10 Inventors Killed by Their Own Inventions 10 Henry Smolinski (died – 1973) 09 Henry Winstanley (1644 – 1703) Invention: Mizar (Flying Car) Invention: Eddystone lighthouse Death: Right wing of the vehicle detached from the car during a flight The crash killed Smolinski Death: Refused to leave the lighthouse during the Great Storm of 1703 It collapsed 08 Otto Lilienthal (1848 – 1896) 07 William Bullock (1813 – 1867) Invention: Glider Invention: Rotary printing press Death: Struck by a gust of wind, his glider stalled during flight The subsequent 50ft fall broke his spine Death: Crushed his foot testing his machine The foot developed gangrene which proved fatal 06 Alexander Bogdanov (1873 – 1928) 05 Horace Hunley (1823 – 1863) Invention: Blood transfusion Death: Went aboard for a routine training exercise The vessel sank Death: Gave himself a blood transfusion with contaminated or incompatible blood Invention: Submarine 04 Thomas Midgley Jr (1889 – 1944) 03 Li Si (280BC – 208BC) Invention: Bed lift to aid the disabled Invention: Five Pains method of torture Death: Accidentally entangled himself in the strings of his design Subsequently strangled Death: Convicted of treason and had five pieces of his anatomy removed Bled to death 02 Franz Reichelt (1879 – 1912) 01 Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) Invention: Parachute suit Invention: Discovering radium & polonium Death: Jumped off the Eiffel Tower as a test run Parachute didn’t open Death: Took no precautions handling radioactive material Died of aplastic anemia caused by radiation exposure Give each one of these inventors warnings, using the expressions in the box: BE SURE TO DON’T FORGET TO MAKE SURE TO REMEMBER TO TRY NOT TO Ex.: Don’t forget to turn off the lights before leaving 10 What you know about each one of these inventions? Make sentences about their function, using TO and FOR: Ex.: We use cell phones to call people We use cell phones for calling people 10