science · 25 April 1794 · 230 years ago
In 1794, U.S. letters patent were granted by George Washington to John J. Staples, Jr., of New York, for what the inventor described as a "Carriage to be Propelled by the Mechanic Powers" (not steam power). However, reading the text of the patent shows that the specifications were vague, and the invention wholly impractical. It proposed five powers be used, including "The first power ... is the weight of the whole carriage ... which is raised up by the oval wheels in turning round, and when descending acts on the shortest lever. 2d Power is the weight of the top frame which supports the carriage body ... which being likewise wound up by the said oval wheels at the same or a different time acts in descending on the two next size levers."
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