A group of Polk County Middle School seventh graders recently put on their thinking caps to create products that would have been useful in a long-ago era.
As students in Jeanne Ferran’s Accelerated English Language Arts class completed their study of the Victorian Era and the Industrial Revolution, they created items that might have served a purpose in the period. The students were focusing on advertising and rhetoric and put that knowledge to good use in their effort.
Group One
Sydney – Malady Mask: Either you buy my product or you’ll die of illness due to air pollution. It’s just common knowledge. The disease mask can be heated over a fire or stove for a long lasting heat or cool against your face. The way it heats things: the disease mask contains small rice flax seeds that when heated or cooled maintains its temperature for up to 12 hours. It is personally tailored to fit (most) any person of any size. Malady Mask – Preventing disease with ease!
Emily Gaul and Adair Edwards – Instabath: “There might be mud on some of you slugs, but there ‘aint no mud on me!” Their product is an instant bath in a can for the Victorian Englander, who would only otherwise bathe once a year.
Group Two
Susanna Ashworth, Kaden Powell, Finn Bell – The Sewage Survival Kit: Your #1 Solution to your #2 Problems. The kit boasts a myriad of hygienic needs that would be helpful to survive the cholera and dysentery infested streets. The Super Popular, Practically Perfect Pooper Scooper, the Mud in a Cup Water Filter, and the Save-You-From-Yourself Gas Mask.
Callum Petoia, Colton Bradley, and Landen Bradley decided to re-invent the Industrial Revolution into the System of Division. Using elements of socialism to soften the harsh capitalistic reality of Industrial England, they promoted the ideas of equality, brotherhood and harmony for all classes.
Group Three
Clara Monts, Autumn Mazzarella, Vinca Hebbard – Suspenda-Boots: “Keep Your Feet From Touching the Street!” These practical boots help protect your feet from unsanitary conditions and from tracking the filth of the Industrial era into the kitchen. They are not only stylish, but they are also practical. The boots are attached to suspenders so they ensure to protect your entire Victorian- era wardrobe.
Victoria Garcia, Destiny Duncan, Jessa Kay and Mikyla Wilkie (not pictured) – The Step-and-Stir: Contraption with an adjustable spoon holder and pedal so the Victorian-era woman could cradle her child and slap her soulmate while stirring her Christmas pudding.
Group Four
Carson Metcalf, Cole Pereira, and Angus Weaver (kneeling) – Manure Catcher – Catches The Poop So You Don’t Have To Scoop. Rich people can attach this handy device to the back of their expensive horses and prevent the spread of disease. Why plow the streets when you can eliminate the problem with this reliable manure catcher?
Group Five
Ruth Ramirez-Camancho, Michelle Ketwitz, Sabrina Ballard – Shpoony: Stirring Spoons Save Sassy Servants Seasons of Susperation. Domestic workers need Shpoony, the self-stirring pot and spoon. The magnets on the spoon help the spoon stir itself. Your cooking will be so good, people will think you are a professional chef. The Shpoony: Helps You Cook Good!
Autumn Shumate, Kayla Kitchen, Mario Rodriguez, Stella Budai- Get your Scented Topper. Our hats will block off the stench of the streets. Each hat has its own unique smell that will help cure your olfactory senses from the smells of the factory and workhouse.
Group Six
Ella Waldman, Freedom Moser, Andy Ballentine- Pooper Scooper Express 3000! Keeps the Poo off the Shoes! Your shoes will be the shiniest you’ve ever seen. They will stay white forever. Now, Victorian-era families will be able to keep their dwellings clean and shoes cleaner.
McKenna Morris, Blair Searcy (not pictured) and Katie Cothran- Pumpin’ Power Punch: The juice that gives you the power to fight the urge to sleep. The amount of energy that Pumpin’ Power Punch provides is enough to lift a train. Factory workers and coal miners of all ages will benefit from the fruit and vegetable infusion to complete their 14-hour shifts.
Group Seven
Evan Jones, Jack Smith, Ben Korzelius – If your job is tough? Are you a child laborer? Can you not reach things in your factory job? Get our PlatForm Shoes! Instead of using a ladder and risking a fall, get our PlatForm shoes and be tall! Our shoes will make daily jobs easier for you!
Elliot Whiteside, Rachel Griffin (not pictured) and Clay Toney – Is your water as dirty as a pigpen from the pollution and dye seeping into the river from industrial waste? Then you need Boom Boom Bath Bomb. Place the bath bomb in the river as it melts away pollution. With Boom Boom Bath Bomb, you can finally have fresh water to drink for your everyday needs. Boom Boom Bath Bomb: Pollution Away, in One Day!
