An important statistical technique was invented at Guinness’s Dublin brewery, as part of quality control in 1908. By helping to improve the product, it helped to make Guinness an international brand. An extract from our new book, Ingenious Dublin, for Arthur’s Day 2012. If you wanted to know the average height of the Irish population […]
Tag Archives | history of science
New book celebrates Dublin inventions, discoveries and hidden stories
Think you know Dublin? Press release: August 27th 2012 Where in Dublin can you peer inside a Victorian diving bell? Or see the skeleton of Tommy, the prince’s elephant? Where was the world’s first earthquake experiment done? Did you know the hypodermic syringe was invented in the former Meath Hospital? And that Dublin algebra […]
A song, a walk and a good equation: podcast tour 1
Do you enjoy a song, a walk and a good algebra equation? Then you’ll enjoy our podcast walking tour. It features a lovely stroll by Dublin’s Royal Canal, tracing the steps of Ireland’s greatest scientist Sir William Rowan Hamilton, on the day he invented a new type of algebra. Click to download the podcast here. […]
What inventions should be in our new tour?
From the stethoscope and the hypodermic syringe to Sudocrem… there are lots of ingenious inventions associated with Dublin and Ireland. There are also some tasty ones — like milk chocolate and flavoured crisps — and rather a lot of boozy ones too (think: whiskey, Bailey’s Irish cream, Irish coffee and draught Guinness in a can). […]
The ingenious Irish latch-hook needle
The latch-hook needle, used by rug-makers the world over to knot yarn in carpets, was patented on this day, 1904. The needle was invented by an ingenious Irish landlord, Robert Flower (1836-1919), the eighth Viscount Ashbrook of Durrow. His patented latch-hook needle had a hinged latchet that kept the yarn hooked so that, with one […]
How the ingenious Irish changed the world
Irish people have changed the world — we helped to put a man on the moon, changed the face of modern warfare, and revolutionised farming. We are better known for our writers, yet we also have a rich tradition of invention, from medical devices to military matters, from big ideas, to small things. Here are […]
