Letters to Inventors, by Primary 6, Greenbrae School

Letters to Scottish Inventors

from

Inventors of the FuturePrimary 6

Greenbrae Primary School

Letter to Mr Alexander Graham Bell [1847-1922]Inventor of the telephone

Greenbrae Primary School,Greenbrae Crescent,Bridge Of Don,Aberdeen.AB23 8N

Tuesday 3rd December, 2013

Dear Mr Bell,

I am writing to thank you for inventing the telephone which is such a wonderful thing. You probably were so proud that you could speak to people in the next room but now we can speak to people all over the world. The phone you invented was great but the phones nowadays are far more superior. It is now mobile which means it is not attached to a wall. Most phones today are rectangular and are 9–10 centimetres long [about 4 inches as you would know it].

Along with this letter, I have sent you an I-phone which I got free for this special occasion of writing to you, so don’t drop it as it is very fragile. I have set a password on it. I am going to give you instructions on how to work this I-phone which you should be holding in your hands. I have sent you one so you have a clearer idea of how phones look today. First of all, you press the circle button with a square in it then you slide your finger along the part of the screen that reads slide to unlock. Next you should find it comes up with these numbers –

1 2 34 5 67 8 9

0You then press the 1, then the 4, then the7, then the 0. It should then come up with the home screen AKA the main screen which should have the following apps on it:- Music which lets you listen to any tunes you like. I have downloaded/ bought some modern songs for you to listen to. You may not like them as they are quite different from the songs you may have heard in your day. Face time which lets you talk to people and you can actually see the person as you talk!

A clock which lets you know the exact time. You must be thinking ‘Wow!’ modern phones tell the time, play music and they have this thing called face time, but that’s not all.I-message lets you message anyone you want. Here is a little message dictionary of words people use today (don’t use them all the time)Lol: laugh out loud / lots of loveYolo: you only live onceR: areU: youSafari is the internet which is something that lets you find information about anything you want. You just type in what you want to find out about at the top where it says ‘search’. Then there are settings which let you change the brightness, the volume and things like that. Last of all, there is the phone app which lets you phone people anywhere any time.

Your invention has changed people’s lives! Example one: most people’s parents find if their child has a phone, it is safer to go out and play. Example two: teenagers can have conversations without their parents hearing! Example three: it is easier to communicate.

Although there are some negatives about your invention, especially the modern phone. Firstly, they are very expensive. Secondly, people practically spend their lives messaging and playing games!

I think in the future your invention will change completely. Who knows what 9t will look like? I don’t know but I know it will change. Maybe in the future, someone will write to you and tell you what it is like.Thank you again.

Yours sincerely,Amber Brody

A letter to John Logie Baird [1888-1946]

Greenbrae Primary School,Greenbrae Crescent,Bridge Of Don,Aberdeen.AB23 8N

Tuesday 3rd December, 2013

Dear Mr Logie Baird,

I am writing to you to let you know how far the television has come on since you invented it. You must have been so proud and relieved to have created such a wonderful thing after years of hard work. You must have loved it. When you invented it, the screen was very small but the mechanical part was huge. Televisions are now called flat screen TVs and have very big screens and a very small mechanical part. You are probably falling off your chair right now in shock. Back then no-one could afford a television because they were too expensive but now everyone has one. Some people might even have more than 4. TVs come in different makes like LG, Sony and Samsung. At one time, the television would automatically switch off after a certain time because there were no programmes to watch. You also could only watch what was on TV at that time.

The negatives about the TV are that if you sit too close your eyes can get sore or if you watch it too much it can do the same. There is also a person called a couch potato which is when someone becomes too lazy to go out to play and all they want to do is watch TV. Sky is a box where you can choose from loads of channels. The options are kids, movies, sky sports, documentaries etc. Sky also has a remote control to turn it on instead of turning it on from the TV itself. You won’t believe this but you can watch the programmes in colour. The black and white programmes that you used to watch were boring. In the future, I think the TV will still be famous but they might have a few changes. I don't know what it will be like in the future but maybe you will be looking down. Yours sincerely,

Millie Johnston P.S Thank you for your thermal socks as they have helped a lot of the soldiers in the war. If you were here, they would say a big thank you because you saved their feet from being cold and soggy.

Letter to James Dewar [1847-1932]Inventor of the Thermos Flask

Greenbrae Primary School,Greenbrae Crescent,Bridge of Don,Aberdeen.AB23 8NJ Tuesday 3 December, 2013

Dear Mr James Dewar,

I am writing to you to thank you for inventing the Thermos Flask. Your invention is amazing at keeping things hot and cold to take out and about.

