Popular Science - USA (2020 - Spring)

72

BORN 1890

Your name for the venerable CMU probably

depends upon where you live, but cinder block,

breeze block, and hollow block all refer to an

8-by-8-by-16-inch brick with two or three internal

voids. This mainstay of construction emerged when

Harmon S. Palmer developed a process for using

coal cinders—hence the name—to create some-

thing lighter, more insulating, and easier to work

with than the solid hunks of his day. The industry

standardized the dimensions in the 1930s, and coal

waste eventually gave way to concrete and other

materials, making the items heavier and stronger.

PIPER

J-3

CUB

BORN 1938

The Piper J-3 Cub was a

cheap, simple, and quick ma-

chine with two seats placed

one behind the other inside a

tubular steel frame wrapped

in cotton fabric. Beloved by

everyone from weekend avi-

ators to the US military, nearly

20,000 of them rolled out

of Piper’s factory before the

company upgraded the plane

in 1947. Many still fly. Bush

pilots in particular adore the

J-3’s brawnier descendant,

the Super Cub, because it is

durable, easily repaired, and

can take off or land on even

the smallest sliver of ground.

The design remains so popu-

lar that the Washington state

outfit CubCrafters builds

several models based on the

original, including a kit you

can assemble yourself.

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