Thursday, November 29, 2007
Cat's Eye Reflections
Sad news about the cat's-eye reflector. This was one of those great British inventions hit upon by chance by a gifted amateur with a bright idea - which used to be the British way, and perhaps still is. It's gloriously simple, has lasted for more than 70 years - and will surely last a great deal longer, at least on minor roads - and it must have saved thousands of lives. Its inventor, the great Yorkshireman Percy Shaw, offered various accounts of what gave him his idea - but he felt the need for such an invention expecially acutely as he was in the habit of going out for 'a few beers' of an evening and was fed up with veering off the road on the way home. And so the rolling English drunkard made the safer English road.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
Sad Nige, if it weren't for the fact that its replacement is also 'a great British inventions hit upon by chance by a gifted amateur with a bright idea'. This guy's going to make a fortune.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, that's very true... Judy says Hi by the way. I left her sitting up in bed with a box of Krispy Kremes and a pot of tea. She seemed happy.
ReplyDelete"Necessity is the mother of invention." I'm not surprised Shaw's the dude who invented the cat's eye.
ReplyDeleteI happen to live in the city where one man invented: lending libraries, fire departments, local militias, public vaccinations, and I don't know what else -- though the historians could tell you.
And so the rolling English drunkard made the safer English road.
ReplyDeleteAs serious students of the Empire well know, the rolling English drunkard made the whole world safer.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNige, you're clearly a lover and a thinker.
ReplyDeleteIf Judy's busy, do you mind popping around? And bring your feather boa. I can't stop thinking about your legs.
dell latitude d500 battery
ReplyDeletedell latitude d600 battery
dell inspiron 510m battery