Christopher Columbus was the best deal maker in history. He left not knowing where he was going, and upon arriving, not knowing where he was. He returned not knowing where he had been, and did it all on borrowed money.
Simon Lake submarine patentIn 1896, inventor Simon Lake was issued a U.S. patent for his "Submarine Locomotive" (No. 557,835), which he designed with underwater salvage operations in mind. It was fitted with traction wheels to travel the water-bed, and a crane hoist at the front. A diver's compartment with a bottom door could be filled with compressed air at the same pressure as the surrounding water to enable the diver to exit and enter the vessel underwater to have "an aperture on one side closed by means of a vibratory disphragm, and a combined air-supply and speakingtube connecting ... with a diver's helmet." He improved his design with a later patent issued 20 Apr 1897 (No. 581,213). On 16 Dec 1897 he demonstrated submarine Argonaut.« |
