Do you Know Who Invented the Paint Roller?
The paint roller was invented by a man named Norman Blakey in Toronto in 1940. Before that, the paint job was done by a professional stucco brush. Blakey was born in Pierson, Manitoba in 1891 and consulted Albert Hamilton textile expert Tom Hamilton. In a 1984 interview with Globe and Mail, Hamilton recalled the scene and said that Blakey asked him which fabrics might have bristles on the surface. He asked Blake what he wanted to do. Blakey said that makes paint rollers. He then explained his idea further using a "7" shaped handle and installed a hair roller on the beam. "The best fabric I could think of at the time was to cover the green mohair velvet used on the railway passenger cars. So I sold him a bundle, told him how to cut, and suggested that he stick it on a roller with glue. Later he came back to thank My suggestion gave me the paint roller and the blacksmith's tray, and no one at that time thought how important his invention was. Even though Mr Blak...