Newfangled appliances don’t only make our lives easier, they create thousands of jobs, writes Ian Wylie
According to Garfield, the cartoon world’s laziest cat, the greatest inventions ever are labour-saving devices such as the microwave pizza and the remote control. But it could be argued that the best inventions are those which need labour and the best inventors are those who create jobs.
Lest we forget, many inventions also have a habit of destroying jobs. Yet each generation of inventors finds work for the labours their predecessors have erased.
According to a recent survey by Enterprise, Britain’s top 100 innovators have created 140 000 jobs in the past five years.
At the top of the jobs pile sits James Dyson’s bagless vacuum cleaner. His company, launched six years ago, has expanded its workforce to 1 050 from 51 in 1993. In the same period, turnover has risen from 9-million to 165-million.
It could be said that we all owe our jobs to one form of innovation or invention.
The Guinness Book of the 20th Century has compiled its favourite inventions of the past 100 years, and in celebration of the inventor’s alchemic art of turning ideas into jobs, we highlight the employment opportunities they created.
l The washing machine: First marketed in 1907 by the Hurley Machine Company, it helped liberate women from drudgery. In the United Kingdom, more than one million washing machines are bought each year and, according to the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Electrical Appliances, about 5 000 British workers design, manufacture and market new machines.
l The brassiere: Invented by New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacobs in 1914 when she asked a maid to stitch together a piece of pink ribbon and two handkerchiefs. Production of bras and other forms of women’s underwear now employ 35 700 people in the UK, according to the British Clothing Industry Association.
l The television: Invented by Scotsman John Logie Baird in 1925, it revolutionised the leisure time of millions. More than 14 000 people in Britain currently work in the manufacture of TVs.
l The shopping trolley: Oklahoma shoppers were the first to test drive them in 1938 and trolleys quickly became a symbol of the rise of consumerism and self-service. The manufacture of shopping trolleys in Britain is dominated by two companies who employ about 500 people between them.
l Tupperware: Modelled on the lid of a paint can in reverse, Earl S Tupper’s 1942 creation spawned a plastic housewares giant with a 1-billion turnover. Now, a Tupperware party is held somewhere in the world every 2,5 seconds.
l The plastic card: Issued for the first time in 1950 by Diners Club to be used at 27 New York restaurants, charge and credit cards paved the way towards the cashless society. The first South African credit card was issued by Barclays on January 1 1970. Today, First National Bank’s card division employs more than 1 200 people.
l The Jumbo jet: The Boeing 747 first flew in 1969, bringing cheap travel to millions. South African Airways employs almost 11 000 people in this country.
l The Walkman: Designed by Sony chair Akio Morita in 1979 so that his children could listen to loud music without disturbing him, the Walkman soon became a fashion essential. In Britain about 28 000 people work in electrical outlets selling and repairing personal stereos.
l Rubik’s Cube: He may have forgotten to patent the toy outside Hungary, but Professor Erno Rubik invented one of the most memorable fads of the century. Still selling 30 000 Rubik’s Cubes a year, the inventor’s UK agent Seven Towns says the puzzle’s enduring appeal keeps 4 000 manufacturing workers in jobs in China and Hungary.
l The cellular phone: In the Nineties a Yuppie accessory has been transformed into an essential form of communication. Cellular communications company MTN says it employs more than 2 000 people in South Africa, up from nine employees just four years ago.