WEBVTT 00:00:22.540 --> 00:00:24.519 Good evening, everybody. This is Food for Thought. 00:00:24.579 --> 00:00:26.600 Thoughts if it were you, this is Neogentrics. 00:00:26.899 --> 00:00:30.679 How is everybody doing today? Now, there's a 00:00:30.679 --> 00:00:32.200 lot of different things that's going on in life, 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:33.820 and everyone has a lot of different things that 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:37.479 they like to talk about. And, you know, I cover 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:39.640 a lot of stuff from A to Z. Y 'all know I cover 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:44.909 life -related things, life lessons. stupid questions, 00:00:45.189 --> 00:00:48.390 things of that nature. I mean, it's just stuff 00:00:48.390 --> 00:00:50.350 that people either think about, stuff they don't 00:00:50.350 --> 00:00:53.170 know, stuff they'd like to know. So I wanted 00:00:53.170 --> 00:00:56.750 to create a whole new segment of Did You Know? 00:00:56.929 --> 00:00:59.549 You know, everyone has at least like a small 00:00:59.549 --> 00:01:01.310 segment of this, so I figured why not throw it 00:01:01.310 --> 00:01:04.609 in there, cover a topic that, you know, different 00:01:04.609 --> 00:01:08.269 topics that people haven't covered yet. Things 00:01:08.269 --> 00:01:13.379 like, you know, how do I put this? Like the traffic 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:17.180 light for one you know who invented the traffic 00:01:17.180 --> 00:01:22.700 light I mean There's a lot of the rumors out 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:24.359 there. There's a lot of different things out 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:26.879 there stating. You know it was this guy. It was 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:33.040 that guy No one really knows so I figured why 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:37.060 not go ahead and cover it That and other stuff 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:39.500 so from now on every now and then I'm gonna have 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:43.319 a Did You Know? or Who Invented? Yeah, we'll 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:46.840 do that. Excuse me. Couldn't breathe for a second. 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:50.620 I'm going to have a Who Invented That segment, 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:53.659 and we'll pick random topics, and I'll go ahead 00:01:53.659 --> 00:01:55.659 and cover those. It'll be short. I'm not going 00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:58.439 to make it long. But we're going to start with 00:01:58.439 --> 00:02:01.480 the first major one, like I mentioned a second 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:04.439 ago. I've had a lot of people ask me this, like, 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:06.040 you know, Traffic Light's a great invention. 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:08.300 Who invented it? So we're going to take a short 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:20.639 break here, and then... We'll go into that. All 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:32.680 right, everybody. Okay, we're back. So we're 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:34.020 going to go into that question like I mentioned 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:39.800 before. Who invented the traffic light? There's 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:45.680 the question for today. First things first. Traffic 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:48.699 lights, or traffic signals, or whatever you want 00:02:48.699 --> 00:02:52.620 to call them, they're typically located where? 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:55.219 Like on the corner in cities and towns? You know, 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:57.280 they're at like almost every intersection now. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.520 And the color lights are red, yellow, and green, 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:02.159 respectively. Whether upside down, right side 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:06.219 up, sideways, or diagonal. I've seen those. Uh, 00:03:06.419 --> 00:03:08.840 they indicate when it's safe to cross an intersection, 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.479 whether walking, driving, riding, biking, flying. 