Steamed about a Cheeseburger

One of the best parts of presenting Connecticut Invents! is the chance to get on the road and discover the things that make our state unique. Yesterday after a program at the Hamden library and one my way to one in Glastonbury I had a few minutes to stop for lunch. Looking at my map of Connecticut my eyes were immediately drawn to Meriden. Why you may ask? Two words: Steamed Cheeseburger. And yes, this is a Connecticut invention! So I set off for Meriden where Ted’s Restaurant serves up this central Connecticut specialty.

By a variety of accounts (and like everything else, there are many accounts) the first steamed burger was served up sometime in the early 20th century in either Meriden or Middletown Connecticut. Why steamed? Well some folks believed and still do, that steaming a burger makes it healthier than frying. The meat for a steamer (as the burgers are sometimes called) isn’t formed into a patty, its cooked in mini pans that fit inside the steamer machine or tender. (Which I’m trying to learn more about. Were they invented in Connecticut?) The meat cooks in its own juices, thus keeping it incredibly moist and flavorful. And the cheese for the burger? It’s cheddar and softened seperately prior to topping off the burger. It turns out molten hot and gooey…………..what else can I say?

So yes, I enjoyed my steamy Connecticut invention. And while wiping the juices and dripping cheese off my face I thought about how cool it is that such a small state like Connecticut invented everything from the steamed burger to the submarine…….

“On the Road Again”…….

The Connecticut Invents! summer program tour has begun! Yesterday was my first program of the summer and it was great! Inventive kids, great hosts and a historic building. What more could I hope for? I was in Sprague Connecticut, which for those of you who have never been there is just north of Norwich, on the Shetucket River. The library where I presented the program is located in a beautiful old grist mill (circa 1856) right on the river. I even had a chance to check out the remains of the mill works before the program began. Very cool in a lot of ways but mainly just because it is neat to see Connecticut history in its original setting.

Sprague is a pretty small town (with a rich industrial past) but even so it has had its share of Connecticut inventors. A quick check of the Connecticut Patents Database shows that the town had three inventors granted patents for a “loom picker”, “alarm clock” and “warp dressing machine” between 1862 and 1880. It just goes to show you that inventors and inventions can come from anywhere.

After the program ended I took in some more Connecticut history. Stopping in Lebanon I visited the gravesites of our Revolutionary War Governor John Trumbull and one of Connecticut’s signers of the Declaration of Independence, William Williams. And finally, I ate one of Connecticut’s inventions: a hamburger at Harry’s in Colchester. Truly an inventive and historical day in the Nutmeg state……

Next week I’m off to Salisbury and Farmington to present the program. As Willie Nelson says “I can’t wait to get on the road again…………” Hope to see you there!

Sub Sandwich

Thank you Benny Capalbo from New London Connecticut. Without you many of us would have gone hungry at lunch or dinner. You are given credit for inventing the Sub sandwich. Its traditional ingredients make me crave one as I write this: salami, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salt, pepper and olive oil. All encased in a chewy loaf of bread shaped like another Connecticut invention: the submarine. (The chewy part is important here, as one has to chew or grind away at the bread, hence the alternate name of Grinder.) So how did Benny invent such a tasty treat you may wonder?

Benny Capalbo landed on American shores from his native Italy in 1913. By 1920 he had set up a small grocery store in New London’s Italian section where he sold a variety of food and supplies. As the story goes Benny brought with him from Italy the recipe for the sandwich which he had been making it for friends and relatives for years.

The time and location were right as well. New London was a busy seaport city with thousands of men working in shipyards and at the nearby Submarine base. Hungry sailors and dock workers? Sounds like the perfect place to sell a sandwich. Which is exactly what Benny started to do in 1926 from his small grocery.

The sandwiches were a huge hit. Easy to make, inexpensive and most of all delicious. At one point during World War II the base commissary was ordering hundreds of them a day to feed the sailors and submariners. Other grocers in New London and surrounding towns began selling them as their popularity grew. When sailors returned home or went to other ports they brought with them the taste for the sandwich and soon had other local grocery and deli owners serving them all around the country. As the sandwich’s fame spread the name changed, different ingredients were added and soon many people forgot where the simple sandwich got its start.

