Science Corner - Contemporary Science Around 1776!

Kristie Ehrhardt • July 2, 2026

The late 18th century had some pretty significant contributions to world history. Of course one big one is the reason we celebrate July 4 and this year's celebration is a MONUMENTAL one. But if you dig a little deeper you’ll find many other epic scientific advancements to our modern lives that came about then too.


Not to make light of any of the inventions of that time but you might want to dial back your dazzle meter just for a bit. To put these contributions into context, prior to 1776 the printing press was the social media of the time and the lightning rod was all the rage way before the lightning cable.


The Franklin stove - the must-have high-tech major appliance of the time. It was the first of its kind and hecka trendy. It was a metal lined stove that allowed families to not only efficiently heat their house during the brutal New England winters but it also allowed them to cook food, indoors, over an open flame without dealing with the particulate matter and volatile organic compounds that we have all become so well versed in. Franklin never patented his stove which allowed others to use his design and improve on it.


Other hot trends of the late 18th century include indoor plumbing. Flush toilets to be precise. Although the idea was first introduced in 1596 it never really went down (get it?!) as an interior decorating sensation. Advances made during the industrial revolution allowed toilet improvements such as the S-trap which is still used in our toilets today. Technological advances including the flapper and float were added later and patented in 1778. This original design was used for about another 100 years.


Early in the First Industrial Revolution Scottish chemist, mechanical engineer and inventor James Watt revolutionized the existing commercial steam engine previously introduced in 1712. Think of it as going from the old-timey wall-mounted crank phone to the smart phone in your pocket. Watt’s engine design incorporated new concepts such as a separate condenser and continuous rotary motion. During his life Watt secured six primary patents. The watt - the unit of measurement of electrical and mechanical power, is named in his honor.


The very first submarine attack also happened in 1776 because of another new innovation - The Turtle. Impressive name, right? Super intimidating. The Turtle was a one man, pedal powered oak barrel sealed with tar and held together with iron hoops. It was shaped like a turtle shell and the driver operated the propellers with hand cranks and foot pedals. If you weren’t in Tour de France shape when you went down, you would be when you resubmerged. The Turtle was the first submersible to use a ballast system to lower and raise the vessel. The pilot relied on breathing tubes from the surface and only had 30 minutes of air in the vessel once fully submerged. In September 1776 U.S. Army Sergeant Ezra Lee volunteered to take the Turtle on her maiden voyage to attack the British HMS Eagle in New York Harbor. The goal was to attach explosives to the hull of the ship but the hand-powered drill couldn’t penetrate the ship's copper-lined hull and the mission was aborted. Although the Turtle never sank any enemy war ships it did revolutionize Naval warfare.


In other water related affairs, the marine chronometer was patented just before the turn of the calendar in December 1775. The chronometer, a portable clock that uses a special mechanism so accurate that longitude could be determined at sea, was originally invented in 1737 by John Harrison. Later, John Arnold made vast improvements to the chronometer and took out his first patent on December 30, 1775. A nautical mile is based on latitude and longitude. One nautical mile equals one minute of latitude, so timekeeping was imperative for precise navigation and ordinary pendulum clocks were worthless at sea due to changing temperatures and the ship’s motion. Chronometers are still used today but are much smaller and look similar to a stopwatch, some are small enough to be incorporated into a wrist watch.


Artificially carbonated water was first concocted in 1767 by British chemist Joseph Priestly. Although Priestly had many contributions to science such as isolating oxygen in its gaseous state, he is best known for his development of soda water and has been credited with being the “father of the soda industry”. In 1772, he provided Captain James Cook’s crew with a pamphlet titled “Directions for Impregnating Water with Fixed Air” to help calm seasick tummies. It wasn’t until 1780 that a watch maker, J.J. Schweppe (yep, that guy) commercialized packaged effervescence and the rest is history.


Side note - at one time soda water was thought to be the cure for scurvy. Identifying the actual cure, vitamin C, was also a 18th century revolution.


So perhaps enjoy a cold Schweppes ginger ale or appreciate your indoor loo while celebrating our nation’s semiquincentennial birthday!


Happy 4th of July!!

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