Fascinating
facts about the invention
of the Shopping Bag by Walter
Deubner in 1912. |
SHOPPING
BAG |
|
| Walter H. Deubner ran a
small grocery store in St. Paul, Minnesota, and he was looking for a way to give his
business a boost. |
 |
By careful observation, he noticed that
his customers purchases were limited by what they could conveniently carry. So he set
about devising a way to help them buy more purchases at one time. It took him four years
to develop the right solution: a prefabricated package, inexpensive, easy to use-and
strong enough to carry up to seventy-five pounds worth of groceries. |
| The package consisted of a
paper bag with cord running through it for strength. Deubner named his new product after
himself, calling it the "Deubner Shopping Bag," and sold it for five cents.
Deubner patented his product and within three years, by 1915, was selling over a million
shopping bags a year. |
TO
LEARN MORE
RELATED INFORMATION:
Invention of the Shopping Cart from The Great Idea Finder
Invention
of the Paper Bag from The Great Idea Finder
ON THE BOOKSHELF:
Why Didn't I Think of That?: Bizarre Origins of Ingenious Inventions We
Couldn't Live Without
by Allyn Freeman, Bob Golden / Paperback - 260 pages / John Wiley & Sons;
(September 1997)
Filled with wacky and fascinating facts, awe-inspiring success statistics,
and rags-to-riches stories, Chronicles the odd origins behind 50 famous
inventions and reveals the business side of each product's actual
production, marketing, and distribution.
What Can You Do
with a Paper Bag?
by Judith Cressy / Paperback: 64 pages / Chronicle Books; (June 2001)
Armed with scissors, tape, and glue, it's easy to turn an ordinary paper bag into
an extraordinary hat, wig, mask or crown. An engaging activity book for both home and
classroom.
Shopping Bag : Portable Art
by STEPHEN C. WAGNER / Hardcover: 96 pages / Random House Value
Publishing; (1986)
The Bag Book:
Over 500 Great Uses and Reuses for Paper, Plastic and Other Bags
by Vicki Lansky, Martha Campbell / Paperback: 120 pages / Book Peddlers; (September 30,
2000)
Everyone accumulates them, but few have so many inventive ideas for bags as Vicki
Lansky. Pinatas, kites, jump ropes, and hand puppets are just the beginning in this lively
compendium of ways to get organized, make crafts, and clean up.
ON THE WEB:
HANDIHAM RADIO CAMP
In the mid-1980's, Walter H. Deubner, a Minneapolis grocer who made a fortune by patenting
his invention, the PAPER SHOPPING BAG, donated a large tract of lake front property to
Handihams for furtherance of their mission.
(URL: www.handiham.org/)
Shopping Bag History Project
Students will use a shopping bag as a format for researching and
displaying information about a specific topic in Iowa history.
(URL:
silosandsmokestacks.org/resources/FieldTripGuide/shopping_bag_history_project.htm)
Saint Paul City Guide
Saint Paul has a rich history and has been the site of many historic
events. From inventions to the construction and growth of our great
city.
(URL: www.saint-paul.com/culture/hevents.html)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Shopping Bag
As fresh as when it
first appeared in the late 1970's, the eye-catching shopping bag from
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has become an American icon. Over one
million bags are printed every year, making it one of the most visible
symbols of the largest repository of art in the Western hemisphere.
(URL: www.metmuseum.org/store/)
|
| Reference
Sources in BOLD Type |
This
page revised January, 2005. |
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|
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FEATURED
INVENTOR |
|
Tim
Berners-Lee's invention has revolutionized the world like nothing
before.
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|
FEATURED
INVENTION |
|
The invention of the Internet,
should be classed with the greatest events of the 20th Century.
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| FEATURED GREAT
IDEA |
The Aero Sport All-Terrain Bed
with Dual Power Pump is the perfect addition to any camping trip or weekend
getaway.
Learn more... |
| FEATURED BOOK |
This
book, is the perfect desktop reference for both the science novice and the
technologically advanced reader alike.
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