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:14.800 Yeah, we have those for flying and for trains, 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:17.419 too, surprisingly, despite them not exactly, 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:20.680 well, I mean, planes have more free path and 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:22.960 trains have a more direct path, but I, you know, 00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:27.460 I digress. More interesting, though, is that 00:03:27.460 --> 00:03:32.639 the first traffic signal, uh, how do I put this? 00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:39.560 Well, let's start with this. The first instance 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:41.639 where it became needed that we needed something 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:44.400 of that nature to direct traffic was back in 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:47.020 the 1860s where traffic jams were a problem even 00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:49.479 before the invention of the automobile. Keep 00:03:49.479 --> 00:03:51.719 this in mind. Horse -drawn carriages and pedestrians, 00:03:52.340 --> 00:03:58.159 crowded roads, especially in London, were a thing. 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:02.199 The British Railway... What was this guy's name? 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:05.900 John Knight, I do believe, suggested adapting 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:08.819 a railroad method for controlling traffic because 00:04:08.819 --> 00:04:11.159 they have a system that they use for that. Railroads 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:15.379 used a semaphore system with small arms extending 00:04:15.379 --> 00:04:18.899 from a pole to indicate whether a train could 00:04:18.899 --> 00:04:25.879 pass or not. John P Knight's adaption of this 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:28.579 the semaphores would you know signal when to 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.519 stop or go during the day and at night red and 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:33.860 green lights would be used using gas lamps that 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:36.720 would illuminate the signs at night and a police 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:38.459 officer would be stationed next to the signals 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:41.920 to operate them okay so I mean gas lamps were 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:44.100 a thing we didn't have light bulbs at the time 00:04:44.100 --> 00:04:49.959 yet that comes later obviously so we had Railroads, 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:53.139 we had train signals. We had stop and go signals 00:04:53.139 --> 00:04:55.660 in the past. We had no way of controlling traffic 00:04:55.660 --> 00:05:02.040 until later. This is also where that game Red 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:04.860 Light, Green Light comes from. So there's another 00:05:04.860 --> 00:05:09.810 did you know fact right there. The world's first 00:05:09.810 --> 00:05:14.750 traffic signal was installed December 9, 1868, 00:05:15.110 --> 00:05:17.670 I believe, at the intersection of Bridge Street 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:20.449 and Great George Street in London Borough of 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:24.269 Westminster. It was near the House of Parliament 00:05:24.269 --> 00:05:28.009 and the Westminster Bridge. It was a success, 00:05:28.149 --> 00:05:33.370 just to shorten that, and Knight predicted there 00:05:33.370 --> 00:05:38.470 would be more to be installed later on. However, 00:05:38.470 --> 00:05:40.949 a month or so later, a police officer controlling 00:05:40.949 --> 00:05:43.689 the signals was badly injured when a leak in 00:05:43.689 --> 00:05:46.149 the gas main caused one of the lights to explode 00:05:46.149 --> 00:05:49.069 in his face, and then the project was declared 00:05:49.069 --> 00:05:52.029 a public hazard and was immediately dropped. 00:05:53.230 --> 00:05:57.310 So, public safety was always an issue, even in 00:05:57.310 --> 00:06:04.610 the past. Next day, uh, let's see. What happened 00:06:04.610 --> 00:06:07.389 after that incident? Oh, yeah. After that, about 00:06:07.389 --> 00:06:09.689 four decades passed before traffic signals began 00:06:09.689 --> 00:06:11.810 to grow in popularity again, mainly here in the 00:06:11.810 --> 00:06:14.589 United States. And as more automobiles started 00:06:14.589 --> 00:06:17.610 to hit the road in the early 1900s, they saw 00:06:17.610 --> 00:06:20.490 several patents being filed, each with different 00:06:20.490 --> 00:06:23.730 innovations for the same basic idea. You know, 00:06:23.730 --> 00:06:26.170 trying to simplify it where it was a lot safer 00:06:26.170 --> 00:06:28.569 to use, obviously, so it doesn't blow up in somebody's 00:06:28.569 --> 00:06:32.660 face. And it wasn't until 1910 when Ernest Serene, 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:36.639 an American inventor, introduced an automatically 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:40.759 controlled traffic signal in Chicago. His signal 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:46.160 used two illuminated display arms arranged as 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.680 a cross that rotated on an axis. According to 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.819 a lot of different texts that I've managed to 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:58.569 read, the signs read... Stop and proceed. Those 00:06:58.569 --> 00:07:00.850 were what they used. The