A novel way to invent

Elias Howe Jr

This is one of those amazing stories, so amazing you have to hear it

On September 10^th 1846 Elias Howe Jr was granted a patent for the sewing machine.

However, I am fascinated by the story as he told everyone how he came up with the invention.

He claimed it came to him in a dream!

Basically, he dreamed he was building a sewing machine for a savage king in a strange country. 

As he was in real life, he was baffled about the needle’s eye.

In his dream the king gave him twenty-four hours in which to complete the machine and make it sew or his death would result. He worked, toiled, puzzled, then finally gave up. The king then took him out to be executed.

However, while standing, terrified, waiting to die, he noticed that the warriors carried spears that were pierced near the head. Instantaneously, he saw the solution and woke up!

It was 4 o’clock in the morning. He jumped out of bed, ran to his workshop, and by 9 o’clock he had crudely created a needle with an eye at the point.

I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s what they say!

Lets makes History fun!

10 questions to discuss:

1. 1. 1. What was Elias Howe Jr’s occupation before he invented the sewing machine?
      2. What sparked Elias Howe Jr’s dream about the sewing machine?
      3. What was the king’s punishment for Elias Howe Jr if he failed to invent the sewing machine?
      4. What detail about the warriors’ spears helped Elias Howe Jr solve the problem of the needle’s eye?
      5. How long did it take Elias Howe Jr to create a working sewing machine after his dream?
      6. Do you think it’s likely that Elias Howe Jr’s dream was a true account of how he invented the sewing machine?
      7. Why was the invention of the sewing machine so important?
      8. What were some of the challenges that Elias Howe Jr faced in getting his sewing machine accepted?
      9. How did the sewing machine change the lives of people?
      10. What are some of the ways that sewing machines are used today?

For more information on this amazing man click on:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_630930

https://historycambridge.org/innovation/Sewing%20Machine.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/elias-howe-profile-1991903

© Tony Dalton