See, I knew our friends to the North gave us more than good beer. On Jan 3, 2008, at 6:39 PM, Dale Leavens wrote:
> > Tools - in true Canadian fashion > > Although a much smaller market than the US, Canada has had its share > of successes in the tool industry. In fact you may be surprised that > some of the tools > you've become accustomed to having around the house and working with > could have been invented right here in Canada. We've paid our dues, > so to speak, and > no doubt Canadians will continue to innovate, respecting the fine > tradition of craftsmanship and quality. Let's take a quick tour of > some Canadian examples > of sheer genius in the last century... > > You've seen those colour-coded screwdriver heads to indicate the > small to large size. We owe our thanks to P.L. Robertson, a > Canadian. This was back in > the early 1900s when Mr. Robertson finally got his square headed > driver and screw system into place. It was so effective that an > American company called > the Fisher Body Company decided to use it. The Fisher Body Company > by the way was famous for its construction of the Ford Model T. Mr. > Robertson's "head" > is used in about 85% of the screws sold in Canada. > > A Canadian man simply adored nails (not the painted ones that ladies > give loving care to) that he made quite a fortune out of them. Allan > Dove is said to > be the founder of the world's premier nail. Thinking "spiral" while > he was working in Stelco, he proposed to Stelco in 1954 that there > must be a nail that > can be better designed to make fastening more efficient. Stelco > accepted his idea and this gave rise to what is now called the Ardox > nail. It was designed > with a helical spiral running from the tip to the head. This design > was far superior than the other nails already in existence. The ease > of driving it > - made possible by the spiral forcing wood fibers to the sides of > the nail; and two, the Ardox nail was found to have 85% more holding > power - non-spiraled > nails tended to loosen up after a few days. > > Tools: more from Canada > > Ah, but of course, who doesn't recognize a paint roller? An > entrepreneur from Toronto, Norman Breakey announced, that the paint > roller would revolutionize > the painting and decorating industry, and he was right. He also > announced that it would produce a creative generation of do-it- > yourselfers, and he was > right again. There was just one problem. One imitator after another > appeared on the scene and since Breakey didn't have the financial > resources to defend > his invention, all the copy cats became a burden too large for him > to bear. > > Caulking gun - bet you didn't think this was a Canadian original. > Theodore Witte got the idea from his local baker to execute a > smooth, weatherproof seal > by forcing window putty through a nozzle. Cake makers were using a > kind of gun to apply icing on their cake, but have since abandoned > the gun and picked > up the cloth bag which was much easier to handle. Today, caulk > manufacturers started introducing squeezable caulk tubes that work > just like the cloth bag. > > There were more Canadian inventions - too many to mention them all > here. So next time you pick up one of your tools to work with, try > to imagine what went > into its invention. Tools hold fascinating histories and mysterious > stories that might entertain you! > > Article Source: www.canadianhomeworkshop.com > > Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Skype DaleLeavens > Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > Scott Howell [EMAIL PROTECTED] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
