7/2/2023 0 Comments Big weather umbrellaONE CITY IN CHINA PRODUCES A LARGE CHUNK OF THE WORLD’S UMBRELLAS. Today, a Google search of the US Patent Office yields 120,000 entries with the word “umbrella,” including an automated sun tracking umbrella, dog umbrella, umbrella with interchangeable tops, mister-equipped umbrella system, and many more. Orlean goes on to describe how the United States Patent Office has seen more than 3000 plans for redesigning the umbrella, from adding a pet leash to attempts at creating a flying umbrella. PATENT OFFICE IS DELUGED WITH DESIGNS FOR BETTER UMBRELLAS.Īs author Susan Orlean wrote in a New Yorker piece on modern renderings of the humble umbrella, they are “so ordinary that everyone thinks about them, and, because they’re relatively simple, you don’t need an advanced degree to imagine a way to redesign them, but it’s difficult to come up with an umbrella idea that hasn’t already been done.” But it wasn’t until 1928 when Hans Haupt-who suffered from a war injury that inspired a cane-umbrella combination-created an umbrella that folded neatly into itself. One thing that came out of this spurt of creativity was the button that allows the umbrella to automatically inflate or collapse, an innovation that proved remarkably sturdy in withstanding the test of time. In fact, a 1270 CE Song Dynasty painting features what is perhaps the earliest art depiction of a collapsible umbrella and it looks basically the same as what we flip out in a downpour.īut there have been some improvements, and an intense spike in umbrella innovation occurred in the 1800s. If you look at old paintings of umbrellas, you’ll notice that they all look the same as they do today. THE 19TH CENTURY WAS PROBABLY THE MOST FRUITFUL PERIOD IN UMBRELLA INNOVATION. It wasn’t until the mid 18th-century, when the founder of English Magdalen Hospital was publicly and frequently seen using an umbrella, that the connection between femininity and umbrellas disappeared. And umbrellas were often associated with high fashion and wealth. In fact, in many ancient cultures, men brandishing umbrellas was a sign of effeminacy. Umbrellas were the ancient equivalent of donning a pair of high heels-only women would use them, and they were a blatant symbol of femininity. UMBRELLAS WERE ONCE USED SOLELY BY WOMEN. The usage of parasols and umbrellas flourished during the Roman Empire, died down during the Middle Ages, and began to grow in popularity again during the Renaissance. The umbrella was exported abroad thanks to the Silk Road, first to Japan and Korea, then across Europe and Asia. Historical excavations suggest that the Chinese were the first to create a collapsible fabric dome around the year 21 CE (at the latest), when rulers were interested in having some sort of shade covering for their carriages.
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