Inventors and Patents From the City of Buffalo

The Buffalo area is known for its innovation and creativity, with 7,674 utility patents issued in New York State last year alone. Inventors in the Buffalo Niagara region have a long history of success, with many inventions beginning here that became hugely successful around the world. Most of these breakthroughs came during Buffalo’s heyday in the nineteenth century, when the city was experiencing a real economic boom.

Seth Wheeler invented the first toilet paper

In the late 19th century, a New York entrepreneur named Seth Wheeler came up with the idea to use perforated toilet paper. During a coronavirus pandemic, this product became a popular item. Wheeler would later become a billionaire and buy an island. Today, the inventor of toilet paper is often mentioned in local speeches and history books. This story is fascinating.

While many of us use the rolled version of toilet paper, Seth Wheeler came up with a much better design. He created toilet paper that was perforated and was designed to easily roll from one end of the roll to the other. His patent for this product even settled the debate over how to roll toilet paper. It was patented in 1891. Today, toilet paper rolls are available in squares.

Despite the fact that toilet paper has become an essential part of our society, it wasn’t always that way. In 1871, Seth Wheeler patented the first toilet paper roll. Two decades later, the company would sell toilet paper that came in rolls. These rolls are still the best way to buy toilet paper. Whether you buy the single-ply variety or a roll of the perforated variety, this invention is sure to meet your needs.

Toilet paper has been around for a long time, but the invention of the modern roll came in the late 1800s. Seth Wheeler was the first to patent perforated toilet paper, and the roll that we use today was patented by the same man. Seth Wheeler was a New Yorker, and he also owned the Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Company, which produced the first rolls of toilet paper on a roll. He was of the opinion that toilet paper should go up and over, and thus invented the toilet paper roll that we have today.

Before the invention of the modern toilet paper roll, people used sheets of Manila hemp. These sheets were dispensed from boxes shaped like Kleenex. Joseph Gayetty’s toilet paper lasted for decades, but most of it was sold in flat sheets. His sheets were marketed as hemorrhoids-prevention products. Interestingly enough, his name was printed on each sheet. In the 1920s, Clarence Scott made toilet paper rolls on a roll, which would become the most popular.

Burns invented the first loaf-at-a-time bread slicer

A new invention revolutionized bread-slicing in the United States in the 1930s. This bread-slicing machine sliced an entire loaf at once. It consists of two frames that support a pair of knives that slice in opposite directions. The opposing movement of the knives counteracts the friction produced during the slicing process. Burns invented this device while working in the jewelry industry.

The first loaf-at-a-time bread-slicer was created in Chicago in 1923. It was invented by Frank Bench, a baker from Chillicothe, Iowa. He had the idea after a conversation with his friend Frank Bench, who worked at the Chillicothe Baking Company to save money for college. The two men later worked together in the company and redesigned the machine to wrap the slices in wax paper.

The first commercial loaf-at-a-time bread slice machine was first used by Chillicothe Baking Company on July 7, 1928. In the early days, the only drawback of this machine was the speed at which the bread stalled. But in the 1920s, Burns and Rohwedder continued to work on the bread-slicing machine and improved upon it. By 1929, more than 80 percent of bread in the U.S. was pre-sliced, which helped make them more affordable for many people.

Before the bread-slicing machine, sliced bread was a new concept. However, the early slices were not uniform and looked sloppy. Furthermore, they went stale faster than the unsliced loaf. Eventually, machine packaging solved this problem. Burns’ invention revolutionized the bread-slicing process. Despite the technological advances, however, the bread-slicing machine has been a staple of the American kitchen.

Greatbatch invented implantable pacemakers

In 1958, Wilson Greatbatch invented the first implantable pacemaker. He co-founded Medtronic, one of the largest medical device companies in the world and a leader in the production of the implantable cardiac pacemaker. Greatbatch was born in Buffalo, New York, on Sept. 6, 1919, and was fascinated by electronics since his early years. He trained as an amateur radio operator and later served in the Navy as a radio repairman. He received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and later a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Buffalo.

At first, pacemakers were large external units that needed to be plugged into a wall socket. Later, Dr. Robert Kaplan developed a smaller pacemaker powered by batteries that could be worn around the neck. In 1956, Greatbatch accidentally invented a smaller device that could be implanted in human hearts. The first implanted patient lived for 18 months. Then, in 1968, a young man who had previously died of heart failure was able to return to work as a hairdresser.

In the late 1920s, Greatbatch was a professor at the University of Buffalo and was working on a circuit for recording tachycardias. By accident, he discovered a circuit that could be used as the basis of an implantable pacemaker. He was amazed that such a tiny device could pump blood through the heart and keep it in rhythm. He spent years perfecting the device is now used to help thousands of patients survive.

In 1956, Wilson Greatbatch was a tinkering electrical engineer who accidentally created the first implantable cardiac pacemaker. Greatbatch had discovered a circuit that could drive the heartbeat and realized that his invention could save the lives of countless people. In fact, three million people today are benefited from Greatbatch’s work. Around 600,000 pacemakers are implanted each year.

In 1960, Wilson Greatbatch became frustrated with the limitations of battery technology and began manufacturing lithium batteries, which allowed for the pacemakers to operate for longer periods of time. Today, over three million people around the world have a pacemaker, thanks to Greatbatch’s invention. His inventions have saved millions of lives and he held more than 300 patents. Although Greatbatch died in 2006, he left behind more than 150 inventions.

Salter invented jiggly dessert

The jiggly dessert is a type of cotton cheesecake that originated in Hakata, Japan in 1948. It was popularized by Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake bakery in the United States. The dessert is made with cream cheese, sugar, and whipped cream. It is now served at Original Cake in Singapore. Salter was not the first to create a jiggly dessert.

While the name ‘jiggly’ may suggest a Japanese confection, this cake is actually a hybrid of souffle and New York style cheesecake. Its texture is more like a fluffy chiffon than a dense New York-style cheesecake. The recipe for jiggly cheesecake is similar to the traditional New York-style cheesecake, but has a slightly different consistency.