On December 7, 1909, U.S. Patent No. 942,809 issued to Leo Bakeland on a Condensation Product and Method of Making Same:

Bakeland called the product Bakelite, and unlike the plastics before it, Bakelite became instant success, it was cheap to produce, non-flammable, versatile, and could retain its form even when its heated, Bakelite quickly found thousands of applications in products of all kind.

Bakelite was not the first plastic. That honor goes to Parkesine, a celluloid based on nitrocellulose treated with a variety of solvents, created by Alexander Parkes in 1856. Daniel Spill, who worked with Parkes, too over Parkes’ patents, improving the Parkesine, and naming the resulting plastic Xylonite. Businessman John Wesley Hyatt discovered a method to simplify the production of celluloid, making industrial production possible, and founded the Celluloid Manufacturing Company in the US.

On December 6, 1955, Friedrich Nallinger and Rudolf Uhlenhaut received U.S. Patent No. D176278 on the design of an automobile.

The patent covers the production version of the 300 SL race car. The production version of the 300 SL debuted in 1955 with a sleeker and more stylish body, but the same gull wing doors of its race car predecessor. The production 300 SL had a tilt steering wheel. It also had fule injection, and to accommodate the fuel injectors, a raised ridge had to be formed in the hood of the 300 SL, and to maintain a second, parallel raised ridge was formed in the hood as shown in the design patent above.

On December 5, 1854, Aaron H. Allen received U.S. Patent No. 12,017 on an Opera Chair:

The seat pivoted to a vertical orientation when not in use, to allow people to more easily traverse a row, while allowing theaters and similar venues to space rows of seats closer together to increase capacity. This style of seating revolutionized theater-type venues, and is still in use today.

Aaron endured a patent interference, and at least one infringement suit.

On December 4, 1894, Nicholas H. Borgfeldt received U.S. Patent No. 530219 on an Apparatus for Aerial Navigation:

This was not Nicholas’ first foray in the field of aeronautics, he received U.S. Patent No. 411779 on a Flying Machine on October 1, 1889:

It is not clear whether either of these inventions got off the ground, but Nicholas also worked in other fields, patenting a Fire Escape in 1882 (U.S. Patent No. 267,399):

and a cigar bunching machine (U.S. Patent No. 331,676), which was actually litigated, albeit not successfully:

On December 3, 1912, William E. Storms received U.S. Patent No. D43,329 on a Motor Vehicle Body:

The patent was assigned to the Colonial Electric Car Company. This was not just a paper patent, but an actual product on the market (see below). Today we think of electric cars as something new, but they were a reasonable competitor to gasoline powered cars until technological developments allowed the gasoline engine to win out. As often happens, further technological developments have changed that calculus, and electric cars are again competitive — at least for some purposes. Inventors and inventions continue to change the world around us.

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On December 2, 1879, George W. Goff received U.S. Patent No. D11529 on a Sleigh-Bell:

Co-incidentally, sleigh bells are the theme of Harness IP’s 2024 Holiday e-card, which will be published shortly. Sleigh bells actually performed an important function other than inspiring and performing in holiday songs. They would warn of the approach of a fast-traveling sleigh, which moved relatively silently on the snow. Perhaps they will make a comeback on electric cars.

On November 30, 1858, John Landis Mason received a U.S. Patent No. 22186 on a Glass Jar

There were hundreds of designs for fruit jars, but Mason’s jar was the most well-known, so much so that it became the generic name for canning jars. Mason continued to improve the design patenting (U.S. Patent No. 100306) a jar with an improved seal on March 1, 1870, known as the Gem Jar:

Hopefully not too late to save your Thanksgiving dinner, here is a sampling of turkey technology over the years:

U.S. Patent No. 2,128,952, issued September 6, 1938, on Seasoning Poultry that provides “a novel method and apparatus for seasoning a fowl when it is dressed so that the meat of the fowl will be permeated substantially throughout with the seasoning”:

U.S. Patent No. 2,310,690, issued February 9, 1943, on Cooking Food by Electric Conductance by passing electric current through the food”:

U.S. Patent No. 2,633,601 issued April 7, 1953, on a Method of Preparing Fowl involving “skinning the fowl and later using the original skin as a covering for the flesh after the boning operation has been completed”:

U.S. Patent No. 2,708,769 issued May 24, 1955, on a Stuffing Shield for Roasting Fowls to help retain the stuffing inside, while still allowing it to brown:

U.S. Patent No. 3,131,448, issued May 5, 1964, on a Poultry Clip Device to “retain stuffing or the like therein”:

U.S. Patent No. 3,708,312 issued January 2, 1973, issued on a Poultry Product and Method which the “posterior opening of an eviscerated fowl is held open by a tubular device comprising a pair of telescoped members, through which stuffing may be introduced, and in which giblets or other items may be carried”:

Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving (and a delicious turkey)!

On November 24, 1874, Joseph F. Glidden received U.S. Patent No. 157,124 on Wire-Fences (one of the first successful barbed wire designs):

Glidden’s was not the first patent on barbed wire. That honor goes to  Lucien B. Smith, who received U.S. Patent No. 66182 on June 25, 1867.

Glidden’s patent was the best of them, and even surived a challenge in the Supreme Court. confirming a virtual monopoly of the best design.

Isaac Ellwood received U.S. Patent No. 147756 on his own design, but quickly determined that Glidden’s design was superior and the two formed the Barb Fence Company in DeKalb.

Haish was another early barbed wire entrepreneur who obtained several U.S. Patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 152368, 164552, and 167240). Charles Washburn, who obtained his own patent (U.S. Patent No. 186389), completed the “big four” of the early barbed wire industry.

Several historians date the end of the Old West to the invention and subsequent proliferation of barbed wire.