Benny never achieved fame or fortune from his invention. In fact his business closed soon after World War II ended. When he died in 1950 few noted the passing of a man who gave us all such a culinary delight. So the next time you bite down into a sub sandwich and grind away at the bread think of Benny and how life is just a bit better because of his invention.

A Silly Invention

Silly Putty, if you haven’t played with it you’ve probably at least heard of it. Connecticut has had many “serious” inventions: submarines, helicopters, revolving pistols, cotton gins, steamboats etc. But we’ve also had our share of inventions that are just plain fun including theWiffle Ball, Frisbie and of course Silly Putty. This Connecticut invention has gone on to be one of the most successful toys of the past 100 years and it all got started by accident.

Back in 1943, during World War II, James Wright was working for General Electric in New Haven trying to create a man made rubber that the U.S. government could use for the war effort. (Natural rubber was in short supply and needed for tires and other products.) During his work Wright combined Boric acid with silicone oil in a test tube. The mixture turned gooey in the test tube. Wright was so excited that when he pulled it out of the tube he dropped some of the stuff on the ground and to his surprise it bounced!

For several years General Electric tried to find a use for the bouncing, gooey putty mixture. Samples were sent all around the world but no one could come up with a serious use for the product. But it sure was fun to play with! It can bounce, stretch, copy pictures from comic book…….fun stuff.

Eventually the true potential of the putty was found. It was marketed and sold as a kids toy and given the name Silly Putty by Peter Hodgson who bought the rights to the mixture from General Electric. Production was started in a barn in North Branford Connecticut in 1950. Through clever advertising and packaging Silly Putty was soon a hit with kids all across the country. In 1968 Silly Putty entered the space age as it went along for the ride with the Apollo 8 astronauts. (They used it to hold down small tools in the zero gravity space environment.)

In 1977 the Binney & Smith company acquired the rights to Silly Putty. Recent Silly Putty innovations include Putty that changes colors with the warmth of your hand and metallic gold Silly Putty. It has even been featured in an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution. Since 1950 over 300 million packages of Silly Putty have been sold and Binney and Smith still produce nearly 90 tons of the stuff each year!

Just think, what started as a mistake in a Connecticut factory has turned into one of the most popular toys in history. Now that’s a great Connecticut invention!! Learn more about Silly Putty at www.sillyputty.com

Connecticut Inventor: Sam Colt

Originally uploaded by ironsides1796.
Hartford native Samuel Colt (1814-1862) is perhaps best known as the inventor of the first practical revolving pistol. His invention gave Colt gun users greatly increased firepower compared to guns that had to be reloaded after every shot. Colt operated a huge factory in Hartford that produced hundreds of thousands of guns for personal, military and law enforcement use. In fact during the Civil War alone the factory made over 500,000 guns for the United States. Colt firearms also produced weapons used in both World Wars, Korea and Vietnam. Today the Colt factory is still in business in West Hartford Connecticut producing high quality firearms for a variety of purposes.

The Museum of Connecticut History displays the Colt Factory Collection. This amazing collection is one of the best in the world, displaying prototype and experimental firearms, Gatling guns, shotguns and automatic weapons all made by Colt. Also on display are Colt marketing materials and the original “Rampant Colt” statue which stood atop the factory for many years.

Samuel Colt is perhaps Connecticut’s most famous inventor. Learn more about him and the Colt company at www.colt.com

Coming to a Library Near You…..Connecticut Invents!

This summer Connecticut Invents!, an education program of the Museum of Connecticut History, will once again visit libraries all across Connecticut in the summer of 2007. Kids entering 4th or 5th grade are invited to join us and take part in the program. Participants will learn about famous Connecticut inventors and inventions and become inventors themselves. Last summer the museum visited 19 towns all around the state. This year we’ll be in 23 towns! If we’re in a town near you make sure you sign up for the program at the library and become a Connecticut Inventor yourself!! Here’s where we’ll be in the summer of 2007…… Please note, 2008 dates will be announced soon.

