Imagination and a Pile of Junk: A Droll History of Inventors and Inventions by T

Description: Imagination and a Pile of Junk by Trevor Norton Estimated delivery 4-14 business days Format Paperback Condition Brand New Description Norton writes with wit and a fine eye for the poetry in the scientific world...funny and gripping. The Guardian Publisher Description In his whistle-stop tour of inventions large and small, the scientist Trevor Norton shares the Gershwins view that invention is fundamentally comic. The Sunday TimesTrevor Norton, who has been compared to Gerard Durrell and Bill Bryson, weaves an entertaining history with a seductive mix of eureka moments, disasters and dirty tricks. Although inventors were often scientists or engineers, many were not: Samuel Morse (Morse code) was a painter, Lazlow Biro (ballpoint) was a sculptor and hypnotist, and Logie Baird (TV) sold boot polish. The inventor of the automatic telephone switchboard was an undertaker who believed the operator was diverting his calls to rival morticians so he decided to make all telephone operators redundant. Inventors are mavericks indifferent to conventional wisdom so critics were dismissive of even their best ideas: radio had no future, electric light was an idiotic idea and X-rays were a hoax. Even so, the state of New Jersey moved to ban X-ray opera glasses. The head of the General Post Office rejected telephones as unneccesary as there were plenty of small boys to run messages.Inventomania is a magical place where eccentrics are always in season and their stories are usually unbelievable - but rest assured, nothing has been invented. Author Biography At school Trevors speciality was failing exams. Then he became entranced by a TV series in which Hans Hass went Diving to Adventure with his beautiful wife Lotte. From that moment he knew he had to become a marine biologist. To everyones surprise he began to pass exams. Later on Trevor held a Personal Chair at Glasgow University and was then appointed Professor of Marine Biology at Liverpool University and director of its Marine Laboratory. He has been the president of two Learned Societies and served on the expert assessors panel and the policy panel of the European Commission for funding major international research projects. Also a member of the annual review committee of the British Antarctic Survey, and chairman of the Aquatic Science Committee of the Natural Environment Research Council, and a Fulbright-Hayes Fellow in the United States. In addition to180 scientific articles he has also penned 30 magazine articles.Following retirement Trevor became Emeritus Professor at Liverpool University and an Honorary Senior Fellow affiliated to the Centre for Manx Studies. His efforts at literary non- fiction have been critically acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic, and his writing has been compared to that of Bill Bryson, Gerald Durrell and Rachel Carson.He has published widely on ecological topics. His much acclaimed books include Stars Beneath the Sea, Reflections on a Summer Sea and Under Water to Get out of the Rain.Trevor lives on the Isle of Man with his wife.. Details ISBN 1444732587 ISBN-13 9781444732580 Title Imagination and a Pile of Junk Author Trevor Norton Format Paperback Year 2015 Pages 448 Publisher Hodder & Stoughton GE_Item_ID:94157172; About Us Grand Eagle Retail is the ideal place for all your shopping needs! With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and over 1,000,000 in stock items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! Shipping & Delivery Times Shipping is FREE to any address in USA. Please view eBay estimated delivery times at the top of the listing. Deliveries are made by either USPS or Courier. We are unable to deliver faster than stated. International deliveries will take 1-6 weeks. NOTE: We are unable to offer combined shipping for multiple items purchased. This is because our items are shipped from different locations. Returns If you wish to return an item, please consult our Returns Policy as below: Please contact Customer Services and request "Return Authorisation" before you send your item back to us. Unauthorised returns will not be accepted. Returns must be postmarked within 4 business days of authorisation and must be in resellable condition. Returns are shipped at the customer's risk. We cannot take responsibility for items which are lost or damaged in transit. For purchases where a shipping charge was paid, there will be no refund of the original shipping charge. Additional Questions If you have any questions please feel free to Contact Us. Categories Baby Books Electronics Fashion Games Health & Beauty Home, Garden & Pets Movies Music Sports & Outdoors Toys

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End Time: 2025-02-01T07:33:20.000Z

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