Ifnyou use a lock and key today, think of today’s birthday honoree,nLinus Yale, Jr. He invented the sort of cylinder lock most of us usento secure many of our doors and drawers.
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nThenidea of a cylinder lock is that a flat key with serrated edges isnpushed into the keyhole, which is located in the plug in the centernof the cylinder. Pins protruding through holes into the plug glide upnand down as the key is inserted. Springs above the pins putncontinuous pressure on the the top and bottom pins. The right keynwill make the pins line up in the right spot, and the lock turns,nunlocking the dead bolt or lockset.
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Yale,nwho was born in New York on this date in 1821, followed in hisnfather’s footsteps. Linus Yale, Sr., ran a lock shop and specializednin bank locks. Yale, Jr., came up with fresh new ideas and openednYale Lock Manufacturing Company. In his life, he applied for andnreceived many patents for his innovative lock designs.
Yale,nwho was born in New York on this date in 1821, followed in hisnfather’s footsteps. Linus Yale, Sr., ran a lock shop and specializednin bank locks. Yale, Jr., came up with fresh new ideas and openednYale Lock Manufacturing Company. In his life, he applied for andnreceived many patents for his innovative lock designs.n
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nWhennwas the first lock invented?
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| Old-fashioned keys weren’t flat, as modern keys are. |
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nLocksnof various sorts were invented several time independently, all overnthe world. We have no idea when or where the first lock was invented,nbut I can tell you that the oldest known lock was found in the ruinsnof the Khorsabad Palace, near Nineveh, in the ancient Assyriannempire. (This empire was located in what we now call the Middle East,nin parts of Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey.) The lock is about 4,000nyears old!
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nLearnnmore about the history of locks here.
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nWenmay soon be able to use an app to open our doors! I wouldnlove, love, love this!
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nAlson on this date:
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nHolidayTime in Taiwan
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Tomb-Sweeping Day
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nReformernDorothea Dix’s birthday
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nReformernDorothea Dix’s birthday
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nIndependencenDay in Senegal
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nIndependencenDay in Senegal
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nAnniversarynof the knighthood of Francis Drake
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