Original Description:
How to play:
The 8 inventors pictured on the game board were important characters in Ohio’s history. Try to identify them using the clues provided. There are 7 clues for each inventor and the first one is always free. You can get more clues by clicking the "New Clue" button, but each new clue costs 100 points. You start the game with 4 lightbulbs. Each time you click on the wrong inventor you lose 500 points and one lightbulb. Each time you click on the correct inventor you receive 1000 points and another lightbulb. You can accumulate up to 8 lightbulbs. The game ends when you have identified all 8 inventors or you run out of lightbulbs. The object is to finish with as many points as possible.
Hint: You can go to the "Biographies" section on this page while you are playing the game to look for information about the inventors.
Charles F. Brush:
Charles Francis Brush was born in Euclid, Ohio in 1849. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1869. After college, Brush returned to Cleveland and worked as a chemist and mining engineer. In 1873, he began to experiment with electricity.
Like several inventors during the 1870s, Brush wondered if electricity could be used for lighting. Scientists had known for a long time that they could create a very bright light by passing an arc of electricity between two carbon rods. The light didn’t last long, though, because the electric current burned up the carbon rods. Brush invented a way to solve this problem. His invention was called the electric arc light.
Brush first installed his lights during 1877 in the home of Nicholas Longworth, a wealthy Cincinnati resident. The following year, John Wanamaker hired Brush to install lights in his Philadelphia department store. The lights, described by one observer as "twenty miniature moons on carbon points held captive in glass globes," created a sensation. The age of electrical lighting had been born. Within months, merchants all over the country rushed to have the new lights installed.
Brush's invention also was used for street lighting. In 1879, he used 12 arc lamps to light the public square in Cleveland. Soon, San Francisco, New York, Baltimore and Washington were lighting their streets with his invention. Arc lights changed life in American cities greatly. Nighttime activities became more popular with the new form of lighting. Streetlights made it safer to be out after dark. Electrical lights in factories even made it possible for people to work at night.
Arc lights, while useful, had drawbacks. It fell to another Ohio inventor, Thomas Edison to improve electric lighting. Edison invented a light that was cheaper, easier to use and required less power to operate. A half-century later, yet another Ohioan, Arthur Compton, invented a third type of electrical lighting, the florescent lighting tube.
In 1880, Brush formed the Brush Electric Company. His other inventions included the Brush Electric Dynamo, a new type of battery, and an improved electrical generator. Brush eventually became a wealthy man. He was popular in Cleveland for his generous gifts to churches, charities and scientific groups. Before he died in 1929, Brush won many awards, including the French Legion of Honor, the Edison Medal, the Franklin Medal and three honorary doctorate degrees.
Arthur Compton:
Arthur H. Compton was born in Wooster, Ohio in 1892. He was the son of a college professor. He and his brother Karl became interested in science as youngsters. They both followed that interest through college turning it into distinguished careers.
Compton graduated from the College of Wooster in 1913. He went on to Princeton and received a Ph.D. in physics in 1916. After graduating, he began teaching at the University of Minnesota. In 1917, he went to work for Westinghouse, a company that made light bulbs. There he invented the sodium vapor lamp. The sodium vapor lamp was a large improvement in lighting because it produced a brighter but softer light.
In 1923, Compton became a professor of physics at the University of Chicago. He remained there for the next 22 years. During his years at Chicago, Compton continued some of his earlier studies on x-rays and the behavior of sub atomic particles. In 1927, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his work on electrons. The Nobel Prize is one of the greatest honors a scientist can receive. Compton’s award meant that he would now be known as one of the world's leading scientists.
In addition to his teaching in Chicago, Compton did some work for the General Electric Company in 1934. His research there led to the invention of the florescent light tube.
During World War II, Compton became a pioneer in the study of atomic energy. He was an important leader in the efforts of United States scientists to develop the atomic bomb. When the war ended, he was awarded the U.S. Medal of Merit for his efforts.
In 1945, Compton was named Chancellor of the University of Washington. He retired from that position in 1954. Following his retirement, Compton lived in Berkeley, California until his death in 1962.
Arthur's brother Karl was also a noted scientist. He, too, studied atomic energy and helped build the first nuclear weapons. Karl served as President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one the nation's leading universities.