The Thermos Flask is used very often nowadays. In fact most people in Britain probably own a thermos flask as it is very handy. I often have soup or hot juice in my black Thermos flask. By the way, if you are wondering what juice is, I will explain. Juice is the liquid obtained from fruit or other foods. Although my flask is black, you can get flasks in a lot of different colours and sizes.

The flask is also useful to take on picnics, camping trips and going on long hiking trips with the family. If you’re wondering what hiking means then I will tell you what it means. Hiking is to go for a long country walk. In the winter, when you go to watch an outdoor sport such as football, hockey or rugby, you might take a flask of hot coffee or tea to heat you up at half-time!

The thermos flask will possibly change in the future and could keep food and drink hotter or colder for a longer time. I don’t think it needs to change much though as your invention was so amazing.Thanks again.

Yours sincerely,

Ellie Morris

Letter to J.J.R. Macleod (1876-1935)The person who discovered insulin


Dear Mr Macleod,

I am writing to thank you for discovering insulin. Your marvellous invention has saved the lives of many diabetic people and animals throughout the world.

Insulin is usually injected in the lower leg or the stomach and is needed for people who are Type 1 diabetic because their pancreas has stopped producing insulin. Insulin can now be given from a pen shaped container with a fine needle instead of from a syringe.

I’m not sure if your invention will change but maybe someday they’ll find a way to stop people developing diabetes. If they do when I’m alive, I promise I’ll write back to you and let you know.Your invention has no negatives because it’s so amazing. I am honoured to live in the same city as the person who invented insulin. Maybe someday when I’m older, I’ll go to the University of Aberdeen too and when I’m there I shall remember you and your brilliant work.

Thank you again for your wonderful invention. Yours sincerely,

Georgia Rait

Letter to Alexander Fleming [1881-1955]Discoverer of penicillin

Greenbrae Primary School,Greenbrae Crescent,Bridge of Don,Aberdeen.AB23 8NJTuesday, 3rd December, 2013

Dear Sir Alexander Fleming,I am writing to you to thank you for your discovery of penicillin and about how it has helped millions of people throughout the world. Your accidental discovery has changed many people’s lives including me. There are now many different kinds of medicines similar to penicillin and these are known as antibiotics. Antibiotics are used to treat all kinds of infections. Penicillin is absolutely amazing and used for curing lots of things such as sore throats, ear aches and painful stomach aches when the body doesn’t manage to heal itself.

Antibiotics has prevented many people from dying. I, personally, want to thank you for making antibiotics because when I was about seven years old a huge lump appeared on my leg which affected my walking. The doctors gave me antibiotics and that made my lump gradually get smaller until it disappeared. I have no idea what would have if you hadn’t discovered penicillin. Unfortunately today, as antibiotics have become overused, the bacteria has started to get used to them and they no longer work as effectively as they should. Doctors are now being asked to prescribe antibiotics only when they are really needed.In the future, I hope scientists will find better antibiotics to help cure people who are ill.

Once again I thank you for discovering penicillin.

Yours sincerely, Avia Cockburn

Letter to Mr John Logie Baird [1886-1946]Inventor of the television and thermal undersocks!


Dear Mr Logie Baird,

I am writing to you to thank you for coming up with your successful inventions. Your best known invention, the television, [now affectionately called the TV) has turned into a new thing to you called a flat screen. A flat screen television has a very large viewing screen with a small part of it containing the machinery to work it, which is the opposite to the version you invented which had a tiny screen and a humungous box for the machinery. Most people in this country now own a flat screen TV. You also might want to know what a Sky box is. It is a device for your TV which lets you choose from at least 900 channels. In the modern day, you can choose from an enormous variety of programmes including programmes for us kids, movies, sports channels etc. Would you believe that TVs now broadcast in colour and not just black and white?

Instead of having to switch on your TV by hand, you now use a remote control. This is another device for your TV. When you buy a TV, a remote control would come with it. It has buttons on it to [a red button, a yellow button, a blue button, a green button, a sound control button, an up arrow, a down arrow, a right arrow and a left arrow] which allow you to select the programmes you want to watch without leaving the comfort of your chair! It also has buttons labelled zero to nine. The buttons zero to nine are also an alphabet code for example 2 would be a, b, c and 3 would be d, e, f and so on. Some people watch it for 12 hour everyday (yikes!).

