Voting Station

Sir James Dewar

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Scientist

The Resume

    (September 20, 1842-March 27, 1923)
    Born in Kincardine-on-Forth, Scotland, United Kingdom
    Chemist and physicist
    Conducted researches at temperatures near absolute zero
    First to produce hydrogen in liquid (1898) and solid (1899) form
    Invented the vacuum flask aka Dewar flask aka Thermos bottle (1892)
    Co-inventor, with Sir Frederick Abel, of the explosive cordite (1889)
    Knighted (1904)

Why he might be annoying:

    He shares a name with the inventor of the Twinkie.
    One biographer wrote, ‘Dewar's rule in his laboratory was as absolute as that of a Pharaoh.’
    He and Abel were sued (unsuccessfully) by Alfred Nobel, who claimed that cordite infringed on his patent for a similar explosive, ballistite.
    Perhaps coincidentally, he never won a Nobel Prize despite being nominated multiple times.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was married to Helen Rose Banks for 52 years until his death.
    A crater on the moon was named after him.
    He did not take out a patent on the vacuum flask, thus missing out on millions in royalties when the Thermos Company copied his design.
    Proving karma’s a bitch, the Thermos Company later lost its trademark on ‘Thermos Bottle’ when a US court ruled the phrase had become the generic term for a vacuum flask (1963).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 25 Votes: 68.00% Annoying