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n– 1911
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nWhoa!nLook at that! Someone just turned a key, and the engine of a carnstarted!
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Thatnseems so ordinary these days, doesn’t it? But Charles Kettering andnhis colleagues had to invent the electric starter before autos couldnstart so easily. Before this day in 1911, you had to hand-crank ancar’s engine to start it.
Thatnseems so ordinary these days, doesn’t it? But Charles Kettering andnhis colleagues had to invent the electric starter before autos couldnstart so easily. Before this day in 1911, you had to hand-crank ancar’s engine to start it.n
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nAndriver would cup the hand crank’s handle in the palm of her or hisnright hand, operate the choke by pulling a wire with the left handnwhile slowly turning the crank—then rapidly pull the crank handlento start the engine. If the engine kicked back, the hand would benthrown away from the crank’s handle (unless the driver was holdingnthe crank wrong, in which case his wrist may be violently turned, ornher thumb broken!).
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nItnsounds trickier than a power lawn mower—and starting one of thosenis often an exercise in frustration!
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nThenelectric starter meant smaller, weaker, and older people could startna car, and everybody could start a car much more easily than before.nThis invention helped ensure the automobile’s rise in popularity.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nRandom Acts of Kindness Day
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nAnniversary of first U.S. street with gas lighting
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nBasketball superstar Michael Jordan’s birthday
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