Theodore Witte: Caulking Gun
This article was originally written and submitted as part of a Canada 150 Project, the Innovation Storybook, to crowdsource stories of Canadian innovation with partners across Canada. The content has since been migrated to Ingenium’s Channel, a digital hub featuring curated content related to science, technology and innovation.
Here’s a story that takes the cake! Legend has it that Theodore Witte of Chilliwack, British Columbia, got his inspiration for the world’s first caulking gun by watching a local baker decorate a cake by squeezing icing out of a piping bag. In 1894 Witte patented his “puttying-tool”, a “simple and inexpensive” ratcheted device that let users apply a sealant without having to touch the stuff with either their hands or a putty knife.
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