3 Smart Inventions That Come From the Great Depression

Necessity is the mother of inventions. This is also what happened during the Great Depression. It was one of the worst financial crises in modern history, after the collapse of Wall Street in 1929. At that time there were the conditions for small and big ideas to take shape or spread on a large scale, sometimes changing our lives. Among them there were the zipper and even the tale of the 3 Little Pigs.

Necessity is the mother of inventions. This is also what happened during the Great Depression. It was one of the worst financial crises in modern history, after the collapse of Wall Street in 1929. At that time there were the conditions for small and big ideas to take shape or spread on a large scale, sometimes changing our lives. Here are the most curious “inventions” born at that time.

The Three Little Pigs and the Great Depression

What does the famous fairy tale have to do with the Great Depression? The story of Timmy, Tommy and Jimmy was also a metaphor for what was happening in America. Walt Disney made an animated short film in 1933 with a happy ending lasting only eight minutes. Because of the hard times the country was facing at that time, the public identified the wolf as the symbol of the crisis.

Just as Ezekiel wanted to destroy the piglets’ homes and devour them, the Great Depression was trying to annihilate American families.

But the fairy tale taught that the three little pigs, by remaining united and relying on their intelligence, could outsmart the big bad wolf. The film was so successful that theaters kept it on the bill for several months. In the end it became the most successful animated short film of all time.

The Zipper

It was created much earlier, in 1851 by Elias Howe, who became the “father of zippers”. However, it only began to be advertised and sold to the public in 1930. This is precisely because it was cheaper than expensive buttons. In addition, it was also more comfortable. The name comes from the fact that among the first garments to have the zip were some boots, the so-called zippers.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Toll House Inn in Whitman was famous for its recipe of chocolate chip cookies, dating back to colonial times. But the crisis deprived its kitchens of the most important element: cocoa. So, chef Ruth Wakefield, in 1933, thought of breaking a common chocolate bar into small fragments, hoping that they would melt in the dough while the biscuits were baking.

However, the chocolate did not melt. The pieces simply softened, taking the form of drops. This sort of test, however, was an unexpected success. The recipe appeared in a Boston newspaper and Nestlé decided to print it on the back of its bars in exchange for all the chocolate Ruth needed for the rest of her life. Today, almost a century later, chocolate chip cookies are still among the best-selling in the USA – and beyond.