When a Door Closes . . .

. . .most people want it to stay closed.  Watch our fearless feline foil his captors:


My second foray into the world of early technology concerns another item we take for granted.  That most fascinating yet simplistic fabrication of machinery--the door knob.  Or doorknob.  Separately, or combined, the words mean the same thing: a handle for opening or closing a door.  My emphasis is on doorknobs that latch.  (Latch: a device used to hold a door, gate or the like, closed, consisting basically of a bar falling or sliding into a catch, groove, hole, etc.  [Well, I never said you didn't know that, I'm just covering all the bases.])


Back when man was learning about fire, doors were made of hides, but people wanted a way to secure their doors even then.  The earliest latches were probably made of leather loops and notched wood.  Most likely, they didn't hold up to a strong wind, but people persisted.  

Door knobs have been used around the world for centuries.  As hides gave way to wood and stone, people needed something to grab in order to manipulate the door and then, to latch it.  At first, simple handles were used with separate latches.  Usually the latches were placed high on the door so that children could not reach them.  A string or chain was hung from the latch so that when you pulled on it, the rod lifted out of the catch.  Somewhere along the way, somebody  was clever enough to put the latch on the inside of the door, with a lever or knob on either side of the door to work it.  We know this because that is what we use now.  Unfortunately, there is little documentation to show the progress of these door knobs.  

We do know they were first manufactured in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century.  U. S. patent records show the first patent for a door knob was issued to Osbourn Dorsey on December 10, 1878.  And we know Mr. Dorsey was an African-American inventor.  No, we certainly don't know much, do we?

Though spherical or ball-shaped door knobs are considered the hardest to turn, this shape was the most common for years.  Doorknobs have been made of many materials, including wood, ceramic, glass, plastic and different types of metal. Brass is one of the most popular materials because of its excellent resistance to rust.

Since the 19th century, people have been more concerned about how their doorknobs looked, than how they worked.  There are dozens of patents on record regarding doorknob designs, starting in the 1830's.  I have to smile when I watch the old TV shows from the late 1960's.  Somebody thought putting the doorknob in the middle of the door was the height of fashion!  Looks silly to me, but then most stuff from the 1960's and 1970's looks silly to me.  And I lived it!

To this day, I cannot stand any of this "retro 70's" look fashion.  I hated it then and I hate it now.  But I digress.

Now, many doors don't need doorknobs.  In 21st century techno-advances, we have doors that open for us by sensors (well, grocery stores have had those for years), electronic keypads, even handprint and corneal recognition.  All very sci-fi, or rather sci-non-fi.  Those futuristic doors from the original Star Trek are now becoming common, except without the zigzag pattern.  Thank goodness!  Part of this wave of "hands-free" door opening is due to the increasing numbers of physically disabled people who want to live alone, or, at least, not be dependent on others.  But workers around the world need ways to move materials without needing someone to hold the door.

Did you know that egg-shaped, or elliptical shaped door knobs are the easiest to use?

At this point, I'd like to include several puns as I did last week.  Fortunately for you, I can't think of any.  Maybe, I hope this opens your minds to the possibilities?  Blech, that's pretty lame.  Oh well, I'll have to work on that part more for the next posting.  I'll leave you with this thought, the next time you say someone is as dumb as a door knob, have a heart!  Door knobs are smart, nifty  things.  Don't insult them!


Watch this canny canine create his own egress: