https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy en-us 2023-02-27 15:25:53 UTC 2025-12-06 17:29:26 UTC hello@padlet.com bjorlokkenc433 https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2496566957 Cyrus McCormick invented the first mechanical reaper. He based his invention loosely off of the horse drawn reaper that his father had started making and spent ten years making improvements. Before this invention people had to use a hand swung scythe and had to limit their crops to what they were able to harvest. This invention made it easier and faster to harvest crops and although it took a few years to catch on, once people stopped being skeptical it was a huge hit. 

Source: https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/cyrus-mccormick ]]> 2023-02-27 15:38:04 UTC https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2496566957 bjorlokkenc433 https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2496582697 Henry Bessemer is known for inventing the Bessemer Converter. This allowed steel to be mass-produced way cheaper than it ever had before. The machine could make 30 tons of steel in 30 minutes. This idea was not entirely his since someone had already had a patent for the process that he used, but that person went bankrupt and had to sell it to Bessemer who added to it. 

Source: https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/henry-bessemer ]]> 2023-02-27 15:47:56 UTC https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2496582697 bjorlokkenc433 https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2498143885 The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney with the purpose of making the harvesting of cotton easier. The cotton gin removes the seeds from the cotton fiber that had originally had to be removed by hand and made it way faster. The cotton industry was booming and though the cotton gin made it to where less labor was needed to remove the seeds, slave owners just used this to justify planting more crops, which meant more labor, which meant more slavery. 

Source: https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/cotton-gin-and-eli-whitney ]]> 2023-02-28 15:31:46 UTC https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2498143885 bjorlokkenc433 https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2498166430 Isaac Singer invented the Singer Sewing Machine. He did not invent sewing machines in general but his version of the sewing machine was the most effective at the time because he improved on other people's versions. His sewing machine could make 900 stitches per minute while a skilled seamstress could only do 40 per minute. 

Source: https://spartacus-educational.com/Isaac_Singer.htm ]]> 2023-02-28 15:44:43 UTC https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2498166430 bjorlokkenc433 https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2498175813 James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny in the 1760s in order to make spinning threads faster. Previous to this invention it took someone the same amount of time to produce one thread as it did to produce eight threads after the spinning jenny. The smaller wheels were all powered by one larger one.

Source: https://www.faribaultmill.com/pages/spinning-jenny ]]> 2023-02-28 15:50:36 UTC https://padlet.com/bjorlokkenc433/5kvysrto73v5rkxy/wish/2498175813