The TV has changed many lives - probably trillions or even trillion- billions (made up word) because, if you don’t have a TV, life would be dull and boring and no one likes a sour puss! You’ve made something fabulous for people around the world to enjoy mostly every day. In every house, I’ve been in there has been at least one

TV. My friend who lives in a skyscraper [a tall building with 16 floors] has 3 televisions! The TV must be one of the most popular inventions ever!

Unfortunately, there are some bad things about it … some people aren’t as active as they could be as they just sit on their bottoms and watch TV. It is called being a ‘’couch potato’’. Couch potatoes can just sit all day watching TV which is unhealthy and they can become fat, idle and lazy as well. All the exercise they would probably do is to get up and fetch a can of coke (a sugary drink) from the kitchen. These words may upset you but that’s the truth!

In the future, I think the TV will still be popular but probably much improved. You know maybe we could have 4D TVs (4D is three dimensional and a screen which is 4D where you can smell what’s shown on the screen. I hope it’s not something nasty!) I think it would be a ‘’big hit’’ although it might be a bit expensive to begin with. If you were alive today, you would certainly be a billionaire!!Personally, I want to thank you again for inventing the television. It is an honour to write to you Mr John Logie Baird. Your invention keeps me amused so thanks again! Yours sincerely,

Catie Will

PS Thanks also for making thermal socks which must have helped keep the soldiers’ feet warm during World War 1.

Letter to Karl Benz [1844-1929]Inventor of the car


Dear Mr Benz,

I am writing to you to thank you for the invention of the car. The first cars which you invented were big and bulky and could only travel at up to 4mph. A fast walker could almost overtake it but now cars can travel at up to 120mph. However, the fastest you’re allowed is about 70mph on motorways to keep people safer. If you’re wondering if the Mercedes is still about then I have to tell you that it is and they are very - I mean very - fancy and really expensive.

Cars are now very important for the police. The police are a force to protect people from crime. Fire fighters use a vehicle like a car but it’s bigger and it’s called a fire truck.

Cars are also used for going to the shops, visiting family or just to take children to after school clubs. Families use cars daily to take their kids to school and nursery, to shop for supplies and to do fun things.

Cars have come on a lot since 1875 to 2013. The cars now are run on petrol or diesel which is a type of fuel meaning the car can keep going for miles and miles without stopping. Some people don’t walk from place to place because they have a car which is pretty lazy.

Your invention is amazing. I’m a huge fan of cars and so are a lot of other people. Racing is the best!

Yet again thank you for the invention of the car. You were such a super inventor and I hope I can afford a Mercedes-Benz in the future!Yours sincerely,

Ben le Huray

Alexander Graham Bell (1847 to 1922)Inventor of the telephone

Greenbrae Primary School,Greenbrae Crescent,Bridge of Don,Aberdeen.AB23 8NJ

Tuesday 3 December, 2013

Dear Mr Bell,

I’m writing to you to thank you for your wonderful invention of the telephone. I have written this letter to inform you how your device is nowadays. As you know when you invented your telephone, it was chunky, had a long winding cable and a big round dial. What I’m going to tell you will shock you, it might horrify you or even petrify you. Your telephone is now … mobile. If you’re wondering what ‘mobile’ means, it means going about anywhere you want while talking on the phone without being connected to a long wire.

When you invented the telephone, you could only speak to the person in the next room. Today we can text, search the internet, play games and do so much more. First thing ‘text’: what does that mean? It means you can type a message you would like to send to someone from any place in the world! ‘Search the internet?’ To get the internet on a phone, you have a little button that says ‘internet’ . You press the button and it turns up with a website called ‘Google’. What’s a ‘website’? It is a page like a piece of paper but on a screen. Next you have type in anything you would like to know and then press ‘search’. It will then come up with a list of websites. Click on any one you want and you’ve got your information. ‘Play games’: Playing games is like playing board games but on a screen. You can play different games for example: Angry Birds. What is Angry Birds? Angry Birds is the undisputed king of casual gaming and an addictive puzzler in the best tradition of the genre.

Angry Birds: Evil green pigs have stolen your eggs and your birds aim to get them back — with sllngshots, explosives, boomerangs and other weapons. Kill all the pigs to reach the next level.

Another game is Candy Crush Saga: Candy Crush Saga is a puzzle game that involves making matches of 3 or more coloured candy pieces. Players your swap candy pieces either horizontally or vertically and the match is made. The candy disappears causing the surrounding pieces of candy to fall into the empty spaces.

Both of these games are very addictive!!

Your invention is amazing but there are some negatives.

The phones are expensive

Teenagers spend too much time on their phone

Teenagers text shortened words e.g. ‘u’ for ‘you’ which doesn’t help their spelling

Bills can cost a lot of money

Your invention is also life changing. Just imagine if you moved to the other side of the world to live live. How would you keep in touch? The telephone of course.