Thomas Edison:
Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio in 1847. He was the son of a lumber dealer. At age seven, he moved with his family to Michigan. The young Edison was not very successful in school, but he showed an early talent for tinkering and a curiosity for how things worked. At age 12, Edison started work as a newsboy on the railroad. He even tried his hand at printing his own newspaper for the railroad passengers. He learned much about science as he read books on his daily train trips between his home and Detroit.
When he was 15, Edison learned to operate the telegraph. Over the next three years, he held jobs in telegraph offices in nearly a dozen cities. Edison’s new career led to his first invention, an automatic telegraphic repeater. That device saved time re-sending messages. Over the next 50 years, there followed a stream of inventions that dramatically changed life around the world. These included the stock ticker tape, the first practical electric light bulb, the phonograph and record, the movie camera and projector, and the electronic vacuum tube that made radios possible.
Edison also built the first electric power station. That station, in New York City, transmitted power by wires to nearby houses and businesses in 1882. In doing this he proved that electricity could be delivered cheaply from a central station over wires. This became the model for the electrical systems we use today.
Perhaps Edison's most important contribution was his "invention factory." Edison brought together scientists and engineers to work in a large laboratory he built in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Here, they not only invented, but also quickly turned their discoveries into products that people could use. Edison’s "invention factory" turned out more than 1,000 inventions that received patents.
Edison became an American hero. His genius had improved the lives of millions of people. Yet, he was fond of saying "Genius is two percent inspiration and 98 percent perspiration." Edison died in 1931. He was much beloved as a man who had risen from humble beginnings to give the world electric lights, motion pictures, and recorded music.
Charles M. Hall:
Charles Martin Hall was born in Thompson, Ohio in 1863. His father was a minister. As a youngster, Hall moved with his family several times before settling in Oberlin. He attended public school there and graduated from Oberlin College.
As a child, Hall was an avid reader. He developed an early interest in chemistry from reading his father's college textbooks on the subject. While in high school, he set up his own laboratory and began experimenting with a way to make aluminum inexpensively. At the time, this light, strong metal was plentiful as an ore. Yet, it was almost as expensive as gold. That was because no one had figured out how to turn the ore into metal cheaply.
When Hall began his experiments, leading chemists around the world had already spent years trying to discover a way to produce the metal. None had been successful. In February 1886, Hall tried passing a current of electricity through the ore. He discovered that when power was increased to high levels the current changed the ore to metal. In the same month, a scientist in France had the same idea. Paul Louis Tousssint Heroult also discovered that electricity could be used to make aluminum.
After his discovery, Hall tried for two years to raise money to manufacture aluminum. He had little success. In 1888, he sold the process to the Pittsburgh Reduction Company. The company later was named the Aluminum Company of America. Hall became a vice-president with the company. As the use of aluminum became more popular, he amassed a great fortune.
In 1905, Hall was named a trustee to Oberlin College. When he died in 1914, he left one-third of his fortune to the college.
Today, the company that bought Hall’s idea is known as ALCOA. It makes much of the aluminum used in products that make our lives better. ALCOA still owns the first pellets of aluminum that Hall made using his discovery.
Charles Kettering:
Charles F. Kettering was born near Loudonville, Ohio in 1876. As a young man he studied mechanical and electrical engineering at The Ohio State University.
Kettering's first job was with the National Cash Register Company in Dayton. While working there, he invented the first electric cash register and an "accounting machine."
In 1909, Kettering left NCR to form his own company, the Dayton Engineering Laboratory Company. His company was a research firm that specialized in inventing devices for use on automobiles. His most famous invention was the self-starter for automobiles. Until that time, automobiles were started with a hand crank. Starting an automobile was a dangerous and difficult chore. With the new starter an electrical motor replaced the crank and starting was as easy as pushing a button.
In 1912, General Motors began buying Kettering’s starter and other parts for use on the Cadillac automobile. In 1920, General Motors bought his company and shortened its name to Delco. Kettering became the director of research at General Motors. During his years with General Motors, he guided many important research projects. These projects produced many important inventions that improved automobiles. Some of these inventions include, shock absorbers, a new type of transmission, improved headlamps and ethyl gasoline, which makes engines run smoother. Kettering also played a central role in developing the diesel railroad locomotive.
By the time he retired, Kettering held 140 patents and was a wealthy man. He used this wealth to support many public causes. He was the co-founder of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research. Kettering was also elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Even though he was recognized as a leading scientist, he was fond of saying, "I'm a pliers and screwdriver man, not a theory man."
