Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Invented in a shed: Daimler cars

Gottlieb Daimler took the first steps towards what is today a global corporation bearing his name from a workshop in his garden shed in the late 19th century. It was in his garden office in Bad Cannstatt - which was restored in 1984 and opened to the public as a small museum - that he created the world's first lightweight high-speed four stroke internal combustion vehicle engine.

The workshop shed was originally a greenhouse to which Daimler added a brick extension and turned into a testing station for his work: he also widened the garden paths so vehicles could drive down them. He and fellow inventor Wilhelm Maybach worked in considerable secrecy in their garden office, keeping secret their work even from their servants and gardeners (one of whom called the police because he thought they had installed an illegal mint inside).

You can read more details at the Daimler site and even now buy a model of it (see here for details, in German).

Thanks to the fine folk at Hummel Blockhaus for the alert
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Tuesday posts are sponsored by The Home Office Company, manufacturers of unique garden rooms since 1998. Now in 10 exciting new colours. Click here for more details.

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