inventions
As well as a president, political leader, and well-respected man, Thomas Jefferson also move technology along through his inventions. Many of his ideas revolved around his love for farming and his determination to make improvements to Monticello.
One of his most famous inventions was the iron plow. By this creation, Jefferson attempted to make farming more efficient. With the help of his brother-in-law, Thomas Mann Randolph, the iron plow was successful invention. The iron plow made farming easier because it dug deeper into the soil and did so simultaneously unlike wooden plows. Not to mention, but iron plows were also more durable. Being as intelligent as he was, Thomas Jefferson drew and labeled sketches of his inventions and used mathematical formulas for precision. He did all this for reproduction purposes. Another one of Jefferson's inventions was the "macaroni machine." The macaroni machine was used to roll pasta, and was inspired by his trip to Paris. Interested in exotic cuisine, Thomas Jefferson brought a French chef back to America with him. With the chef's help, Jefferson was able to have his favorite foreign foods at the house parties he hosted. Most people have heard of, and used, a copy machine before. Thomas Jefferson improved many versions of a copy machine called the polygraph. Polygraphs worked by imitating the movements on a writer's hand. Although it wasn't has invention Jefferson bought many polygraphs and "tweeked" them until they were an example of work he would bring to the table. Thomas Jefferson also created the wheel cipher. A wheel cipher is made up of 26 inscribed letters rotated on. From here, one was able to create coded messages by spinning the litter to a certain place. To improve the lives of him and his workers, Jefferson invented the Great Clock. The great clock is pretty self-explanatory; it is a big clock. this machine told the time and day with the help of a heavy chain that extended to the floor. The clock was conveniently hung at Monticello, so everyone could benefit from the use of it. Fun fact about the clock; the great chock had a large gong on it. And when the gong rang, you could hear the noise form three miles away-clearly!!! The dumbwaiter was another great addition to Monticello and is in fact still used today in some households. Jefferson created the dumbwaiter as a more efficient ay to transport wine form the cellar to the main floor. Servants controlled the dumbwaiter by using a pulley system. The wine was placed on a shelf and then moved to where it was needed/wanted. There has been some questioning on whether Thomas Jefferson got the idea of a dumbwaiter from himself, or not. Many assume it was likely that when he traveled to Paris he saw a system like the dumbwaiter in a cafe and used that to inspire his creation. As well as these inventions, Jefferson created many more, especially ones like the swivel chair and macaroni and cheese which we see and use in our regular lives today. |