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Weird Tales from the Inventors' HALL OF FAME

Charles Goodyear

Imagine rubber money, musical instruments, flags, jewelry, ships' sails-even rubber ships! Charles Goodyear wanted to make (nearly) everything of rubber. He wore rubber hats and ties. He ate from rubber dishes. When he fell into debt and was taken to jail, his wife brought him rubber and a rolling pin. There he chopped, kneaded, and rolled it out like dough, experimenting with ways to make rubber-which in its raw state is gooey and unusable-the flexible and bouncy stuff we know today. Eventually, he succeeded, but still died $200,000 in debt.

Obsession: Rubber

Martha Matilda Harper

Born in poverty, Harper labored as a servant for 25 years while saving money and working on ...

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