Invent: To produce or contrive (something previously unknown) by the use of inge
nuity or imagination. The world would be a much poorer place without our great B
ritish inventions - from cat's eyes to crossword puzzles, tarmac to telephones,
steam engines to shorthand, pneumatic tyres to penicillin, British inventions ha
ve led the world. We Brits are a creative lot.
Entrepreneurial Hubert Cecil B
ooth invented the 'Puffing Billy', the first powered vacuum cleaner, while John
Walker was the bright spark who discovered matches in 1827. He coated the end of
a piece of stick with chemicals which, when rubbed against a rough surface, bur
st into flames. And where would we be without flush loos? Invented by Sir John H
arrington, not Thomas Crapper as many maintain, although Crapper was a nineteent
h-century plumber who patented a few bathroom fittings ...These are called eurek
a moments, when chance and inspiration combine to create something wonderful.
