In 1675, King Charles II of England banned coffee houses on the grounds (cough) that they had become “the great resort of Idle and disaffected persons.” The ban was ignored.… Read More
In 1905, a schoolteacher invented the flyswatter by attaching a square piece of screen to the end of a yardstick. The holes made it effective, because flies can sense the air current from a solid object coming at them (such as a rolled up newspaper).
source: The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle by Don L. Wulffson