This is my summary of the inventions I learned about in lessons one hundred sixteen through one hundred nineteen. In lessons one hundred sixteen, I studied the invention of the telephone. After the telegraph was invented in 1835, a telegraph company named the Western Union opened. However, they wanted to find a way to send multiple signals on the same line to save money, so they hired Elisha Gray and Thomas Edison to come up with a solution. However, it was Alexander Graham Bell who did it first.

The telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. The telephone makes it possible for people living on opposite sides of the world to have a conversation in real time. Even though it was called a toy at first, the telephone would eventually go on to be used by millions of people everywhere.

In lesson one hundred seventeen, I learned about the invention of the carpet sweeper. The carpet sweeper was invented in 1876 by Melville Bissell. Bissell was quite the entrepreneur; he opened a successful grocery store, then opened a crockery store later with his wife. In fact, it was his wife who inspired him to invent the carpet sweeper when she complained about how hard it was to sweep sawdust out of the carpet!

The carpet sweeper’s wheels have bristles attached to them, which then sweep debris from the floor into the inside of the sweeper. People to this day still use carpet sweepers, since they’re quicker and quieter than a vacuum cleaner.

In lesson one hundred eighteen, I studied the invention of the phonograph. The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877. Edison invented the phonograph when he wondered if it was possible to both record and play back sound. The phonograph works when the sound being recorded causes the stylus (or needle) to vibrate, which etches a pattern into a revolving vinyl disc.

Lastly, lesson one hundred nineteen was about the invention of motion pictures. Edward Muybridge (formerly Muggeridge) invented motion pictures in 1878. Muybridge was a photographer, and he invented motion pictures when a friend of his made a bet that all a horse’s feet leave the ground at once when it’s galloping. Muybridge set up a series of cameras that were triggered independently when the horse ran past and tripped a wire. When he played all the pictures in quick succession, it formed one moving image – the beginning of motion pictures. Today, movies are a big part of entertainment, and they wouldn’t exist if motion pictures hadn’t been invented.