Why did the wheeled suitcase take so long to invent?
A study in obvious innovation
This week’s video covers a simple question: why did it take so long to add wheels to suitcases? (It happened way later than you think)
Notes:
I read a billion articles on the topic, by FAR the best one was this:
Please give that substack a follow.
By the way, the original roll-aboard suitcase retailed for $180 in 1987, that is $510, illustrating another truth about innovation, almost every new invention is initially only affordable for the rich, but in a few years time, technology and competition makes it affordable enough for the masses.
An unintended consequence of rolling luggage was that people added heavier and heavier objects to their luggage, requiring airlines place the weight limits on suitcases that we are all familiar with today.
Other articles I read for this video:
Who Actually Invented the Wheeled Suitcase?
Before Her Time: Anita Willets-Burnham’s Rolling Suitcase - Winnetka Historical Society
Mystery of the wheelie suitcase: how gender stereotypes held back the history of invention