Hope Valley Days: Part 1

💡 Did You Know?

Since this series is based in the early 1900s, flashlights were just beginning to be widely used. But flashlights owe their invention to the creation of portable batteries, and the oldest battery is believed to be the Baghdad battery, invented 2000 years ago, in about 250 BC. It consisted of a clay pot filled with vinegar or similar liquid in addition to iron and copper elements. It was believed it was used to electroplate items such as putting a layer of one metal (gold) onto the surface of another (silver), a method still practiced in Iraq today. However, the first dry cell battery was invented in 1887 which used a paste electrolyte instead of liquid like vinegar.

Then early in 1899, David Mizell patented an "electric device" consisting of D batteries laid front to back in a paper tube with the light-bulb and a rough brass reflector at the end. The New York police were the first group to test their use. For portable lighting, Hurricane lanterns began being replaced by flashlights around 1922 when convenient flashlight improvements were made.