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List of Inventors Killed by Their Own Inventions

reidjs 6y ago
Hoist by their own petard as Shakespeare would say
- progre 6y ago
  A fellow sportsfan maybe?
  - lordnacho 6y ago
    IIRC petard means bomb
    - tejtm 6y ago
      gunpowder in an metal bell or cone. set it up facing a door light it and run way from your medieval shaped charge. If you are caught in the blast and go flying you are hoisted on your own petard, perhaps your petard fired out the back.
    - progre 6y ago
      Yes, this was very well explained in an episode of half arsed history quite recently. The audience of this podcast is referred to as "sportsfans" by the host.
    - finnh 6y ago
      from the archaic french for "break wind"; i've heard petard translated (for fun) as "little fart"
      - fvdessen 6y ago
        petard still means small explosive / firecraker in modern french.
messe 6y ago
I think that the most interesting by far is > Thomas Midgley, Jr. (1889–1944) was an American engineer and chemist who contracted polio at age 51, leaving him severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys to help others lift him from bed. He became accidentally entangled in the ropes and died of strangulation at the age of 55. However, he is better known for two of his other inventions: the tetraethyl lead (TEL) additive to gasoline, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).[24][25][26] And from his own Wikipedia page: > Midgley's legacy has been scarred by the negative environmental impact of leaded gasoline and Freon.[20] Environmental historian J. R. McNeill opined that Midgley "had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history",[21] and Bill Bryson remarked that Midgley possessed "an instinct for the regrettable that was almost uncanny".[22] Use of leaded gasoline, which he invented, released large quantities of lead into the atmosphere all over the world.[20] High atmospheric lead levels have been linked with serious long-term health problems from childhood, including neurological impairment,[23][24][25] and with increased levels of violence and criminality in cities.[26][27][28] Time magazine included both leaded gasoline and CFCs on its list of "The 50 Worst Inventions".[29]
- meowface 6y ago
  Even worse, he definitely knew first- and second-hand how poisonous lead was, so this isn't just blind ignorance. It was also known since Roman BCE times and reported on by Roman authors, so even without the personal experience, he and others should've had some awareness. >In 1923, Midgley took a long vacation in Miami, Florida, to cure himself of lead poisoning. He found "that my lungs have been affected and that it is necessary to drop all work and get a large supply of fresh air". >Kettering was elected as president, and Midgley was vice president. However, after two deaths and several cases of lead poisoning at the TEL prototype plant in Dayton, Ohio, the staff at Dayton was said in 1924 to be "depressed to the point of considering giving up the whole tetraethyl lead program". Over the course of the next year, eight more people died at DuPont's plant in Deepwater, New Jersey. >Ethyl Corporation built a new chemical plant using a high-temperature ethyl chloride process at the Bayway Refinery in New Jersey. However, within the first two months of its operation, the new plant was plagued by more cases of lead poisoning, hallucinations, insanity, and five deaths. >On October 30, 1924, Midgley participated in a press conference to demonstrate the apparent safety of TEL, in which he poured TEL over his hands, placed a bottle of the chemical under his nose, and inhaled its vapor for 60 seconds, declaring that he could do this every day without succumbing to any problems. However, the State of New Jersey ordered the Bayway plant to be closed a few days later, and Jersey Standard was forbidden to manufacture TEL again without state permission. Midgley would later have to take leave of absence from work after being diagnosed with lead poisoning. At the very least, it should have been more carefully investigated if lead was harmful not just during manufacturing but also for regular consumer use.
nmalaguti 6y ago
I was expecting to see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Heselden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Heselden on here, but he didn’t invent the Segway, just owned the company.
gnatman 6y ago
God https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_is_dead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_is_dead
- dandanua 6y ago
  Humans and AI, soon
  - finnh 6y ago
    Freeman Dyson FTW: "In the game of life and evolution, there are three players at the table: human beings, nature, and machines. I am firmly on the side of nature. But nature, I suspect, is on the side of machines.”
Pietertje 6y ago
I expected to find Gaudi in this list for art/architecture. He got run down by a streetcar, which to my knowledge happened while he was watching his Sagrada Familia. It seems I'm mistaken here as his wiki page also does not mention it. [0] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD
im_down_w_otp 6y ago
> "Franz Reichelt (1879–1912), a tailor, fell to his death from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while testing his invention, the coat parachute. It was his first attempt with the parachute, and he had told the authorities he would first test it with a dummy.[8]" And to this day many argue that he kept his word.
- tpmx 6y ago
  The wikipedia entry is worth reading. Unusually well written. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Reichelt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Reichelt > A journalist in Le Gaulois suggested that only half the term "mad genius" applied to Reichelt
  - tim333 6y ago
    Complete with video. The fellow deserves a belated Darwin award.

