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Lew Wallace, Inventor.
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Lew Wallace held patents for 8 inventions. He was like people who are inventors today. An inventor must discover a problem, develop a solution to the problem, and have the skills to make the solution work.

Lew Wallace loved to go fishing, but he had a problem with his fishing line getting snarled up. He thought that the fishing line caught on the moving parts of the fishing pole, like the reel, too easily. So he designed a fishing pole with the reel inside the handle. This kept the line away from most of the moving parts. You can see his fishing pole in the Museum.

Lew Wallace also saw that there were some problems with railroads. The railroad that was very close to his house and study made a lot of noise. So he invented two kinds of railways pads that fit underneath the rails and stop them from vibrating and making noise. You can see a model of one of his other railway inventions at the Museum.

Listed to your right are some important inventions of the 19th century. Can you imagine living without some of these things?

Do you have a problem that you might like to solve?

Can you think of an invention that would make your life better?

Definition:

Reel: the round, spinning part of the fishing pole that winds up the fishing line