Sometimes my research takes me to places I didn't plan to go to. For example: I was all gung-ho... full speed ahead on my new book idea until I really started digging. The more I dug the more I realized that the guy I was about to write about was not the INVENTOR of the product. He improved it. This is very much like Edison and the lightbulb. Many people mistakingly think that Edison invented the lightbulb when in fact he came up with the long-lasting filament inside the lightbulb. This is how many of our great products come to us--by an evolution of ideas. People are able to patent these ideas. Each time a new thing is added or changed a new patent is allowed. Sometimes this means people get confused as to who the real inventor is.
Anyway, I don't want to say more about what I have discovered yet because I haven't decided what to do with the project. Just because someone didn't outright invent something new doesn't mean that the person didn't create something of value. However, I need to do more investigational research. I am currently tracking down the actual products from the victorian era, if possible, to see for myself if there was enough change and improvement to warrant real credit and merit.
More to come!
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