Hoist by their own petard as Shakespeare would say

progre 6y ago
A fellow sportsfan maybe?
- lordnacho 6y ago
  IIRC petard means bomb
  - tejtm 6y ago
    gunpowder in an metal bell or cone. set it up facing a door light it and run way from your medieval shaped charge. If you are caught in the blast and go flying you are hoisted on your own petard, perhaps your petard fired out the back.
  - progre 6y ago
    Yes, this was very well explained in an episode of half arsed history quite recently. The audience of this podcast is referred to as "sportsfans" by the host.
  - finnh 6y ago
    from the archaic french for "break wind"; i've heard petard translated (for fun) as "little fart"
    - fvdessen 6y ago
      petard still means small explosive / firecraker in modern french.

I think that the most interesting by far is > Thomas Midgley, Jr. (1889–1944) was an American engineer and chemist who contracted polio at age 51, leaving him severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys to help others lift him from bed. He became accidentally entangled in the ropes and died of strangulation at the age of 55. However, he is better known for two of his other inventions: the tetraethyl lead (TEL) additive to gasoline, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).[24][25][26] And from his own Wikipedia page: > Midgley's legacy has been scarred by the negative environmental impact of leaded gasoline and Freon.[20] Environmental historian J. R. McNeill opined that Midgley "had more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history",[21] and Bill Bryson remarked that Midgley possessed "an instinct for the regrettable that was almost uncanny".[22] Use of leaded gasoline, which he invented, released large quantities of lead into the atmosphere all over the world.[20] High atmospheric lead levels have been linked with serious long-term health problems from childhood, including neurological impairment,[23][24][25] and with increased levels of violence and criminality in cities.[26][27][28] Time magazine included both leaded gasoline and CFCs on its list of "The 50 Worst Inventions".[29]

meowface 6y ago
Even worse, he definitely knew first- and second-hand how poisonous lead was, so this isn't just blind ignorance. It was also known since Roman BCE times and reported on by Roman authors, so even without the personal experience, he and others should've had some awareness. >In 1923, Midgley took a long vacation in Miami, Florida, to cure himself of lead poisoning. He found "that my lungs have been affected and that it is necessary to drop all work and get a large supply of fresh air". >Kettering was elected as president, and Midgley was vice president. However, after two deaths and several cases of lead poisoning at the TEL prototype plant in Dayton, Ohio, the staff at Dayton was said in 1924 to be "depressed to the point of considering giving up the whole tetraethyl lead program". Over the course of the next year, eight more people died at DuPont's plant in Deepwater, New Jersey. >Ethyl Corporation built a new chemical plant using a high-temperature ethyl chloride process at the Bayway Refinery in New Jersey. However, within the first two months of its operation, the new plant was plagued by more cases of lead poisoning, hallucinations, insanity, and five deaths. >On October 30, 1924, Midgley participated in a press conference to demonstrate the apparent safety of TEL, in which he poured TEL over his hands, placed a bottle of the chemical under his nose, and inhaled its vapor for 60 seconds, declaring that he could do this every day without succumbing to any problems. However, the State of New Jersey ordered the Bayway plant to be closed a few days later, and Jersey Standard was forbidden to manufacture TEL again without state permission. Midgley would later have to take leave of absence from work after being diagnosed with lead poisoning. At the very least, it should have been more carefully investigated if lead was harmful not just during manufacturing but also for regular consumer use.

nmalaguti 6y ago

I was expecting to see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Heselden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Heselden on here, but he didn’t invent the Segway, just owned the company.

gnatman 6y ago

God https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_is_dead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_is_dead

dandanua 6y ago
Humans and AI, soon
- finnh 6y ago
  Freeman Dyson FTW: "In the game of life and evolution, there are three players at the table: human beings, nature, and machines. I am firmly on the side of nature. But nature, I suspect, is on the side of machines.”

Pietertje 6y ago

I expected to find Gaudi in this list for art/architecture. He got run down by a streetcar, which to my knowledge happened while he was watching his Sagrada Familia. It seems I'm mistaken here as his wiki page also does not mention it. [0] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD

im_down_w_otp 6y ago

> "Franz Reichelt (1879–1912), a tailor, fell to his death from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while testing his invention, the coat parachute. It was his first attempt with the parachute, and he had told the authorities he would first test it with a dummy.[8]" And to this day many argue that he kept his word.

tpmx 6y ago
The wikipedia entry is worth reading. Unusually well written. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Reichelt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Reichelt > A journalist in Le Gaulois suggested that only half the term "mad genius" applied to Reichelt
- tim333 6y ago
  Complete with video. The fellow deserves a belated Darwin award.