...that Charles Goodyear performed some of his experiments on rubber while in debtor's prison? He was there so often he referred to it as his "hotel". Chronically in debt because of poor business sense and ill health, Goodyear depended on the generosity of friends and family. Even after he unlocked the secret to vulcanizing rubber, he was unable to improve his financial situation. When he died, his estate was $200,000 in debt.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7107730 | PSSC complex girder A PSSC complex girder in which a section shape steel structure is formed by joining one or more section shape steel. The PSSC complex girder includes a tension means for tensioning the section shape steel structure with a tensional member so that the structure has a... | 09/19/2006 |
| 6986231 | Architectural column and method and apparatus for production A column comprising courses of building blocks such as bricks is arranged with the long axis of each block parallel to the axis of the column and filled with a substrate such as concrete with an axial structural member. The column may be produced with the aid of a c... | 01/17/2006 |
| 6945002 | Reinforcement for prefabricated concrete panels with improved bonding to concrete A reinforcement for prefabricated concrete panels with improved bonding with concrete, which comprises profiles to be embedded in a concrete body of a panel. At least some of the profiles have perforations and undulations which are suitable to increase the bonding b... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6832458 | Quick-connector for rebar to concrete dowels A quick-connector for terminal fastening of a penetrating rebar (7) to a perpendicularly oriented concrete dowel (2), the connector comprising a wire clip (1) having a deflected segment of wire of the length (L) at least partially made of resili... | 12/21/2004 |
| 6629393 | Masonry reinforcing tie A masonry reinforcing tie is formed of a pair of spaced apart, parallel elongate elements joined by a series of lateral crossmembers welded or otherwise affixed across the elongate members. The elongate elements and crossmembers are preferably formed of h... | 10/07/2003 |
| 6401400 | Industrial vault This invention comprises reinforced industrial vaults with segmented knock-outs having a variety of shapes and orientations. The invention also comprises vaults having cast-in cable racks. The cable racks can be electrically connected to the reinforcing e... | 06/11/2002 |
| 5459967 | Adjustable support structure An adjustable support structure is used to support various types of roofs, such as flat, single slope and double slope roofs. The support structure includes a channel shaped post, a load beam assembly connected to the post at about its uppermost end, an a... | 10/24/1995 |
| 4689867 | Concrete reinforcement spacer and method of use A welded wire concrete reinforcement spacer having spaced uprights with tops projecting up from the bottoms toward one another, a support means on the uprights and located below the tops of the uprights, the tops being spaced sufficiently to allow a reinf... | 09/01/1987 |
| 4627211 | Sled for a reinforcing cage used in a pier A combination support/spacer adapted for attachment to the periphery of a reinforcing cage--prior to the time that the cage is lowered into a pier hole. The support/spacer is configured in such a way as to be aptly referred to as a sled. The sled has a ru... | 12/09/1986 |