A few months ago, I wrote about the trials and tribulations of Charles Goodyear and his quest to make a useful rubber product. That quest ended up with the development vulcanized rubber, which quickly found uses in just about every industry in the rapidly industrializing company, but only after a variety of patent battles.
So imagine my delight when I found that the most recent edition of the podcast 99% Invisible was based on the Goodyear Dental Vulcanite Company! It concerns the 1879 murder of Josiah Bacon, an early patent troll who pushed a dentist using the Goodyear product to the brink. It’s worth a listen, even though the whole story takes place outside of Fort Hill. Enjoy!