Posted
on August 19, 2014
Tick,
tock, a wooden block.
Today's
birthday was an American carpenter who built houses and barns...but
then a fellow named Eli Terry convinced him to get into the
clock-making business.
Born
on this date in 1785, in Connecticut, Seth Thomas worked with Terry
on tall clocks with wooden movements – which means that the gears
inside the clock – the things that moved together in such a way
that they could keep the hands of the clock moving to mark the
seconds, minutes, and hours – were made out of wood!
I
have always thought of gears being made of metal!
In
1812 Thomas left Terry and started a clock-making business on his
own. His factory was one of the first to mass-produce clocks – and
he made them with brass movements (gears). His shelf and mantel
clocks were particularly popular with people.
One
reason Thomas was able to sell so many clocks was that they were
affordable. He streamlined the manufacturing process with automated
methods and an assembly line, and he passed the savings on to his
customers.
- Find out how gears work.
- Find out how pendulum clocks work.
- Find out about modern atomic clocks.
- Find out about mass-production techniques.
Also
on this date:
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