...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5682681 | Fiber drum chime removing system A fiber drum chime removing system for disassembling fiber or paperboard drums having metal chimes has a stationary cutting assembly and a movable cutting assembly. The stationary cutting assembly cuts the upper edge of the fiber sidewall of the drum to r... | 11/04/1997 |
| 4380123 | Tool for opening a can or the like A tool for opening of a can or the like has a first portion and a second portion extending transversely to each other. The second portion has a pointed tip and a cutting edge, whereas the first portion has a cutout with an outlet which is open at the seco... | 04/19/1983 |