The Wild History of Roller Skates

The Wild History of Roller Skates An overview of the evolution of dry land skating aka roller skates. Early 1700s - Skeelers In Holland, an unknown Dutchman decided to go ice skating in the summer, ice skating was the widespread method used in the Netherlands to travel the numerous frozen canals in winter. The unknown inventor accomplished dry land skating by nailing wooden spools to strips of wood and attaching them to his shoes. Skeelers was the nickname given to the new dry-land skaters. 1760 - Crashing the Masquerade Party A London instrument maker and inventor, Joseph Merlin, attended a masquerade party wearing one of his new inventions, metal-wheeled boots. Joseph desiring to make a grand entrance added the pizzazz of rolling in while playing the violin. Lining the huge ballroom was a very expensive wall-length mirror. The fiddling skater stood no chance and Merlin crashed solidly into the mirrored wall, as his roller skates crashed into society. 1818 - Roller Ballet In Berlin, roller skates made a more graceful entrance into society, with the premier of the German ballet Der Maler oder die Wintervergn Ugungen (The Artist or Winter Pleasures). The ballet called for ice-skating but because it was impossible at that time to produce ice on a stage, roller skates substituted. 1819 - First Patent In France, the first patent for a roller skate issued to a Monsieur Petibledin. The skate was made of a wood sole that attached to the bottom of a boot, fitted with two to four rollers made of copper, wood or ivory, and arranged in a straight single line. 1823 - The Rolito Robert John Tyers of London patented a skate called the Rolito with five wheels in a single row on the bottom of a shoe or boot. The Rolito was unable to follow a curved path, unlike the in-line skates of today. 1840 - Barmaids on Wheels In a beer tavern known as Corse Halle, near Berlin, barmaids on roller skates served thirsty patrons. This was a practical decision, given the size of beer halls in Germany, which gave dry land skating a publicity boost. 1857 - Public Rinks Huge public rinks opened in the Floral Hall and in the Strand of London. 1863 - Inventor James Plimpton American, James Plimpton found a way to make a very useable pair of skates. Plimptons skates had two parallel sets of wheels, one pair under the ball of the foot and the other pair under the heel. The four wheels were made of boxwood and worked on rubber springs. Plimptons design was the first dry-land skate that could maneuver in a smooth curve. This considered the birth of the modern four-wheeled roller skates, which allowed for turns and the ability to skate backwards. 1884 - Pin Ball-Bearing Wheels The invention of pin ball-bearing wheels made rolling easier and skates lighter. 1902 - The Coliseum The Coliseum in Chicago opened a public skating rink. Over 7,000 people attended the opening night. 1908 - Madison Square Gardens Madison Square Gardens in New York became a skating rink. Hundreds of rink openings in the United States and Europe followed. The sport was becoming very popular and various versions of the roller skating developed: recreational skating on indoor and outdoor rinks, polo skating, ballroom roller dancing and competitive speed skating. 1960s - Plastics Technology (with the advent of new plastics) helped the wheel truly come of age with new designs. 70s 80s - Disco A second big skating boom occurred with the marriage of disco and roller-skating. Over 4,000 roller-discos were in operation and Hollywood began making roller-movies. 1979 - Redesigning Roller Skates Scott Olson and Brennan Olson, brothers and  hockey  players who lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, found an antique pair of roller skates. It was one of the early  skates  that used the in-line wheels rather than the four-wheeled parallel design of George Plimpton. Intrigued by the in-line design, the brothers began redesigning roller skates, taking design elements from the found skates and using modern materials. They used  polyurethane  wheels, attached the skates to ice hockey boots, and added a rubber toe-brake to their new design. 1983 - Rollerblade Inc Scott Olson founded Rollerblade Inc and  the term rollerblading  meant the sport of in-line skating because Rollerblade Inc was the only manufacturer of in-line skates for a long time. The first mass-produced rollerblades, while innovative had some design flaws: they were difficult to put on and adjust, prone to collecting dirt and moisture in the ball-bearings, the wheels were easily damaged and the brakes came from the old roller skate toe-brake and were not very effective. Rollerblade Inc Sold The Olson brothers sold Rollerblade Inc and the new owners had the money to really improve the design. The first massively successful Rollerblade skate was the Lightning TRS. In this pair of  skates  the flaws had vanished, fiberglass was used to produce the frames, the wheels were better protected, the skates were easier to put on and adjust and stronger brakes were placed at the rear. With the success of the Lightning TRS, other in-line skate companies appeared: Ultra Wheels, Oxygen,  K2  and others. 1989 - Macro and Aeroblades Models Rollerblade Inc produced the Macro and Aeroblades models, the first skates fastened with three buckles instead of long laces that needed threading. 1990 - Lighter Skates Rollerblade Inc switched to a glass-reinforced thermoplastic resin (durethan  polyamide) for their skates, replacing the  polyurethane  compounds previously used. This decreased the average weight of skates by nearly fifty percent. 1993 - Active Brake Technology Rollerblade, Inc. developed ABT or Active Brake Technology. A fiberglass post attached at one end to the top of the boot and at the other end to a  rubber-brake,  hinged the chassis at the back wheel. The skater had to straighten one leg to stop, driving the post into the brake, which then hit the ground. Skaters had been tilting their foot back to make contact with the ground, before ABT. The new brake design increased safety. Presently the best way for you to experience the latest inventions in the world of wheels is up-close and personal. Please do so, try in-line skating and keep rolling.

