Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Cover Story by PAUL NIEMANN ?, y Photo courtesy of Mattel THE BARBIE DOLL Denver native Ruth Handler (1916-2(X)2) •* createxl the Barbie doll i n 1959 as an alternative to the two-dimensional paper dolls of the day. Despite initial rejections from Mattel executives who believed the doll was too expensive ($3 each) and lacked poten tial, the company has sold mom than 1 billion Barbies worldwide. The doll's iconic name was taken from Handler's own daughter Barbara, nicknamed Barbie. Then in 1961, Mat tel introduced Barbies boyfriend Ken, a name taken from Handlers real-life son. Of course, Handler, who became Mattel's president in 1967, wasn't the only creative genius in the fam ily. Her husband, Elliot, developed the popular . * Hot Wheels brand of toy cats in 1968. /ML ~f -Wii ftT v - V '*: ■ A • Inventions That Shaped America Generations of Americans have grown up learning about inventions that shaped our nation, whether it’s Thomas Edison's light bulb, Alexander Graham Bell’s tele phone or newer creations such as the Internet. History books, however, don’t always tell the whole story. Paul Niemann, author of Invention Mysteries , spent years uncovering the little-known facts behind the world’s greatest inventions. Here are his favorites: THETELEPHONE Perhaps no inventor in history paid the price more for being a day late and a dol lar short than telephone inventor Elisha Gray (1835-1901) of Bamesville, Ohio. On Feb. 14, 1876, Gray filed for his telephone patent just two hours after Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) filed a patent for his version of the telephone. Actually, it was Bells father-in-law, Gardiner Hubbard, who filed the patent on Bell's behalf at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. Gray eventually sued Bell for patent infringement and tlx case went all the way to the L'.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in Bell's favor. In an interesting footnote, Bell offered author Mark Twain tlx chance co invest financially in his new invention. Twain declined. THE INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULB COCA-COLA Pharmacist John Pemberton (1831-1888) of Atlanta was trying to create a A medicine when he concocted the formula for Coca-Cola in 1886. The soft drink gi has been the most recognizable brand in the world for decades, though a patent /m doesn t protect it. Instead, Coca-Cola guards the formula of its secret ingredi- ffl ent—known as Merchandise 7X—as a trade secret. The folks at Gxa-Cola are so secretive of their product that they won't even reveal the number of Coke V employees who know the formula. Despite worldwide popularity today, Gxa- Cola was hardly an instant hit. Sales totaled only SSO the first year after Pemberton x spent S7O to launch his company in 1886. Another little-known fact is that Pember ton used coca leaves and the cola nut in his original recipe. Tins is where Gxa-Cola gets its name, and the original concoction contained a small amount of cocaine. TELEVISION Even though RCA introduced television to the public at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, it was teenager Philo Farnsworth of Rigby, Idaho, who played the biggest role in making television a reality. Farnsworth (.1906 /l 971), who decided at age 6to become an inventor, first envisioned how television should work while plowing his family s potato field at age 14. Looking back at the horizontal rows he had |ust plowed, he realized that an electron beam could scan a picture in horizontal lines and reproduce the image almost instantly. While still in high school, Tff drew his idea on a chalkbcxird for his chemistry' teacher, but tlx- teacher could not comprehend Philo's brain storm. Six years later in 1927, lie transmitted the first television image—a dollar sign—with the dissector ■ tulle that he invented. The dissector tube is the basis tor all mcxlem TV sets. Later that year, his wife. Elma, became the first pervin to appear on television. Alter Farnsworth died in 19~1, Elma spent much other life '' tmn g to help her late husband get tlx- credit that he was due. She died earlier this year at age I >S. ‘frliiJß < annual '<>/ fo/yi '-Ii Photl; Media Bakery Most Americans were taught tliat Thomas Edison (1847-19.31) of Milan, Ohio, invented the incandescent light bulb. Actually, England's Joseph Swan invented the world s first incandescent light bulb in 1878. one year before Edison invented his ver sion. The two briefly went into business together in 1882, forming the Edison and Swan United Co. Edison, however, was the first to put the light bulb to practical use by establishing a power grid to provide electricity for his light bulbs. Since he estab lislxd tlx infrastructure, lx was able to build and grow the industry, sparking the widespread belief that he is the true inventor. Photo: Media Bakery - ilk' Page 8 •www.americanprofile.com r 1 DRINK > Photo Library of Congress . Photo courtesy ofCoca-Cok i