Another good point is parents prefer their child to have a phone so if the child is out somewhere, the parents can communicate with them.

I have a phone myself and I love playing games on it.

I think the telephone is one of the best inventions EVER!!

Thank you again.

Yours sincerely,

Molly Murray

Kirkpatrick Macmillan[1812-1878]Inventor of the pedal bicycle


Dear Mr Kirkpatrick Macmillan,

I am writing to you to thank you for inventing the bicycle. Your invention has come a long way from 1812. It is now much brighter and it also has gears to change when you go up hills or high mountains. It also has stabilisers for when you are a toddler and you are just learning to ride your bike. You also get lights to put on so that cars can see you in the dark.

The bicycle is now used for racing in games like the Olympics. The Olympics are where people race other people to get different kinds of medals. Another thing the bicycle is used for is to stay fit, get about or go on a peaceful ride by yourself if you want to get fresh air.

But, since the car was invented, loads and loads of lazy people take the car everywhere instead of cycling. Many people buy bikes but then only use them once and leave them lying about. We found out about all different kinds of wheels that the bike started with like a tree trunk, roller-drilled wheel, Sumerian wheel, the wheel of an old fashioned car and a toothed wheel.

As well as having ‘take your bike to school’ days, a cycle path opened a year ago and some of us use it to ride our bikes to school. At brownies, we get a test to see if we know everything about bikes so that we are safe when we go out with friends and family fresh air.

No-one knows about the future but I bet the bike will come a long way from today.Yours sincerely, Abbey Noble


Greenbrae Primary School,Greenbrae Crescent,Bridge of Don,Aberdeen.AB23 8NJ Tuesday 3 December, 2013 Dear Mr Bell,

I am writing to thank you for inventing the telephone. Your invention was very good. However, it has changed through the years since 1876. One of the changes is you don't have a wire connected to the wall any more. That means you can go anywhere you want when you are speaking on the telephone.

There is a type of phone called a smart phone. On this, you can text people, take photos, browse the internet, play games, play music, use a calculator and other things. How to text: the first thing you do is press the button on the home screen that says ‘messages’ and press the contact for the person that you want to text. Then you type your message and press the send button and that’s it done.

You might be falling off your seat right now because of the different ways that a telephone can be used now. Now there is a keyboard attached to the end of the phone or comes up on the phone when you need it. There is a ‘touch screen phone’ that most people use in the world. Only old people use the phones that you can’t touch the screen. The phone has got much thinner nowadays which means it is a perfect fit for your hand. You can buy a cover for your phone now to protect it from damage. The covers come in all different designs such as looking like a lego brick or a play station controller.

Your invention can be very useful because if parents need to know where their child is, they can contact them and go and collect them.On the telephone, you can call people all over the world from Australia to South Africa.

There are some negative things about your invention now because people spend lots of time in their lives on their phone by playing games, playing music, texting and taking photos. Another thing about the phone is that is very addictive and people sometimes use

the internet to look up rude things . How to work the internet. First thing you do is click on the button that says ‘Internet’ and then search what you want to and it will come up with lots of choices called webpages and you click on the one you want. Then it will come up with the information. Thanks again for your invention. I am sure no-one can imagine not having a phone today! Your sincerely, Connor Sherrit

Kirkpatrick Macmillan [1812-1878]Inventor of the pedal bicycle


Dear Mr MacMillan,

I am writing to you to thank you for your amazing invention of the bicycle.

Today, most children in Great Britain have a bike of their own. Children’s bikes can be fitted with stabilisers to help small children balance when they are learning to ride them. Bicycles come in many different colours and designs. There are many different kinds of bikes to make it easier to ride on different kinds of surfaces. BMXs are good for off-road riding, mountain bikes are good for going up hills or mountains and racing bikes are good for racing. Gears are common on bikes nowadays and help make pedalling easier. The seat is more comfy than your one.

Your bike was kind of good but I think the wooden wheels would make it difficult to pedal. Today tyres are made of rubber and are much better than your wheels.

It has changed people’s lives. People use bikes for many things such as going to the shops, going to work or school and for fun. They are a very good way of keeping fit and healthy.

In the future, I hope the bike will be 10 times better and 5 times faster. I like my bike. Yours sincerely, Adam Kemp

Letter to Wilhelm Rontgen [1845-1923]Inventor of the x-ray


Dear Mr Rontgen,

I am writing to you because I would like to thank you for your invention of the x-ray.

