rotary “squirrel cage jail”, where an entire circular cellblock rotated behind a single entrance. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 244,358 for a “Jail or prison”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 10/07/2026

1/3 On this day in 1962, US Patent No. 3,043,625 was granted to Nils Bohlin for a “Safety belt”, the three-point safety belt. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents #Volvo

US Patent No. 3,043,625 for a “Safety belt”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 09/07/2026

1/3 On this day in 1968, US Patent No. 3,392,261 was granted for a “Portable beam generator”. It is the famous patent often described online as a hand-held laser ray gun. The drawing certainly looks like science fiction. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 3,392,261 for a “Portable beam generator”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 09/07/2026

On this day in 1991, US Patent No. 5,031,161 was granted for a “Life Expectancy Timepiece”. A digital watch that counted down your estimated remaining life. Basically a fitness tracker for the one metric everyone eventually completes. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 09/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1940, US Patent No. 2,206,860 was granted to Paul Sperry for a “Shoe”. It became the foundation of the famous Sperry Top-Sider. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 08/07/2026

1/3 On this day in 1969, US Patent No. 3,454,279 was granted for the game later known as Twister. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 3,454,279 for an “Apparatus for playing a game wherein the players constitute the game pieces”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 08/07/2026

1/3 On this day in 1925, German Patent No. 416219 was granted for Arthur Scherbius’s “Encryption machine”, one of the foundational patents behind the Enigma machine. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

German Patent No. 416219 (DE416219C) for an “Encryption machine”.

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 07/07/2026

1/2 On this day in 1964, Otto Schueller received US Patent No. 3,139,622 for a “Moon Capsule Suit”. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

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Peteris Skorovs @peteris.skorovs.com · 07/07/2026

1/3 On this day in 1936, Henry Phillips received five US patents for the Phillips screw system. #OnThisDay #OTD #PatentHistory #Patents

US Patent No. 2,046,837 for Means for uniting a screw with a driver”.

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