Harriet Quimby - First Woman Licensed Pilot in the US

Harriet Quimby - First Woman Licensed Pilot in the US Harriet Quimby Facts: Known for: the first woman licensed as a pilot in the United States; first woman to fly solo across the English Channel Occupation: pilot, journalist, actress, screenwriterDates: May 11, 1875 - July 1, 1912Also known as: Americas First Lady of the Air Harriet Quimby Biography: Harriet Quimby was born in Michigan in 1875 and was raised on a farm. She moved with her family to California in 1887. She claimed a birth date of May 1, 1884, a birthplace of Arroyo Grande, California, and wealthy parents. Harriet Quimby appears in the 1900 census in San Francisco, listing herself as an actress, but no record of any acting appearances has turned up. She did write for several San Francisco publications. New York Journalism Career In 1903, Harriet Quimby moved to New York to work for Leslies Illustrated Weekly, a popular womens journal. There, she was the drama critic, writing reviews of plays, the circus, comedians, and even that new novelty, moving pictures. She also served as a photojournalist, traveling to Europe, Mexico, Cuba, and Egypt for Leslies. She also wrote advice articles, including articles advising women on their careers, on auto repairs, and on household tips. Screenplay Writer / Independent Woman During these years, she also made the acquaintance of pioneer filmmaker D. W. Griffith and wrote seven screenplays for him. Harriet Quimby epitomized the independent woman of her day, living on her own, working at a career, driving her own car, and even smoking even before her fateful journalistic assignment in 1910. Harriet Quimby Discovers Flying In October 1910, Harriet Quimby went to the Belmont Park International Aviation Tournament, to write a story. She was bitten by the flying bug. She befriended Matilde Moisant and her brother, John Moisant. John and his brother Alfred ran a flying school, and Harriet Quimby and Matilde Moisant began taking flying lessons there though Matilde had already been flying by that time. They continued with their lessons even after John was killed in a flying accident. The press discovered Harriet Quimbys lessons she may have tipped them off and began covering her progress as a news story. Harriet herself began writing about flying for Leslies. First American Woman to Earn a Pilots License On August 1, 1911, Harriet Quimby passed her pilots test and was awarded license #37 from Aero Club of America, part of the International Aeronautic Federation, which granted international pilots licenses. Quimby was the second woman in the world to be licensed; the Baroness de la Roche had been awarded a license in France. Matilde Moisant became the second woman to be licensed as a pilot in the United States. Flying Career Immediately after winning her pilots license, Harriet Quimby began touring as an exhibition flyer in the United States and Mexico. Harriet Quimby designed her flying costume of plum-colored wool-backed satin, with a cowl hood made of the same fabric. At that time, most women pilots used adapted versions of mens clothing. Harriet Quimby and the English Channel In late 1911, Harriet Quimby decided to become the first woman to fly across the English Channel. Another woman beat her to it: Miss Trehawke-Davis flew across as a passenger. The record for the first woman pilot remained for Quimby to achieve, but she was afraid that someone would beat her to it. So she sailed secretly in March 1912 for England and borrowed a 50 HP monoplane from Louis Bleriot, who was the first person to fly across the Channel in 1909. On April 16, 1912, Harriet Quimby flew approximately the same route that Bleriot has flown but in reverse. She took off from Dover at dawn. The overcast skies forced her to rely solely on her compass for position. In about an hour, she landed in France near Calais, thirty miles from the planned landing spot, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. Because the Titanic sank a few days before, the newspaper coverage of Harriet Quimbys record in the United States and Britain was sparse and buried deep within the papers. Harriet Quimby at Boston Harbor Harriet Quimby returned to exhibition flying. On July 1, 1912, she had agreed to fly at the Third Annual Boston Aviation Meet. She took off, with William Willard, organizer of the event, as a passenger, and circled the Boston Lighthouse. Suddenly, in view of hundreds of spectators, the two-seater plane, flying at 1500 feet, lurched. Willard fell out and plunged to his death in the mud flats below. Moments later, Harriet Quimby also fell from the plane and was killed. The plane glided to a landing in the mud, flipping over, and was damaged severely. Blanche Stuart Scott, another female pilot (but who never got a pilots license), saw the accident happen from her own plane in the air. Theories on the cause of the accident vary: cables became tangled in the plane, causing it to lurchWillard suddenly shifted his weight, unbalancing the planeWillard and Quimby failed to wear their seat belts Harriet Quimby was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York, and then was moved to Kenisco Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. Legacy Though Harriet Quimbys career as a pilot lasted only 11 months, she was nevertheless a heroine and role model for generations to follow even inspiring Amelia Earhart. Harriet Quimby was featured on a 1991 50-cent airmail stamp.