Cited sources

Here are the sources I used for this information!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Sir-John-Harrington---Inventor-of-The-John&id=3570402 



http://www.mce.k12tn.net/renaissance/inventions.htm < This address was used for more than one invention.


http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/JohnHarrington.htm


http://www.nides.bc.ca/assignments/invent69/Match.htm


http://library.thinkquest.org/C005358/boyle.htm


http://www.doesgodexist.org/MarApr03/RobertBoyleFounderOfModernChemistry.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Boyle#Middle_years


http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke


http://didyouknow.org/submarine


http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Gutenberg.htm


http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg

The Last and Final Invention

     This is the last invention of the renaissance, and probably one of the more important. We've covered the flushable toilet, matches, and the submarine.... Now for invention 4/4, and maybe the most well known invention of the Renaissance period....
     The movable type!
     It was modified from the printing press by Johannes Gutenburg. Instead of having just a few preset words, like 'Good', 'night', and 'moon', you could just use the letters instead of the words so that you could instead say 'Good night, Mr. Johnson, and thanks for the pie.' It was much more efficient and simpler. He made letters, symbols, and numbers. A lot more work could be done and a lot more things could be made, which led to much more money. Here is some more facts about Johannes Gutenberg:

• His full name is Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg. It's very long and difficult :P
• Born in Mainz, Germany. Mainz is the capitol of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
• There was a lot of new books, probably due to his printing of the Gutenberg Bible. This was the first Bible people mass-produced.
• Gutenberg started printing the bibles on February 23rd of 1455.
• Gutenberg wasn't very smart about his new business and didn't get much money out of it.
• He had legal difficulties and eventually lost his presses to his partner, Johann Fust.
• There are only 60 of the original Gutenberg Bibles left in the world.
• Gutenberg died in his hometown of Mainz in 1468.

     In conclusion, this invention was very important to this time and is very inmportant to us now. We would still be printing words for word, and the language wouldn't hav changed from that time period. It would be difficult for us to get ahold of books because they'd be so hard to make.

We All Live In A Leather Submarine.... For A Few Hours. Invention 3/4

     The invention of the submarine was actually very interesting. One of the earlier prototypes had oars on it through airtight seals. They probably looked ridiculous, until Cornelius Drebbel finally got it right in 1620.
     Let's start from the beginning, though. It started with Leonardo Da Vinci, but he kept his plans to himself. He didn't want war to become more terrifying than it was at that time. That was sometime before 1578, when William Bourne, a British mathematician, drew up plans for a submarine. Neither of their ships were built, but in 1620, Cornelius Drebbel built a leather rowboat with oars. The oars were on either side, like a normal rowboat, but where the oars came out of a boat were sealed to be airtight. Only twelve people could ride in it at a time. Here's a little bit more about Drebbel and his invention:

• Drebbel was an engineer for the British navy.
• He was the first to discuss the problem of fresh air being accessible underwater.
• This submarine could only go underwater about fifteen feet.
• It could stay down for only a few hours at a time.

    The submarine was first used for warfare in 1776 and was modified by David Bushnell, who was actually from the U.S. He called it 'Turtle'. It was a one man little sub that was made out of wood and was powered by hand turned propellers. It was used during the American Revolution. They partially submerged to attach explosives to the hulls of ships. The Turtle worked, but the explosives didn't because they were underwater.
     In conclusion, the submarine was a great invention because it was very difficult to make it work and to design it. It would've had to stay underwater with no leaks and a constant flow of fresh air. Once again, think about where we would be without the submarine. We couldn't fix underwater oil spills, study the Great Barrier Reef and other underwater life, and we wouldn't know a lot about our history, such as the Titanic. We would know about it, but we couldn't have gone underwater and gotten little itty bitty pieces to learn more about it.

Worst Enemy, Best Friend- Invention 2/4

     Fire is helpful and hurtful at the same time. It can destroy homes and forests in a matter of minutes, but without it, we can't have heat in the winter, and we couldn't have fun family campfires in the summer. Fire is in our lives nearly every day. And one step to having fire more handy than banging rocks together is the invention of the match.
     The match was invented in 1680 by Robert Boyle. One day, he found out that when you rub phosphorus and sulfur together, it would burst into flame. Keep in mind that these were a very primitive form and sometimes would burst into flames when they were accidentally rubbed in a pocket. It was modified over the years into the match we rarely see anymore, due to the invention of the lighter. Here are some more facts about Robert Boyle:

• He is most famous for Boyle's Law, which is a physical law that explains how the pressure and volume of different gases are related to each other.
• He was the 7th son of the Earl of Cork. Earl of Cork was one of richest men in the world. He was worried his kids would be too spoiled. He thought it would help if he sent his kids to live in poor families. From a half year old to 4 years old, he lived with a peasant family.
• He was born on January 25th, 1627 in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland. He died on December 31st, 1691
  at age 64 in London, England.
• Robert Hooke was his assitant type guy, who made the Hooke's Law of elasticity, modified and designed telescopes, and had a quarrels with Isaac Newton over little things here and there, such as gravity.
• He studied physics and chemistry.

     In conclusion, his invention may not be used often today, but it helped us modify it and learn more about sparking flames, which led to the invention of the lighter. Who knows where we would be without the invention of the match? The lighter is used a lot today, and without his knowledge and discoveries in science then, we wouldn't be very far.

Your Flush, Your Majesty- 1/4 Inventions Of the Renaissance

     Yes, really, the flush toilet was invented during the Renaissance period. It was modified from a hole in a bench by Sir John Harrington, Queen Elizabeth's godson. He made it in 1596 and was teased so badly that he decided he wouldn't make another. But 200 years later, Alexander Cummings modified it and called it the water closet (Fun fact! In French blueprints today, half bathrooms appear as w/c- meaning water closet). He then also invented the strap; the sliding valve between the bowl and the trap. In 1778, Joseph Brama invented a hinged valve on the bottom of the bowl.

     This might sound a bit outlandish, but it's a legitimate invention. Here are some more facts about Sir John Harrington:

• Sir John Harrington was one of 102 godchildren to the queen.
• He was born in 1561 in Kelston, Somersetshire, England.
• He was also a writer; his most famous writing was “A New Discourse upon a Stale Subject: the Metamorphosis of Ajax.” Ajax is like the Old English slang term 'a jakes', which stands for toilet.
• His mother was actually the gentlewoman of the Queen's privy chamber, so maybe he had a natural talent for toilet modifications. This actually was also what made him a godchild.
• He was knighted as a Knight of the Bath.

     This is an important invention to mankind because it's healthier than having a nasty germy hole in a nasty germy bench. It's prevented a lot of disease. Imagine where we'd be without flushing toitlets- as crazy as that sounds- but it'd be a huge cause to disease and we'd have a much smaller population due to that. It's also very helpful... Obviously.....

     So, in conclusion, the flushing toilet is an everyday invention that you now know more about. Stay posted for more inventions :)