Here Are 7 Things You Didn’t Know Were Invented in Maine

There's a long history of inventions that Mainers have come up with over the years. Mainers have ingenuity, and here are seven examples of things you may not know that Mainers invented.

Earmuffs

The cold winters in Maine led Chester Greenwood of Farmington to invent earmuffs in 1873 at the age of 15. According to Wikipedia, he came up with the idea while ice skating, and asked his grandmother to sew tufts of fur between loops of wire. He opened up a manufacturing plant in Farmington that made earmuffs for almost 60 years.

Sealed Dive Suit

Leonard Norcross of Dixfield patented a diving suit made of rubber with a metal helmet attached to it that had a watertight seal in 1834. According to the Portland Press Herald, Norcross tested out the suit in the Webb River, which runs from Webb Lake in Weld to the Androscoggin River. Bellows provided air through a hose, and lead shots were in the diver's boots to keep him on the riverbed dry and breathing.

Microwave Oven

Percy Spencer was a self-taught engineer from Howland who worked at Raytheon, a U.S. defense contractor. According to Wikipedia, it was in 1945 when Spencer noticed that microwaves from an active radar set he was working on started to melt a chocolate bar he had in his pocket. Then the experiments began as he popped popcorn and tried to cook an egg, which exploded. His discovery led to the modern-day microwave oven, which is as common as a refrigerator.

Snowmobile

Of course, the snowmobile had to be invented by a Mainer, right? According to Millinocket Maine, OC Johnson of Waterville created the first vehicle for over-snow travel. In 1909, the Lombard log hauler was built and looked like a steam locomotive with skis. It eventually evolved into the snowmobile.

Zig-Zag Stitch

I know nothing about sewing, but this stitch was a game-changer. According to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Helen Blanchard was born in Portland and held 28 patents, including the Zig-Zag stitch sewing machine, which seals the edges of a seam, making a garment sturdier. She also is credited with inventing the pencil sharpener.

Machine Gun

Hiram Maxim was born in Sangerville, Maine. Of course he was. His name was Hiram. According to Wikipedia, as a child, Maxim was knocked over by a rifle's recoil, which later in life inspired him to use that recoil force to automatically operate a gun. Between 1883 and 1885, Maxim patented gas, recoil, and blowback methods of operation, thus inventing the machine gun, which he called the Maxim gun.

Steam-Powered Automobile

Twin brothers Francis and Feelan Stanley were born in Kingfield, and invented the Stanley Steamer in 1896. This isn't the carpet cleaner. According to Wikipedia, this was a steam-powered automobile that they manufactured from 1902 to 1924. They even promoted it by driving up to the top of Mount Washington.