Today in hospitals, the x-ray is used lots and lots of times everyday. Your amazing invention has saved lots of people from getting limbs cut off. If you hadn’t invented the x-ray people would be in a lot of pain today. When you invented the x-ray you probably only used it for broken bones but nowadays we also use it for seeing if anyone has an infection in their chest. Yet again you have probably saved hundreds of lives because if the infection had not been treated, people might have died.

Today, the x-ray also has other uses such as at airports. We can use x-ray for checking people’s luggage to see if they are smuggling anything into a country. An airport is a building that has a huge runway where planes take off and fly people to their destination. In the airport, there are lots of shops and cafes. When you arrive at the airport, you take your luggage to a desk that has a conveyer belt that you put your suitcase on and it weighs it. After you do that, you go to a room where there is a machine you walk through and it beeps if you have anything you shouldn’t have in your pocket such as knives gun etc. When you walk through the machine, your hand luggage goes passes through an x-ray machine to check if you have any drugs, drinks or liquids and more in your bag.

In the future, x–ray machines might play music to the children to calm them down or, if a baby gets an x-ray it could sing a lullaby to it. When you get an x-ray, you could be lying on a water bed. A water bed is a bed that’s mattress is filled with water.

Me being me, I’m really clumsy and might need to get another x-ray in the future. I am only ten and I have already broken three bones in my lifetime. The bones I have broken are my femur, ulna and not that long ago my radius. Once again, thank you for inventing the x-ray. Yours sincerely, Katie Scorgie

Letter To Kirkpatrick Macmillan [1812– 1878]Inventor of the pedal bicycle

Greenbrae Primary School,Greenbrae Crescent,Bridge of Don,Aberdeen.AB23 8NJ

Tuesday, 3 December, 2013

Dear Mr K. Macmillan,

I am writing to you to thank you for your invention of the bicycle and how it has changed the world. Your invention has come on a long way since you first invented it. There are mountain bikes made especially for riding mountains, there are racing bikes used in the Olympics as well. People use it for exercise too but since the car was invented, some people have become lazy and just sit in their cars to drive short distances.

Your invention has changed a lot. Now we get stabilisers which are two extra wheels to help little children learn how to ride a bike and when they are old enough, they can take off the stabilisers. Bikes now come in many colours and patterns and you can do tricks on them. Tricks are a sequence of moves like flips and spins. We get a special bike called a BMX which is Lighter than normal bikes and perfect for performing tricks over ramps. A ramp is like a mini hill to jump off of to do tricks.

Without your invention children would be bored and wouldn’t have fun while exercising.

I hope you get this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Aria Kolahzadeh


Greenbrae Primary School,Greenbrae Crescent,Bridge of Don,Aberdeen.AB23 8NJ Tuesday 3 December, 2013Dear Mr Bell,

I am writing to thank you for your invention of the telephone. Your telephone has come along way since 1876. The telephone doesn't have a wire anymore so you could walk around your house doing anything instead of having to sit right next to the telephone when you want to call someone. Some phones have been renamed and they’re now called mobile phones. The mobile phones can also be used outside. You could be walking around the shops and you could be calling your friends. On the mobile phone you can use the phone to send text messages. You’ll probably thinking what’s that. I’ll tell you. Click on the messages icon then press who you want to text. There will be a little bubble that you can text and then there will be a blue box with the word ‘send’ in it and then click it. You would probably want to use the camera so I’ll tell you what you need to do. The icon shows a picture of a modern day camera. Once you have taken a photo, if you want to see the photo it will be in the corner of your screen. When you want to search for anything, you click on the safari button. There will be a box that you could type what you want to search. You’ll get to see the weather by clicking on the weather icon and it will have a picture of the sun and clouds. On the weather app you can see what the weather is around the whole world and that can be handy if you are going out for a walk or .

The settings will let you change the brightness and the wallpaper you might think it’s the wallpaper you put on the walls of your house. Its not! It means the background of your phone. Also in the

settings you can switch the password on and type a code in so that no-one else can look at your private messages.

There are some negatives about the phones 1. They are expensive. 2. Sometimes you can’t get a connection.3. They sometimes have problems. 4. Some people just sit on the sofa and play on their phones all day. 5. They can smash easily. 6. If you don't get your password right, it locks you out.Some phones come be touch screen which means that you just need to touch the applications you want to go on. If you were alive today you would be a millionaire. Nearly everybody in the whole world owns a mobile phone because your phones are really popular. Thank you very much for the phones you invented.

Yours sincerely,

Callum Nicol

Documents

Letters to Inventors, by Primary 6, Greenbrae School