greed-man

greed-man t1_ja7ko02 wrote

I see your point, but put this in context.

Baird invented a TV process that gained very little traction. It absolutely worked, BBC was using it (although receiving sets were far and few between), but BBC gave up on it as newer methods came along. Baird's picture quality was poor (30 lines), and not portable in any way. 99% of the world had no idea that this even existed.

Farnsworth invented the process of electronic TV, along with Zworkin's CRT tube, which had much better picture, was much more portable, and reliable. It became the standard that the world adopted.

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greed-man t1_ja7j1os wrote

Baird invented one method of television. What is referred to as a mechanical version. It worked.

Farnsworth invented a different method, what is referred to as electronic. The market chose the electronic method. It worked.

Both statements are correct.

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greed-man t1_ja66uhi wrote

Many airlines used it for that. When the 747 first came out, pricing was still under control of the Feds (this is pre-deregulation). Initially, if you offered a 747 from say, Chicago to LA, and your competitors didn't, you probably gained business. But when everybody had them and was doing that, you had to do something to differentiate yourself for the exact same airfare. So some turned them into bars, lounges, and yes, American offered piano bars.

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greed-man t1_j9qu7gl wrote

Barrow loved the Ford V8 (this was a 1934 model). He wrote a letter on April 10, 1934, to Henry Ford: "While I still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make. I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car skinned and even if my business hasn't been strictly legal it don't hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8."

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greed-man OP t1_j1risso wrote

Yes. They developed flaking by accident. They tried marketing wheat flakes, it did okay, but not great, but when they developed corn flakes, the process became the dominant method for many cereals. Years later, after the success of Wheaties, Kellogg's circled back to wheat flakes with Pep in 1924, and then "fortified" them with vitamins starting in 1930.

Wheaties, in turn, had been developed also by accident, when a plant worker spilled a wheat mixture on a hot stove. They played with many different formulations, finally got what they wanted, and named it Washburn's Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes. The name was changed to Wheaties later, after an in-house contest for the best name.

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