May 12 – The Real McCoy Gets Another Patent

nPostednon May 12, 2014

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ElijahnMcCoy may be the guy that the phrase “the real McCoy” refers to.nHe was an inventor with 57 U.S. patents to his name. One of thoseninventions, an oil-drip cup for lubrication, as popular enough thatnrailroad engineers would ask for it by name. “The real McCoy”nmeans the real thing – so it seems likely that the engineers wouldnask, “Does this locomotive have the real McCoy system?”

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n(But,nas in most cases of language evolution, there are other suggestednorigins of the phrase, too. “The real MacKay” is a phrase used innScotland in the 19^th Century—first recorded in 1856.n“The real McCoy” was first seen in print in a Canadian magazinenin 1881. As you will see, Elijah McCoy had connections to bothnScotland and Canada.)

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n McCoynwas born in 1884. He was born free in Ontario, Canada, to fugitivenslaves who had escaped from Kentucky to Canada via the UndergroundnRailroad. When he was just three years old, McCoy’s family moved tonback to the U.S., settling in Michigan.

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nWhennhe was 15, McCoy traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to learn to be anmechanical engineer. He served as an apprentice and earnedncertification. When he returned to the U.S., he worked as a firemannand oiler on the railroads. But his real work – the stuff he isnremembered for – was tinkering in his home-based machine shop.nAnd, like I said, inventing ways to do things better.

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Onnthis date in 1874, McCoy received a patent for a fold-up ironingnboard. Most of what he invented had to do with lubrication systems,nbut he also invented a lawn sprinkler.

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nPutnyour inventor’s cap on! Check out Kids Invent and iKids.

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nAlsonon this date:
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