first electric traffic 00:07:00.850 --> 00:07:03.009 light using red and green lights was invented 00:07:03.009 --> 00:07:07.750 in 1912 by a man named Lester Farnsworth Wire. 00:07:08.029 --> 00:07:10.170 He was a police officer in Salt Lake City, Utah. 00:07:11.730 --> 00:07:15.350 At least to my knowledge. I do believe it was 00:07:15.350 --> 00:07:21.250 in Utah. Anyway. Wire traffic signals resembled 00:07:21.250 --> 00:07:26.540 a four -sided birdhouse mounted on a pole. It's 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:28.139 placed in the middle of the intersection and 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:31.339 was powered by an overhead trolley wire. A police 00:07:31.339 --> 00:07:33.040 officer had to manually switch the direction 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:35.459 of the light stuff. So we're still in a manual 00:07:35.459 --> 00:08:07.079 system at this point. Okay, we're back. Here's 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:08.839 where things get interesting. You're gonna love 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.439 this. Okay, now we're gonna move forward It's 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:13.019 not that we've gotten to the part where we're 00:08:13.019 --> 00:08:17.420 basically making electric traffic lights Let's 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:19.000 go into that for a second here. You're gonna 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:22.579 love this The credit for the first electric traffic 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:26.259 signal usually goes to a guy named James B. Hogan 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:28.899 The system based on his design was installed 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:32.539 back in August 5th, 1914 in Cleveland. He received 00:08:32.539 --> 00:08:34.919 the patent for the system in 1918 though. He 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:40.019 had filed his application in 1913. His traffic 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:42.000 signal used the alternating illuminating words 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:44.899 stop and move installed on a single post on each 00:08:44.899 --> 00:08:47.220 of the four corners of the intersection. The 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:49.360 system was wired such that police and fire departments 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:51.179 could adjust the rhythm of the lights in case 00:08:51.179 --> 00:08:54.480 of an emergency, obviously. The guy named William 00:08:54.480 --> 00:09:01.399 Gil... Gil Greer, forget it. His last name is 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:03.799 kind of hard to pronounce. I remember the name. 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:05.980 I could spell it, but it doesn't help with the 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:09.159 pronunciation. He was from San Francisco. He 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:11.460 patented the first automatic traffic signal that 00:09:11.460 --> 00:09:13.779 used the red and green lights that we know of 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:17.019 today in 1917. His design had the option of being 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:19.100 either automatic or manual, though. So he had 00:09:19.100 --> 00:09:21.620 the option to change it back and forth, you know, 00:09:21.620 --> 00:09:23.139 without having to mess with the system itself. 00:09:24.099 --> 00:09:27.559 In 1920, a guy named William Potts, he was a 00:09:27.559 --> 00:09:32.659 Detroit police officer, developed several automatic 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:34.639 traffic light systems that included the three 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:37.580 -color signal. He added in the yellow caution 00:09:37.580 --> 00:09:40.299 light that we know of today. So at this point, 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:42.860 now we have a basic red -green -yellow light 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:46.220 system, or red -yellow -green light system, and 00:09:46.220 --> 00:09:49.159 it's automatic to a point, and it's electric. 00:09:50.570 --> 00:09:53.629 Now, here's where things get interesting and 00:09:53.629 --> 00:09:56.350 I had to do a little extra research to find this 00:09:56.350 --> 00:10:01.610 out. It wasn't until 1923 where a black man named 00:10:01.610 --> 00:10:04.210 Garrett Morgan patented an electric automatic 00:10:04.210 --> 00:10:07.750 traffic signal. He was the first African American 00:10:07.750 --> 00:10:09.990 to own a car in Cleveland on top of that, by 00:10:09.990 --> 00:10:13.649 the way. He also invented the gas mask. So there's 00:10:13.649 --> 00:10:17.110 another tidbit for you. Morgan's design used 00:10:17.110 --> 00:10:21.330 a T -shaped pole unit. with three positions besides 00:10:21.330 --> 00:10:25.210 go and stop. The system also first stopped traffic 00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:27.309 in all directions to give drivers time to stop 00:10:27.309 --> 