The Month of May: Celebrating Technology and Innovation

These days, technology and invention go hand in hand. While they’re not synonymous, it would be hard to separate the two. Invention likely involves technology at varying levels of intricacy. While technology is constantly re-inventing itself in new ways that have a profound impact on the way we conduct everyday life. What is undeniably true is that inventors and technologists — past, present, and future — are the creative genius behind the very shape of the world we live in today and tomorrow.

May is not only National Inventors Month but it also houses the National Day of Technology, celebrated annually on May 11. This makes May especially important to us at Hitachi Solutions.

Hitachi Ltd. — our parent company — was founded by a young Japanese inventor named Namihei Odaira more than 100 years ago. Though an electrical engineer by trade, Odaira had a passion for the possibilities. A true pioneer, he valued imaginative thinking as well as the people who worked for him.

Hitachi Solutions today employs people who are constantly iterating to improve upon the good to make it better. It is the big-picture see-ers, creative differentiators, and pioneering doers that innovate and build the very solutions that enable our customers to continue to thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of technology.

Can we create it, build it, and fix it? Of course, and yes, we can! There are so many ways in which we help our customers achieve their goals — often through innovations, solutions, and managed services that run seamlessly in the background. To learn more about how we leverage our capabilities to help our customers, visit our website!

As a shout-out to the mighty — but possibly overlooked — heroes of innovation and discovery, here is a fun list of lesser-known but important invention facts!

Did you know?…

1. Invented back in 1845, Dr. Horace Day invented tape. Applying a sticky substance to strips of fabric, Dr. Day developed the first ever surgical tape — which became the father of all tape. ALL tape? Yep. Big tape, little tape, wide tape, tall tape, Scotch tape, packing tape, double-sided-stick tape, and even alien tape!
2. Seeing a need for something other than corncobs and seashells, Joseph Gayetty first patented toilet paper in Western countries in the 1850s. Known as “Medicated Paper for the Water Closet,” it was not widely used until the early 20^th century. Wait…what?
3. It’s not a problem at all! The NoseFrida, the new and improved version of the “snot sucker,” the aspirator bulb, used to clear a baby’s stuffy nose was invented by Swedish ear, nose, and throat doctor Frida Sångberg in the 1990s. First marketed in Sweden in 1997, it made its way to the United States in 2006 when Chelsea Hirschhorn founded FridaBaby and began distributing the product. 
4. For all of you who have been a victim of lunch theft, fear not. The Fake Mold Lunch Bag, invented by Sherwood Forlee in 2009, is here to thwart any sandwich thief’s diabolical plans to keep you hungry!
5. In 2015, Lowell Wood, a close colleague of Bill Gates, received his 1,085^th utility patent making him the first inventor to surpass Thomas Edison’s record of 1,084. Wood — known as one of the most influential physicists of his generation — has been honored with the Edward Teller Medal and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. He currently holds 5,125 U.S. patents.
6. The first LOLcat photograph didn’t start with icanhascheezburger. It actually dates back to 1903 when Harry Whittier Frees started photographing his cat, dressed up in doll clothes, and adding captions like “What’s Delaying My Dinner?”.
7. You know it. We know it. Burnt toast sucks. Lucky for all of us, in 2015 James Stumpf began socializing his invention — the Glass and Bamboo Toaster. Charred wheat, multigrain, and white bread may very well be a thing of the past!
8. 8. Who hasn’t paused before dropping uncooked noodles into that boiling pot of water, wondering just how many noodles will equate to the right amount? Well, the Spaghetti Measuring Tool removes the belabored guesswork! Invented by Stefán Pétur Sólveigarson from Iceland, this tool measures out your pasta portion for you via creative cutout shapes!

Hitachi Solutions’ mission is “To contribute to society through the development of superior, original technology and products”. Join us this month of May in celebrating the accomplishments of inventors and technologists from all over the world that have done just that!

And, if you are interested in how our innovative spirit and proven achievements help customers just like you harness the benefits of Microsoft business applications and technologies, connect with us!