Sponsored: The Way Things Should Be | Carmax | 6
American Innovations
Wondery
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2021
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The weed whacker. The microwave. Instant noodles. Three simple yet ingenious inventions that challenged the status quo and made our lives easier. On this special episode, we tell the stories of three inventors who, through their visionary products, showed us the way things should be. Presented by Carmax.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, prime members, you can listen to American innovations, add free on Amazon music, download |
| 0:06.0 | the app today. |
| 0:16.7 | It's 1971 in Houston, Texas. |
| 0:20.4 | George Ballas pulls his Cadillac into an automatic car wash. |
| 0:25.0 | He switches off the ignition, sits back, and watches as the jets of soapy water splash |
| 0:30.3 | against his windows. |
| 0:32.5 | Ballas is a 47-year-old real estate developer with a penchant for flashy cars and embroidered |
| 0:38.0 | Mexican shirts. |
| 0:39.7 | He believes that to be successful, you've got to look successful. |
| 0:44.0 | That's why he drives a Cadillac, and why he wants it to sparkle when he arrives at a business |
| 0:48.5 | meeting later today. |
| 0:50.6 | It's also why he wants an immaculate lawn. |
| 0:53.6 | He spent hours just this morning hand-trimming the grass and weeds around the gnarly roots |
| 0:58.5 | of his giant oak trees, getting into all the nooks and crannies his gas-powered lawnmower |
| 1:03.5 | can't reach. |
| 1:05.0 | It took so long he had to give up with the job only halfway finished. |
| 1:09.6 | The entire time he thought to himself, there's got to be a better way. |
| 1:14.5 | Ballas looks up as the car wash brushes were into action and close in on his windshield. |
| 1:20.6 | He notices how the floppy bristles stiffen when whipped around at high speed. |
| 1:25.3 | Suddenly, a light bulb goes off in his head. |
| 1:29.0 | As soon as he's through the car wash, he speeds off to his meeting. |
| 1:32.8 | He can't wait to get through it, so he can go home and try out the brilliant idea he's |
... |
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