00:10:29.730 or get through the intersection. Another benefit 00:10:29.730 --> 00:10:32.149 of Morgan's design was that it could be produced 00:10:32.149 --> 00:10:35.230 inexpensively thus increasing the number of signals 00:10:35.230 --> 00:10:38.309 that could be installed. He sold the rights to 00:10:38.309 --> 00:10:41.570 his traffic signal to GE or General Electric 00:10:41.570 --> 00:10:46.019 as we know it today for $40 ,000. I had to look 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:48.539 that up. I forgot how much it was up until this 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:51.559 point. The first electric traffic light in Europe, 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:55.019 though, was installed until 1924 by Potsdamer 00:10:55.019 --> 00:10:59.480 Platz in Berlin. But according to Marcus Welz, 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:05.639 the CEO of Simons Intelligent Traffic Systems 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:09.799 here in the U .S., the five -sided traffic light 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:13.700 was mounted on a tower and was primarily manual. 00:11:15.049 --> 00:11:17.250 with some automation, which only required a single 00:11:17.250 --> 00:11:20.190 police officer to manage it. A replica now still 00:11:20.190 --> 00:11:24.190 stands nearby as a popular tourist attraction 00:11:24.190 --> 00:11:29.110 over in Europe. But, you know, that was the first 00:11:29.110 --> 00:11:31.289 time an electric system was installed in Europe. 00:11:31.370 --> 00:11:34.470 It was basically created here in America. So... 00:11:34.470 --> 00:11:39.830 Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah. Pedestrian 00:11:39.830 --> 00:11:41.629 signals didn't actually become a thing until 00:11:41.629 --> 00:11:44.809 later. They began being included with the traffic 00:11:44.809 --> 00:11:47.889 signals in 1930, and according to the U .S. Department 00:11:47.889 --> 00:11:51.490 of Transportation, a walk -don't -walk signal 00:11:51.490 --> 00:11:55.850 was first tested in New York in 1934. It even 00:11:55.850 --> 00:11:59.370 used an upright palm to indicate stop, so that's 00:11:59.370 --> 00:12:01.769 always been a thing. They also had the version 00:12:01.769 --> 00:12:05.870 of it that said walk and don't walk. John S. 00:12:05.990 --> 00:12:08.889 Allen, an American inventor, filed one of the 00:12:08.889 --> 00:12:11.909 earliest patents in 1947 for a dedicated pedestrian 00:12:11.909 --> 00:12:16.649 signal. His design had the pedestrian signal 00:12:16.649 --> 00:12:21.149 mounted on a curb level. It also was proposed 00:12:21.149 --> 00:12:24.870 that the signal could be, it can contain advertisements. 00:12:25.850 --> 00:12:28.389 In his application, he explained that the word 00:12:28.389 --> 00:12:31.610 stop and go could be followed by the word for, 00:12:31.870 --> 00:12:35.269 which in turn would be followed by a brand name, 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:39.149 if you'd like. They were advertisements at first, 00:12:39.269 --> 00:12:45.090 but they had good intentions for it. Though the 00:12:45.090 --> 00:12:47.529 design initially was kind of creepy to look at. 00:12:48.570 --> 00:12:50.970 The traffic signals continue to improve as time 00:12:50.970 --> 00:12:53.230 went on. Many traffic signals are intelligent 00:12:53.230 --> 00:12:55.370 now and can monitor real -time traffic situations, 00:12:55.490 --> 00:12:58.169 including direction, volume, density, and as 00:12:58.169 --> 00:13:00.409 well as prioritize public transportation systems. 00:13:03.179 --> 00:13:06.279 A guy named Welts said that Siemens is working 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:08.879 on a project in Tampa, Florida to implement the 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:11.919 connected vehicle technology which allows the 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:14.240 system to directly communicate with the cars 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:19.720 and the DPS system. Basically, it made it so 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:22.399 that communications are sent from over 40 traffic 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:24.620 lights to cars equipped with the technology to 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:27.279 receive the basic safety messages either on the 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:30.919 rear mirror or in the in -dash computer. That's 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:35.100 currently where we're heading now. So with that 00:13:35.100 --> 00:13:38.360 being said, with the future being designed around 00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:40.820 self -driving cars, and that's a thing that's 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:45.100 not going to die anytime soon, with these new 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:47.759 technologies coming in and the recent scenario 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:51.159 being published by MIT Sensible City Labs in 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:58.789 2016, the