CNBC Insight
MFakhriansyah, CNBC Indonesia
Entrepreneur
Monday, 09/25/2023 21:30 IWST
Foto: Walter Hunt (National Investor Hall of Fame )
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – For the majority of people, being in debt brings misery. There are even people who fall into poverty due to too much debt.
However, that didn’t happen for Walter Hunt. The existence of debt actually made him have the idea of attracting blessings.
What’s the story?
So, the story begins when Walter Hunt owes US$ 15 to his friend, a draftsman named Chapin. The debt began when Hunt asked Chapin to illustrate a picture.
However, when the illustrations were completed, Hunt did not pay Chapin for his services. Long story short, for years Chapin did not claim his rights to Hunt and Hunt just relaxed as if he had no debt and was busy making many research projects.
Understandably, citing the Massachusetts Institute of Technology website, Hunt is a super busy engineer. During the 1800s, he made many machine inventions that made human life easier, such as ice breaking machines, letter sorting machines, and so on.
Until finally, at one time Chapin charged Hunt for drawing services several years ago. When he was charged, the man born in 1796 immediately slapped his forehead.
The problem is, the bill comes at the wrong time. At that time Hunt, who was 53 years old, was no longer working. He had retired as an engineer and no longer had any income.
Hunt’s attempt to negotiate an extension of the payment period was firmly rejected by Chapin. He needed money and urged Hunt to pay the debt.
In Jerome Meyer’s description in Great Inventions (1962), in the midst of this pressure and frustration, Hunt suddenly took a piece of wire which he then twisted into a kind of clamp. This clamp is now called a safety pin or in English it is known safety pin.
Foto: thinkstock
safety pin illustration
Even though it seemed trivial, Hunt saw that the wire rod he was twisting had a different shape. More modern and stronger than ancient safety pins. As a result, he had the courage to submit his findings to the patent institute.
Quoting the site Invent, unexpectedly his application was accepted. Exactly on April 10, 1849, the man from New York received a patent safety pin or the world’s first safety pin with US Patent No. 6,281.
“Due to being trapped in debt, Hunt was forced to sell his invention to a company for US$ 400,” wrote the site.
After getting the money, he suddenly became rich and immediately paid off his debt to Chapin. His life immediately improved. Even so, this sale was a mistake. Because, when mass produced, the safety pins he makes sell well on the market.
The reason is, safety pins have many uses, from fastening all clothing and jewelry components. The company also made very big profits. Meanwhile, Hunt never made the slightest profit from his invention because he had sold the patent.
Until he died in 1859, he did not receive any money from his discovery. Even so, the whole world knows that the safety pins we wear every day are the result of the sweat of Walter Hunt who was trapped in debt.
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(mfa)
2023-09-25 14:30:00
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