George Washington Packer’s patented rock and stump pullers, Mystic, ca. 1870
– Mystic Seaport and Connecticut History Online
Nutmeg ingenuity ranges from seemingly humble innovations that have changed the way we live to first-of-a-kind inventions. In the 19th century, for example, Elisha Root’s die casting techniques helped usher in standardized mass manufacturing, which, in turn, often lowered prices so that more consumers could afford items once reserved for the well-to-do. Other notable Connecticut inventors include Mary Kies (the first woman to receive a US patent), Samuel Colt, and even Mark Twain. More recently, teams of researchers in corporate and university settings have pioneered medical, technological, and other advances. One of the state’s best-known “firsts” is the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine.
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Aristocratic Dental Cream Gets Squeezed
Taking advantage of his skills as a dentist and chemist, Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield, in 1850 at the age of 23, invented modern toothpaste. …[more]
