F.3 Speaking

Set 4

Inventions--- Listen
Have you ever thought of inventing a spoon made of sugar to stir your tea? Or a window that would close by itself when it rained? They may sound crazy, but it is all these new ideas that change our lives. The following are the stories behind two great inventions:

Post-it Notes
Do you use Post-it Notes? Are they useful? Post-it Notes were invented by a scientist called Art Fry. He liked singing. He used pieces of paper to mark the songs in his song book. However, they always fell out. One day, Art Fry found a special kind of glue. He used it on the back of the papers. The papers could then be easily stuck on and peeled off a surface. He sent his invention to his friends, and soon everybody wanted them. Now, people all over the world use Post-it Notes every day!

Toilet
The water closet is a very common household item in the modern world. But it was not so 500 years ago. People then only used a hole in the ground or a chamber pot. Imagine the noise, the dirt, and the SMELL! Then one day, Sir John Harrington, a British nobleman, invented the water closet. He presented it as a gift to Queen Elizabeth. The Queen loved it, but other people laughed at it. Poor Sir John Harrington never made another. Two hundred years later, another inventor took up the idea again. Now, the water closet is an essential item in every home.
 

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