July 5th Sprague Public Library 10:30-12:00

July 10th Salisbury-Scoville Memorial Library 10:30-12:00

July 12th Farmington Public Library 2:00-3:30

July 17th Somers Public Library 10:30-12:00

July 17th Coventry Public Library 1:00-2:30

July 19th Beacon Falls Public Library 11:00-12:30

July 19th Plumb Library-Shelton 1:30-3:00

July 24th Terryville Public Library 3:00-4:30

July 26th Hamden Public Library 10:30-12:00

July 26th Glastonbury Public Library 2:00-3:30

July 31st Voluntown Public Library 10:30-12:00

August 2nd Wheeler Library Monroe 10:30-12:00

August 2nd Woodbridge Library 2:30-4:00

August 7th Stratford Library 11:00-12:30

August 7th Derby Neck Library-Derby 2:00-3:30

August 9th Milford Public Library 11:30-1:00

August 13th Danbury Public Library 1:30-3:00

August 14th Hebron Public Library 11:00-12:30

August 14th Newington Public Library 1:30-3:00

August 16th Scotland Public Library 10:30-12:00

August 16th Trumbull Library-Lebanon 2:00-3:30

August 21st Cheshire Public Library 10:30-12:00

August 23rd Tolland Public Library 1:00-2:30

Keep checking this blog for program updates and interesting stuff about Connecticut inventors…….

A Not So Famous Connecticut Invention

PatentOriginally uploaded by ironsides1796.

Here’s an example of a Connecticut invention that has been lost to history. This is a patent drawing of Isaac Goodyear’s invention of a “Pocket Burglar Alarm” for which the Norwich resident received a patent in 1859. How sucessful was it? That’s a mystery of history……..

Connecticut-The Invention State

While Connecticut may be a small state in geographical terms, it has been huge historically in terms of inventions and inventors.  Since 1790 well over 100,000 patents have been granted to Connecticut inventors. Between 1876 and 1890 the US Patent office ranked Connecticut first in per capita number of patents every year except three. A well educated, diverse workforce, access to natural resources, geographic location and a good transportation infrastructure all contributed to our inventive past. The Museum of Connecticut History maintains the Connecticut Patents Database, a research tool which allows the curious to discover the thousands of inventors and inventions which have come from our state between 1800-1900. Users can discover the names, dates and types of inventions as well as from which town in Connecticut they hail from. Truly a great way to make local history come alive for kids and adults. Combine this with Google’s new patent search and one can easily find images and descriptions of all sorts of inventions throughout our state and country’s history.

Sikorsky, Goodyear, Colt and Whitney are all familiar names to students of American industrial history. The helicopter, vulcanized rubber, revolving pistols and the cotton gin were invented in Connecticut. Those are just a few of the “big” name inventors and their inventions who were nutmeggers. On a smaller scale but no less important in different inventive ways are the Frisbee, Wiffle Ball, Steamboat, Retractable Tape Measure, Toothpaste tube, Silly Putty and of course the Hamburger. All of which got their start here in Connecticut and all of which are just a few of the thousands of products that can make that claim. Learn what inventions come from your Connecticut hometown by using the Connecticut Patent Database link on the museum’s website at www.museumofcthistory.org

Connecticut Invents! Returns for Summer 2007

The Museum of Connecticut History at the Connecticut State Library will again offer its hands-on education program Connecticut Invents! to libraries throughout Connecticut. The program, best suited for children entering 4th or 5th grade, is a hands-on exploration of famous Connecticut inventors and their inventions. Participants will discover a sampling of the many inventions that have come from Connecticut over the past 200 years and get to become inventors themselves. Last summer nearly 500 kids took part in this fun, educational and dynamic program. Best of all this 60-90 minute program is offered free of charge to all public libraries in Connecticut! The program will be offered on Tuesday and Thursday’s beginning July 5th and ending August 23rd. To learn more contact Patrick Smith, Curator of Education at 860-757-6693 or psmith@cslib.org