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Calculagraph
The Calculagraph is a device which mechanically calculates and prints the elapsed time between two events. Their best known, earliest use was as a means of tracking of table usage in pool halls. Later, until the advent of the digital era, they became the standard way to clock the duration of toll telephone calls. Invention Henry Abbott, a watchmaker, invented the Calculagraph, and he made a career out of modifying and improving upon the original design. He obtained many patents; the first one specifically using the name Calculagraph was No. 583320, issued May 25, 1897. The characteristic aspect of the machine's design is its automatic performance of elapsed-time calculations, as calculating the difference between two times manually is a tedious and error-prone process, and the machines quickly gained popularity. Abbott founded the Calculagraph Company in New York City, and later moved to New Jersey. The company is still in business, now known as Control Products, Inc.; however ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pool Hall
A billiard hall, also known as a pool hall, snooker hall, pool room or pool parlour, is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serve alcohol and often have arcade games, slot machines, card games, darts, foosball and other games. Some billiard halls may be combined or integrated with a bowling alley. History Pool and billiards developed as an indoor option to substitute for games such as croquet that were played on lawns. Dedicated venues began to appear in the 19th century, and by the early 20th century, billiard and pool halls were common in many countries; in 1915 there were 830 in Chicago. In North America in the 1950s and 1960s especially, pool halls in particular were perceived as a social ill by many, and laws were passed in many jurisdictions to set age limits at pool halls and restrict gambling and the sale of alcohol. The song "Trouble" in the 1957 hit musical '' The Music ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digital Era
The Information Age is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on information technology. The onset of the Information Age has been linked to the development of the transistor in 1947. This technological advance has had a significant impact on the way information is processed and transmitted. According to the United Nations Public Administration Network, the Information Age was formed by capitalizing on computer miniaturization advances, which led to modernized information systems and internet communications as the driving force of social evolution. There is ongoing debate concerning whether the Third Industrial Revolution has already ended, and if the Fourth Industrial Revolution has already begun due to the recent breakthroughs in areas such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology. This next transition has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Payphone
A payphone (alternative spelling: pay phone or pay telephone or public phone) is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic public areas. Prepayment is required by inserting coins or telephone tokens, swiping a credit or debit card, or using a telephone card. The company that operates the payphone generally pays either rent or a revenue share to the owner of the property where the phone is installed. Invented in the late 19th century, payphones became ubiquitous worldwide in the 20th, enough to contribute to the notion of universal access to basic communication services. The charge for a call may be a flat rate, or dependent on call duration. Following the explosive growth of mobile telephony, the use of payphones, and the number installed, has decreased greatly. Countries Canada Most payphones in Canada are owned and operated by large telecom providers such as Bell, Telus Communications, and SaskTel. In the last 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their parts, by hand. Modern watchmakers, when required to repair older watches, for which replacement parts may not be available, must have fabrication skills, and can typically manufacture replacements for many of the parts found in a watch. The term clockmaker refers to an equivalent occupation specializing in clocks. Most practising professional watchmakers service current or recent production watches. They seldom fabricate replacement parts. Instead they obtain and fit factory spare parts applicable to the watch brand being serviced. The majority of modern watchmakers, particularly in Switzerland and other countries in Europe, work directly for the watchmaking industry and may have completed a formal watchmaking degree at a technical school ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patents
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling disclosure of the invention."A patent is not the grant of a right to make or use or sell. It does not, directly or indirectly, imply any such right. It grants only the right to exclude others. The supposition that a right to make is created by the patent grant is obviously inconsistent with the established distinctions between generic and specific patents, and with the well-known fact that a very considerable portion of the patents granted are in a field covered by a former relatively generic or basic patent, are tributary to such earlier patent, and cannot be practiced unless by license thereunder." – ''Herman v. Youngstown Car Mfg. Co.'', 191 F. 579, 584–85, 112 CCA 185 (6th Cir. 1911) In most countries, patent rights fall under private la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy. With an estimated population in 2024 of 8,478,072 distributed over , the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeast megalopolis, it is bordered to the northwest, north, and northeast by New York (state), New York State; on its east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on its west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and on its southwest by Delaware Bay and Delaware. At , New Jersey is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, fifth-smallest state in land area. According to a 2024 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimate, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 11th-most populous state, with over 9.5 million residents, its highest estimated count ever. The state capital is Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, and the state's most populous city is Newark, New Jersey, Newark. New Jersey is the only U.S. stat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clock
A clock or chronometer is a device that measures and displays time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month, and the year. Devices operating on several physical processes have been used over the Millennium, millennia. Some predecessors to the modern clock may be considered "clocks" that are based on movement in nature: A sundial shows the time by displaying the position of a shadow on a flat surface. There is a range of duration timers, a well-known example being the hourglass. Water clocks, along with sundials, are possibly the oldest time-measuring instruments. A major advance occurred with the invention of the verge escapement, which made possible the first mechanical clocks around 1300 in Europe, which kept time with oscillating timekeepers like balance wheels., pp. 103–104., p. 31. Traditionally, in horology (the study of timekeeping), the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gear
A gear or gearwheel is a rotating machine part typically used to transmit rotational motion and/or torque by means of a series of teeth that engage with compatible teeth of another gear or other part. The teeth can be integral saliences or cavities machined on the part, or separate pegs inserted into it. In the latter case, the gear is usually called a cogwheel. A cog may be one of those pegsDefinition of "cog" in the ''Oxford Learner's Dictionary'' online. Accessed on 2024-07-29.Definition of "cog" in the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' online. Accessed on 2024-07-29. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seth Thomas (clockmaker)
Seth Thomas (1785 — 1859) was an American clockmaker and a pioneer of mass production at his Seth Thomas Clock Company. Biography Thomas was born in Wolcott, Connecticut, in 1785. He was apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner, and worked building houses and barns. He started in the clock business in 1807, working for clockmaker Eli Terry. Thomas formed a clock-making partnership in Plymouth, Connecticut, with Eli Terry and Silas Hoadley as Terry, Thomas & Hoadley. In 1810, he bought Terry's clock business, making tall clocks with wooden movements, though he chose to sell his partnership in 1812, moving in 1813 to Thomaston, Connecticut, Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut, where he set up a factory to make metal-movement clocks. In 1817, he added shelf and mantel clocks. By the mid-1840s, he changed over to brass from wooden movements. He made the clock that is used in Fireman's Hall (New York), Fireman's Hall. He died in 1859, whereupon the company was taken over by his son, Aaron, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invoice
An invoice, bill, tab, or bill of costs is a commercial document that includes an itemized list of goods or services furnished by a seller to a buyer relating to a sale transaction, that usually specifies the price and terms of sale, quantities, and agreed-upon prices and terms of sale for products or services the seller had provided the buyer. Payment terms are usually stated on the invoice. These may specify that the buyer has a maximum number of days to pay and is sometimes offered a discount if paid before the due date. The buyer could have already paid for the products or services listed on the invoice. To avoid confusion and consequent unnecessary communications from buyer to seller, some sellers clearly state in large and capital letters on an invoice whether it has already been paid. From a seller's point of view, an invoice is a ''sales invoice''. From a buyer's point of view, an invoice is a ''purchase invoice''. The document indicates the buyer and seller, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
