Cleveland's Science and Innovation

Nestled between Lake Erie and the banks of the Cuyahoga River sits Cleveland, Ohio, founded in 1796 by Moses Cleaveland. Now one of the most important cities in the Great Lakes, Cleveland is known for its arts & culture, pro sports, rock 'n' roll, health care and manufacturing.

But it’s also the birthplace of a slew of technological innovations that have transformed cities and lives all over the globe.
 
Here are nine of those inventions from the nation’s sixth city. 

In 1879, Cleveland inventor Charles Brush had a masterstroke: he held the first public display of a new type of electric street lighting — the arc lamp — in what was then Monumental Park, but is now known as Public Square.

Haskell’s ball contained a novel rubber core from which modern golf balls base their design — making it easier for players to hit and control it. As a result, he revolutionized the game. 

Morgan’s invention, a smoke hood with breathing tubes that extended to the floor, enabled him to descend into the tunnel while safely avoiding deadly carbon monoxide gas, which tends to hover at head level. 

His device became the predecessor to the gas mask, which played a key role in mitigating the damage from chemical warfare in World War I.

Few people associate Cleveland with popcorn, but two Clevelanders contributed to the evolution of this moviegoers’ staple. In 1891, Dudley Sherman Humphrey I created a machine that seasoned the corn as it popped.

And in 1978, a hot air popper called the Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper was invented by Tony Szpak in his basement. His invention, which used hot air instead of oil to cook the corn, is today’s dominant type of popper.