Charles Kettering died in 1958, having seen many of his inventions become standard equipment on automobiles.
Granville Woods:
Granville T. Woods was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1856. He attended school until age 10. After that he worked in a machine shop that repaired locomotives. While working there he became interested in electricity. In 1872, at the age of 16, Woods headed west. He got a job as a fireman on a railroad and later became an engineer. During the long train trips he read all that he could about electricity.
In 1876, Woods traveled to the East Coast to attend a technical school. During the days he worked in a machine shop. Each night he attended school, studying electrical and mechanical engineering. Woods graduated in two years and then became an engineer aboard a British steamship. While working on the ship he traveled all around the world. In 1880, Woods returned to Cincinnati, once again working for a railroad company.
During the 1880s, Woods patented many inventions. These included a furnace and boiler, automatic railroad brakes, an electrical powered incubator to hatch chicken eggs, a new type of battery and several devices that improved streetcars and electrical rail cars. Perhaps his most important invention was a telegraph that could transmit messages to and from moving trains. That device saved many lives by reducing the number of train wrecks.
Even though Woods was well educated and intelligent, he had been denied many opportunities for advancement because he was an African-American. In the late 1880s, he decided to do something about it. He started his own company, the Woods Electric Company.
By the time Woods died in 1910, he was often referred to as the "black Edison." He held patents for about 35 devices. Some of those he had sold to large companies such as Westinghouse and Bell Telephone. Many of Wood’s inventions were essential to the machines on which the United States built its industrial might during the early 20th century. Unlike Thomas Edison, though, Woods was never famous. Indeed, he is sometimes called "Ohio’s forgotten inventor."
Orville Wright:
Orville Wright was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1871. He was the son of a minister. While he was in high school he began working as a printer’s apprentice. Following his apprenticeship, he and his brother, Wilbur, started a printing business, Wright and Wright, Job Printers.
Among the Wright’s customers was Paul Laurence Dunbar, who had been a high school classmate of Orville’s. The Wrights printed The Tattler, a small, weekly newspaper for black readers which Dunbar edited. In 1892, the Wright’s helped Dunbar publish his first book of poetry, Oak and Ivy. That book launched Dunbar’s career. He went on to become one of the best-known African-American writers of the early 20th century.
The printing business was not as kind to the Wrights. Their print shop failed and the brothers opened a bicycle repair shop, the Wright Cycle Company, in 1892. They were so good at working with bicycles that the pair soon began to manufacture their own models. Wilbur grew bored with the daily duties of the shop. After reading of Otto Lilienthal's experiments with gliders in Germany, he became interested in flying. By 1899, Wilbur had begun to experiment with gliders, airplanes that have no engines. Knowing that many people thought powered flight was impossible, Wilbur wrote the Smithsonian Institution for information on flying saying, "I am an enthusiast, but not a crank."
The Wrights studied books, observed birds and conducted experiments on the problem of flight. They suffered many failures in their early attempts to fly. Finally, they decided that the main reason no one had been able to build a successful airplane was because most of the information written about flight was inaccurate. The brothers decided to start again. This time they relied on their own studies. Their real breakthrough came when they built a wind tunnel. The wind tunnel allowed them to conduct experiments on wing design. After more than 200 designs, they were successful.
Leaving nothing to chance, the Wrights also studied weather charts to find the best place to conduct their test flights. Because of the strong winds along the North Carolina coast, Wilbur decided to test the gliders there. Orville stayed behind in Dayton to operate the bicycle shop while Wilbur set up a camp at Kitty Hawk, in 1900. There, he and Orville conducted experiments to improve their glider during 1901 and 1902.
After the Wrights perfected their glider, they were ready to build a powered airplane. They discovered, however, that no one made a gasoline engine light enough for their design. Determined not to give up, the brothers built their own engine.
In 1903, the Wrights returned to Kitty Hawk to test their airplane. They flipped a coin to decide who would pilot the first flight. Wilbur won and made the first attempt at powered flight on December 14, 1903. Before the craft became airborne, it crashed. After spending two days repairing the machine, it was Orville's turn. This time, on December 17, 1903 at 10:53 a.m., the Wright Flyer lifted off the ground. It remained airborne for 12 seconds to become the first powered flight in history. The brothers took turns flying the machine three more times. Eventually, they kept it in the air for almost a minute. On the final flight, the Flyer was so badly damaged that they had to abandon the experiments and return to Dayton.
