# What individual designed the most ubiquitous object **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418 "2020-05-08T16:54:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/41 "2020-05-11T06:19:09Z")
> [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > The numbers are similarly enormous and one might argue that it is just another kind of MOSFET, but I wanted to give a shout out to Simon. I would consider it distinct. The floating gate is a crucial difference, and one that makes it useless as a switching element but fantastic as a non-volatile storage element. Wikipedia [says](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics_industry#List_of_best-selling_electronic_devices) that “only” 2.3 sextillion flash cells have been produced so far. But I think it’s likely they’ll beat the standard MOSFET over time. A modern iPhone CPU contains about 8 billion MOSFETs. But 64 GB of flash has about 170 billion FG-MOSFET cells. Flash-heavy devices already dominate so it’s probably just a matter of time before the counts catch up. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/42 "2020-05-11T06:30:44Z")
Harvey Ball was a commercial artist who designed the Smiley Face in 1963 for a program to increase employee morale at the State Mutual Life Insurance Co. It is the yellow and black one we are all familiar with, and in my opinion has been the origin for the multitude of variations that we see - think emojis. And from those came any number of other emojis. But as a note, people had been making similar drawings of the human face since antiquity. But Mr Ball is the originator of the one that is found around the world. Maybe not the most important, but maybe the most popular and widespread. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/43 "2020-05-11T07:40:52Z")
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/44 "2020-05-11T16:39:26Z")
> [@JWT Kottekoe](#): > > How about Binney and Smith, inventors of the Crayola crayon. As long as you specify Crayola’s introduction in 1903, sure. Crayons go back centuries, but in the late 1890s, there were several companies developing and making paper-wrapped wax crayons. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/45 "2020-05-11T16:49:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Osbourn Dorsey. He’s the guy that invented the modern door knob. He was awarded a patent in 1878. Most of the world doesn’t use door knobs, so this one definitely doesn’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/46 "2020-05-11T17:17:57Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Ubiquitous item I thought of: screw-on caps, invented by George Mason (of Mason jars). He also invented the screw-top salt shaker. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/47 "2020-05-11T18:09:40Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Many more daily products were gradual adaptations through time, rather than the product of one or a few people at a specific point in time. > [@Alessan](#): > > John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Wouldn’t Dinsdale’s comment apply to the sandwich? People had been putting fillings in bread for generations before Sandwich’s name was attached to the concept. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/48 "2020-05-12T00:16:59Z")
> [@sunstone](#): > > Harvey Ball was a commercial artist who designed the Smiley Face in 1963 for a program to increase employee morale at the State Mutual Life Insurance Co. > It is the yellow and black one we are all familiar with, and in my opinion has been the origin for the multitude of variations that we see - think emojis. And from those came any number of other emojis. > > But as a note, people had been making similar drawings of the human face since antiquity. But Mr Ball is the originator of the one that is found around the world. > Maybe not the most important, but maybe the most popular and widespread. I was just talking today with someone about an object being a very specific shade of bright yellow. We decided it was “70s Smiley Face yellow” and I was amused at how readily identifiable that phrase was. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/49 "2020-05-12T00:47:02Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Most of the world doesn’t use door knobs, so this one definitely doesn’t cut it. Say what? ---
**Author:** ![Yosh99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ccd318/32.png) [@Yosh99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yosh99)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/50 "2020-05-12T03:52:05Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I looked out my front window and saw a neighbor kid in one of those red and yellow Little Tikes cars. I realized I had seen the exact same car yesterday at my daughter’s house, and I wondered if one individual was the lead designer for that product. > > I’m interested in the sort of object that is instantly identifiable - rather than a “technology” such as the phone. Today’s cellphones bear little resemblance to Bell’s invention. Many more daily products were gradual adaptations through time, rather than the product of one or a few people at a specific point in time. > > Any ideas? Maybe Post-it notes? Art Fry from 3M became famous and rich for his “invention” of the Post-It note, but the same article was in existence prior to 1974 when 3M claimed the invention. Moore Business Forms, a company I don’t think exists any more, had slips of paper with removable pressure sensitive adhesive at least by 1973. I know one use for them was on hospital medical clipboard charts. Also, the concept for Post-It was brought to 3M by an outside individual who claims 3M stole the concept from him. According to Wikipedia, 3M paid him a settlement after being sued. What 3M did do better than anyone else was market the product. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/51 "2020-05-12T05:21:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Say what? Door knobs are only common in Anglophone countries; the rest of the world uses door handles. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/52 "2020-05-12T05:53:35Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Door knobs are only common in Anglophone countries; the rest of the world uses door handles. Not even that. In south africa, about 80% of the doors operate by a door handle. The rest operate by a sliding motion, or by a pull-handle. at most 1%, i’d say more like 0.5%, use door Knobs. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/53 "2020-05-12T07:29:08Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > Not even that. > In south africa, about 80% of the doors operate by a door handle. > The rest operate by a sliding motion, or by a pull-handle. > at most 1%, i’d say more like 0.5%, use door Knobs. Doorknobs weren’t even invented until 1878, well after the fax machine (1843) and the Analytical Engine (1837). My contribution is MATCHES invented by John Walker in 1826. They have remained largely the same, they are a type of self-contained “device” and they come in packs full of them. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/54 "2020-05-12T17:48:49Z")
The paper staple certainly qualifies as ubiquitous, although it’s hard to say who gets credit because the concept went through several refinements. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/55 "2020-05-12T20:01:26Z")
The bread clip, invented by Floyd G. Paxton. According to wikipedia, he never did get a patent for it. Don’t feel bad for him, though. He did get patents for the machine that makes the clips, bags the bread, and applied the clip. He also still manufactures the majority of the clips in the US. [Taxonomy](http://www.horg.com/horg/?page_id=921). ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/56 "2020-05-12T20:07:08Z")
Taxonomy of [bread clips](http://www.horg.com/horg/?page_id=5). ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/57 "2020-05-13T04:16:31Z")
Archytas of Tarentum – the screw thread. Archytas is sometimes called the founder of mechanics and was a contemporary of Plato. [So says these people.](https://www.boltscience.com/pages/screw2.htm) I don’t know enough to dispute them. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/58 "2020-05-13T06:19:46Z")
It would have to be a very commonplace object that everyone uses or encounters, yet because of that we rarely acknowledge it. As the OP asks for “object”, it need not be a complicated device. Screws. Zippers. Nails. Cloth woven from fibers. I submit for consideration, the humble: the **Brick** You find them (made out of various materials) **everywhere**. In walls. In floors. Sidewalks. Roads even. Slowly being replaced by concrete, but still everywhere ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/59 "2020-05-13T06:38:46Z")
Of course the OP asks for the PERSON. " What individual designed" For ubiquitous objects where we know the designer, the answer would simply _have_ to be Gideon Sundback, who designed the first actual working model of a zipper, or Whitcomb Judson who invented it but never made a product out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418/60 "2020-05-13T16:34:02Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Door knobs are only common in Anglophone countries; the rest of the world uses door handles. Okay. I don’t really see that as being a significant difference. A round knob or a straight handle is only a cosmetic choice. The technology is having a device that you twist by hand which causes an internal bar to move horizontally and release the door from the frame. Prior to the door knob/handle, people would secure a door with an external latch or a piece of string. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-individual-designed-the-most-ubiquitous-object/853418.md?page=4)