How a British man made the most brilliant invention in the road industry (3 photos)

April 15, 1890 was born Commander of the Order of the British Empire, who patented an invention called "cat's eye".





Percy Shaw is considered a highly successful inventor who invented reflective studs for unlit sections of roads. In 1934 he patented an invention based on the reflective lens patent 1927 by Richard Hollins Murray. A year later for the production of these devices was created by Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd. And tiny inserts with light reflectors dubbed "cat's eye".

He came up with it when he returned home in the fog and podshofe. Say, the cat saw his car and did not let him go into a ditch. And then the second world war broke out and demands for darkening the streets. Here Shaw's invention came in handy - it gave impetus to the "cat's eyes", which began to be actively mounted in the roadbed around the world.



In essence, if you look, the "cat's eye" is nothing but like a regular reflector - reflector - the so-called passive reflector light, which people came up with a long time ago.

Later, reflectors appeared on bicycles, protective clothes of road workers and policemen. The goal was to give additional lighting without electricity. And it came in handy again "cat's eye", which Shaw spied when he returned home "under hoppy."