The brothers continued their research and perfected the airplane during 1904 and 1905 at what is now the site of the Wright Patterson Air Force Base. By 1905, they had produced the first practical airplane, the Wright Flyer III. That craft could make repeated takeoffs and landings, fly in circles and stay in the air more than 30 minutes. Despite their successes, the Wrights were unable to sell their design. Finally, they decided to manufacture and sell their own airplanes. In 1909, they founded the Wright Aeronautical Company.
The company lasted only a short time because Wilbur contracted typhoid fever and died in 1912. Without his brother, Orville lost interest and sold the business. Orville Wright lived until 1948 and saw the world shrink as a result of his invention. He saw the airplane become a major weapon of war and an important means of transportation. Today, the Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop is preserved at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan and their original airplane is housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Wilbur Wright:
Wilbur Wright was born near Millville, Indiana in 1867. He was the son of a minister. Early in his youth Wright moved with his family to Dayton, Ohio. Following his final year of high school, Wright stayed home for several years tending his sick mother. After she died in 1889, Wilbur and his brother, Orville, started a printing business, Wright and Wright, Job Printers.
Among the Wright’s customers was Paul Laurence Dunbar, who had been a high school classmate of Orville’s. The Wrights printed The Tattler, a small, weekly newspaper for black readers which Dunbar edited. In 1892, the Wright’s helped Dunbar publish his first book of poetry, Oak and Ivy. That book launched Dunbar’s career. He went on to become one of the best-known African-American writers of the early 20th century.
The printing business was not as kind to the Wrights. Their print shop failed and the brothers opened a bicycle repair shop, the Wright Cycle Company, in 1892. They were so good at working with bicycles that the pair soon began to manufacture their own models. Wilbur grew bored with the daily duties of the shop. After reading of Otto Lilienthal's experiments with gliders in Germany, he became interested in flying. By 1899, Wilbur had begun to experiment with gliders, airplanes that have no engines. Knowing that many people thought powered flight was impossible, Wilbur wrote the Smithsonian Institution for information on flying saying, "I am an enthusiast, but not a crank."
The Wrights studied books, observed birds and conducted experiments on the problem of flight. They suffered many failures in their early attempts to fly. Finally, they decided that the main reason no one had been able to build a successful airplane was because most of the information written about flight was inaccurate. The brothers decided to start again. This time they relied on their own studies. Their real breakthrough came when they built a wind tunnel. The wind tunnel allowed them to conduct experiments on wing design. After more than 200 designs, they were successful.
Leaving nothing to chance, the Wrights also studied weather charts to find the best place to conduct their test flights. Because of the strong winds along the North Carolina coast, Wilbur decided to test the gliders there. Orville stayed behind in Dayton to operate the bicycle shop while Wilbur set up a camp at Kitty Hawk, in 1900. There, he and Orville conducted experiments to improve their glider during 1901 and 1902.
After the Wrights perfected their glider, they were ready to build a powered airplane. They discovered, however, that no one made a gasoline engine light enough for their design. Determined not to give up, the brothers built their own engine.
In 1903, the Wrights returned to Kitty Hawk to test their airplane. They flipped a coin to decide who would pilot the first flight. Wilbur won and made the first attempt at powered flight on December 14, 1903. Before the craft became airborne, it crashed. After spending two days repairing the machine, it was Orville's turn. This time, on December 17, 1903 at 10:53 a.m., the Wright Flyer lifted off the ground. It remained airborne for 12 seconds to become the first powered flight in history. The brothers took turns flying the machine three more times. Eventually, they kept it in the air for almost a minute. On the final flight, the Flyer was so badly damaged that they had to abandon the experiments and return to Dayton.
The brothers continued their research and perfected the airplane during 1904 and 1905 at what is now the site of the Wright Patterson Air Force Base. By 1905, they had produced the first practical airplane, the Wright Flyer III. That craft could make repeated takeoffs and landings, fly in circles and stay in the air more than 30 minutes. Despite their successes, the Wrights were unable to sell their design. Finally, they decided to manufacture and sell their own airplanes. In 1909, they founded the Wright Aeronautical Company.
Wilbur never lived to see his invention reach its true potential. In 1912, he became ill with typhoid fever and quickly died. Today, the Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop is preserved at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan and their original airplane is housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.