PLOS -1 is one of the few... Beta testing 00:13:58.789 --> 00:14:01.850 systems that basically allows for the traffic 00:14:01.850 --> 00:14:04.190 light system to connect to the onboard computers 00:14:04.190 --> 00:14:06.629 of the vehicles It's coming so it knows how many 00:14:06.629 --> 00:14:08.490 vehicles are sitting at the intersection so it 00:14:08.490 --> 00:14:10.389 knows how much time it needs to take for before 00:14:10.389 --> 00:14:13.690 its transition and also how many pedestrians 00:14:13.690 --> 00:14:15.970 is on the street by you know interconnecting 00:14:15.970 --> 00:14:20.039 the signals and seeing where everyone is so for 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:21.659 those out there that's not a fan of interconnected 00:14:21.659 --> 00:14:24.580 systems people being connected interconnected 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:27.600 to their phones or such that nature keep in mind 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:30.559 this is where we're going but that's basically 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:33.519 who invented the traffic light its history and 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.980 how it got to where it's at now we're still proceeding 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:39.779 with a lot of the culture and such as it's continuing 00:14:39.779 --> 00:15:00.840 to grow so we'll see where it goes Alright everybody, 00:15:01.100 --> 00:15:04.700 that's about it. So, to sum this up in a nutshell, 00:15:04.940 --> 00:15:07.159 and yes, I know that was a bit of a long episode, 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:12.039 I apologize for that. It wasn't until 1923 that 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:14.860 a black man named Garrett Morgan patented the 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:17.659 first electric automatic traffic system that 00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:20.320 we see nowadays. It was created by an African 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:22.539 American, though he doesn't seem to get a lot 00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:24.799 of credit for it. The original inventor of the 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.679 traffic signal was the guy named J .P. Morgan, 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:32.669 I'm sorry, J .P. Knight. Back in the 1900s. Early, 00:15:32.789 --> 00:15:36.409 early 1900s. Though he's still given the credit 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:39.149 for creating the first traffic signal, the first 00:15:39.149 --> 00:15:42.110 electric automatic system wasn't created until 00:15:42.110 --> 00:15:47.990 later by this guy, Garrett Morgan. It helps to 00:15:47.990 --> 00:15:49.730 know a little bit about your history and, you 00:15:49.730 --> 00:15:51.909 know, here and there, and find out stuff that 00:15:51.909 --> 00:15:55.220 you didn't already know. It's sad when I ask 00:15:55.220 --> 00:15:57.460 people, do you know who created this or created 00:15:57.460 --> 00:15:59.860 that, and they can't seem to remember, or they 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:01.679 automatically give it to someone who doesn't 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:05.220 deserve it. I don't fawn over ignorance, I assure 00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:08.960 you, but I do like to help people who don't know. 00:16:09.740 --> 00:16:11.700 Why stay ignorant when you can learn, you know? 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:16.620 That aside, if this series does well, and I'm 00:16:16.620 --> 00:16:18.360 going to do a couple more episodes like this 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:22.090 of Who Invented or Did You Know? If you have 00:16:22.090 --> 00:16:24.049 any topics, suggestions, you know, send them 00:16:24.049 --> 00:16:28.350 in. I'll be happy to cover them. And go over 00:16:28.350 --> 00:16:30.029 a little bit of the history of the item and who 00:16:30.029 --> 00:16:32.070 actually invented it. And give the credit to 00:16:32.070 --> 00:16:34.629 who actually, you know, deserves it. Despite 00:16:34.629 --> 00:16:38.129 what the world may think. Wars are fought on 00:16:38.129 --> 00:16:39.909 both sides, but the history is written by the 00:16:39.909 --> 00:16:42.210 winners. But that doesn't mean that someone isn't 00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:44.230 copying or writing down the history of those 00:16:44.230 --> 00:16:47.710 who lost. And if that means I have to cover it 00:16:47.710 --> 00:16:53.149 myself, I will. So with that, again, this has 00:16:53.149 --> 00:16:54.950 been Food for Thought. Thoughts if it were you. 00:16:55.029 --> 00:16:57.509 Thank you guys for listening. I hope you enjoy 00:16:57.509 --> 00:16:59.909 the rest of your day. If you like what you hear, 00:17:00.009 --> 00:17:02.909 like or subscribe on my podcast on anchor .fm, 00:17:02.929 --> 00:17:06.569 forward slash neogentrics, Apple Podcasts, Google 00:17:06.569 --> 00:17:09.170 Podcasts, or Spotify. Enjoy the rest of your 00:17:09.170 --> 00:17:09.349 day.